Australian university builds $89m solar farm to become 100% renewable

Australia’s University of Queensland (UQ) has built a US$89m (A$125m) 64MW solar farm in Warwick so it can run on nothing but renewable energy.

The solar farm complements the seven megawatts produced at UQ campuses in Gatton and St. Lucia.

Warwick Solar Farm’s yearly 160GWh output could power 25,000 households.

Peter Høj, the UQ’s vice-chancellor, said: "The Warwick Solar farm is first and foremost an act of leadership that demonstrates that a transition to renewables can be done at scale, that’s practicable and makes economic sense.

"This isn’t just an economic choice; industry and government look to us for expertise and leadership in renewable technologies and this asset will support a wide range of current and emerging research and industry partnerships across a broad array of disciplines.

"When it comes to climate change, we all share the responsibility and the consequences, and so we need to be acting in a way that is informed by research and with collaboration in mind."

Professor Vicki Chen, UQ’s faculty of engineering, architecture and information technology Executive, said: "Each year we enrol around 1000 first-year engineering students and ‘work-integrated learning’ – or industry placement – is integral for them during their degrees, and the opportunities in the renewables industry are vast.

"The Master of Sustainable Energy students also see it as a privilege to see UQ’s own renewable energy assets up close and to work hands-on with our own data."

Images courtesy of UQ