Environment

Environmental Benefits

Hay Solar Farm has been designed to deliver meaningful environmental benefits at both a local and broader scale, from reducing emissions and supporting renewable integration, to protecting the natural environment and taking a careful approach to land use over the life of the project.

By generating approximately 15,000 MWh of renewable electricity each year, the Hay Solar Farm will make a significant contribution to reducing emissions from the electricity system. Each year, the project is expected to offset close to 10,000 tonnes of CO2 which is equivalent to powering around 3,000 average Australian homes with clean energy.

Infographic illustrating solar energy system facts: over 10,000 solar panels tracked, expected 15 GWh annual energy, stops 10,000 tons of CO2 emissions yearly.

A flock of sheep grazing on grass beneath a CleanPeak Energy solar farm, showing solar panels installed on metal structures above them, and a hillside with trees in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

Enhancing the Natural Environment

In addition to avoiding and minimising impacts, the Hay Solar Farm project also includes significant measures intended to improve the site’s long-term ecological function.

Our Biodiversity Action Plan sets out an ambition to enhance biodiversity value and ecological functioning across the site over the life of the project, with the goal of delivering biodiversity net gain over time.

Land management initiatives include perimeter planting, designed to connect with retained large old trees and attract woodland birds, while the existing east-west revegetation corridor will be strengthened with winter-flowering shrub species to provide a better feeding resource for native birds and mammals.