Project Tag: Commercial

Multiple Renewable Energy Projects

Ground Control was engaged in 2021 to prepare landscape plans to provide vegetative screening to two new Solar PV farms in NSW and to a new Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Victoria. 

On the back of the successful completion of the landscape planning for these projects, Ground Control was engaged to prepare screen planting plans for an additional thirteen new Solar PV farms and another eight BESS projects in regional Victoria, NSW & South Australia.  The planning for all of these projects was completed in 2022/23. There are more solar farm and BESS projects planned for 2024.

All Solar PV and BESS screening projects involved the use of predominantly indigenous vegetation for screening species, limited to specific mature heights in selected areas.  Detailed research was undertaken for each project to confirm species local to each area, including crosschecking with local specialist native nurseries re availability and viability for purpose.

Where taller trees were proposed, a detailed summer and winter shadow analysis was undertaken to ensure shade from trees on solar arrays was minimised.

Numurkah Solar Farm

Planning commenced in 2018, with construction planned to be completed in 2019.

Ground Control was engaged in 2018 by Neoen and Downer Utilities Australia to prepare a landscape plan for approx. 10.7 kilometres of buffer planting to the perimeter of a new solar farm in Drumanure, just south of Numurkah Victoria.

Downer and Ground Control worked closely together to determine maximum heights for buffer plantings in all areas to ensure sun exposure to solar arrays was maximised throughout the year.  All 22,000+ plants to be used in planting buffers have been carefully selected indigenous species, were propagated from local seed and planted in Autumn 2019.  The landscape buffer planting is currently under maintenance.

The Numurkah Solar Farm commenced full-scale commercial operation in July 2019.

With over 370,000 solar panels spanning 515 hectares, this renewable energy facility will generate 255 GWh of emission-free, clean, competitive renewable energy per annum to power key infrastructure such as the Melbourne tram network and the Laverton steel works (Neoen press release 19 July 2019).