Hazelwood North Solar Farm at Latrobe Valley approved by the Victorian government

The $651m Hazelwood North Solar Farm will be built near the Latrobe Valley’s coal-fired power stations and is expected to generate 500 jobs during the construction phase.

Victoria’s largest solar farm will be built near to the Latrobe Valley’s coal-fired power stations after the $651 million project was ticked off by the Allan Government.

The Hazelwood North Solar Farm is set to have a 450 megawatt capacity, which is enough to power 150,000 homes, as well as a 4-hour battery storage facility that would feed energy into the grid when it is needed.

The project was proposed by the family-owned company that runs Manny’s Market in Morwell, and which owns 1100 hectares of land between Morwell and Traralgon that was once a forestry plantation and now is used to graze cattle and sheep.

About 500 jobs would be created during construction, and plans include a border of native vegetation to create a visual screen from some surrounding land, as well as for sheep grazing to continue in what is known as “agrisolar”.

The Hazelwood North Solar Farm is set to have a 450 megawatt capacity. Picture: Daniel Leal

The solar farm marked in orange, with the battery storage in dark orange. Picture: Supplied

The approvals process was able to be fast-tracked due to a state scheme for significant renewable energy projects, and Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny said the solar farm and battery would be a big boost for the sector.

“The approval of the Hazelwood North Solar Farm will strengthen Victoria’s renewable energy industry and provide cheaper, cleaner power to thousands of homes,” she said.

The project went through a rigorous consultation and environmental assessment process, which led to the plan for visual screening and explained the “agrisolar” method of grazing sheep around solar panels.

The solar farm will be built near the Loy Yang coal-fired power station. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

The massive project is next to high voltage powerlines used for the transmission of local coal-fired energy, meaning it should be relatively straightforward to connect to the grid and pick up slack once generators in the area start to power down from late this decade.

Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the Latrobe Valley “has been the home of Victoria’s energy generation for decades” and that it would play a significant role in the state’s renewable energy future.

The Government said that last year, renewable energy made up 39 per cent of energy capacity, largely due to 78 large-scale projects that have been commissioned that provide up to 5.34 gigawatts of energy.

Victoria has a renewable energy target of 65 per cent by 2030 and 95 per cent by 2035.