The University of Queensland (UQ) opened Queensland’s largest solar array on Friday at their Gatton Campus. The 3.275MW system will also be the largest solar PV research facility in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Gatton Solar Research Facility consists of over 37 000 solar panels and will produce enough clean electricity to power around 450 Queensland homes. It will void approximately 5600 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

The facility has been installed on the campus’s former airstrip. Installed over ten hectares, the solar farm has a combination of tracking and non-tracking arrays. This means part of the system is installed in a static position while part of it is installed on tilts that turn the solar panels to track the sun. This will help aid research into how much generation a tracking system actually adds to a solar system. The facility is also hoping to add a battery component in the near future.

“This research is about improving the way that we integrate solar into our state’s overall energy mix. It also works towards establishing and proving the business model for solar generation in Australia at the megawatt scale,” said UQ Solar Director and Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow Professor Paul Meredith

“Queensland gets about 2700 hours of sunlight a year. This site turns that into energy, and into knowledge about how to better service local, national and international energy needs through effective solar technologies”

The Gatton Solar Research Facility development is funded by a $40.7 million Federal Government Education Investment Fund program grant administered by the Department of Education. UQ also hopes that the facility will continue to expand and educate.

Check out this video from Seven News for More.