Firefighters struggling to contain solar farm fire

Firefighters are struggling to get to a fire raging on a solar farm, with the blaze burning under panels, making it difficult to fight.

Firefighters are battling a blaze on a solar panel farm in central NSW.

Crews from both NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) and Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) are on the scene at a grass fire burning inside the Beryl Solar Farm, 5km west of Gulgong.

Firefighters have struggled to access the blaze as it burns under the solar panels.

The fire is burning at the Beryl Solar Farm near Gulgong in central NSW.

A column of smoke can be seen in Gulgong.

It’s unknown what caused the fire, but firefighters are struggling to reach the flames due to its location.

“The fire is burning under the solar panels, making access difficult for firefighters,” a NSW RFS spokesman said.

“A large column of smoke could be visible from Gulgong.”

The facility is used to meet operational electricity needs of the Sydney Metro Northwest rail link.

“The Beryl Solar Farm will see electricity generated with the smallest carbon footprint of any PV technology available and is expected to generate more than 199,000 MWh of electricity per operating year,” the farm’s owners, Tranex Solar, say about the project.

“When completed, the 309,000 advanced solar modules on the Beryl Solar Farm will produce energy to run approximately 25,000 average NSW homes, displacing more than 167,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.”

More to come.