The Australian government has granted approval for Australian renewable energy developer Edify Energy’s 250MW solar-plus-storage project based in Victoria.
The Muskerry Solar Power Station is located 30km northeast of Bendigo. The project will consist of around half a million solar PV modules and a co-located 200MW/800MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) connected to existing transmission infrastructure.
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According to project documents, the Muskerry solar plant will take approximately 12 months to construct and will have an operational lifespan of around 50 years.
The Australian developer also intends to potentially introduce a form of agrivoltaics (agriPV) to the project by providing grazing areas underneath the solar PV modules for merino sheep. Edify said in its plans that “sheep growth rate and fertility should be higher under the solar panels than direct sunlight, due to the abundant shade and lower temperatures”.
Edify submitted the project to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act queue in October 2024. The EPBC queue, administrated by the federal government, aims to protect nationally threatened species and ecological communities under the act. This must be accepted before being granted permission to develop a project.
Tanya Plibersek, the Australian government’s minister for the environment and water, said that the Muskerry solar PV project is the 65th that she has approved.
“The renewable energy transition is real, it’s happening right now. And it’s the only plan supported by experts to deliver clean, affordable and reliable power,” Plibersek added.
“Australians have a choice between a renewable energy transition that’s already underway and driving down prices, or paying for an expensive nuclear fantasy that would deliver around 4% of our energy needs and add 1.7 billion tonnes to Australia’s carbon emissions.”
Alongside Muskerry, Edify is behind the proposed 200MW solar PV project near the Callide coal-fired power station in Central Queensland. The Callide Solar Power Station Project would also incorporate a 4-hour duration 200MW/800MWh BESS at a site located seven kilometres northeast of Biloela.
