Gullen Solar Farm
The Gullen Solar Farm project is an operational solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant with an installed capacity of 10MW. The solar farm is co-located within the existing Gullen Range Wind Farm making Gullen Range the first large-scale co-located wind and solar farm in Australia. Locating the solar farm adjacent to the wind farm minimises required infrastructure (such as roads, power lines and telecommunications), meaning a reduction in environmental impact and project cost. Construction of the solar farm was supported by a grant from ARENA.
The solar farm consists of 42,000 solar panels and first generated electricity in 2017. It produces approximately 22,000 megawatt-hours of clean renewable energy each year, which is enough energy to supply approximately 3,100 NSW homes. The operating life of the solar farm will be 25 – 30 years.
BJCE Australia is proud to be a founding signatory of the Clean Energy Council’s Best Practice Charter for Renewable Energy Developments. The charter is a voluntary set of commitments to reflect our promise to develop and operate projects in a socially responsible way. The charter can be downloaded here.
Please feel free to contact us if you would like further information, or if you would like to provide feedback or lodge a complaint about the solar farm.
News
The latest solar farm news is below. You can view all our news here.
News item: 28/02/2023: BJCE Australia is a proud Red Ribbon sponsor of the 2023 Crookwell Show
Gullen Range Wind Farm was proud to be a Red Ribbon sponsor of this year’s Crookwell Show. In spite of the heat, our face painter brightened lots of faces with the proceeds donated to the local Rural Fire Service. We answered a lot of good questions about our projects, our renewable energy tours and Gullen Range Wind Farm’s Clean Energy Program, as well as general queries about renewable energy. We always enjoy the show and would like to say thank you to everybody who visited to our stand for a chat.
News item: 27/02/2023: 2023 Gullen Range Wind and Solar Farm Tours announced
BJCE Australia is excited to offer tours of Gullen Range Wind and Solar Farm. Come and see how it works. Get up close to a wind turbine and a solar array. Find out more about renewable energy. The next tour will be held on Tuesday, 18 April 2023 at 11am. To book your FREE ticket, please click here. To learn more about our tours click here.
News item: 09/02/2023: Biala Wind Farm back as a 2023 Major Sponsor of the Crookwell Green Devils
Biala Wind Farm is delighted to be a 2023 Major Sponsor of the Crookwell Green Devils senior league team. Fingers crossed the boys have the same success as last year and bring home the Premiership Shield.
News item: 22/12/2022: Merry Christmas from BJCE Australia
BJCE Australia wishes everybody a Merry Christmas. Thanks for your support throughout 2022. We’ve not been out in the community as much this year as we used to be before the COVID-19 pandemic, but we are looking forward to turning that around in 2023, with our wind farm tours and school visits planned to recommence.
Our office will be closing for the festive season from December 23rd until January 3rd.
Our 1800 lines and info email addresses will be monitored as normal, but we will only respond to urgent messages during this time. As a reminder, at any time of year, if there is an emergency relating to the wind farm, please call 000.
News Item: 13/12/2022: BJCE supports Meals on Wheels 2022 Christmas Hamper drive
BJCE is proud to contribute to Crookwell Meals on Wheels 2022 Christmas Hamper drive. 20 residents will receive a Christmas hamper filled with delicious goodies from Crookwell IGA. Meals on Wheels President, Greg Seaman said, “Crookwell Meals on Wheels is extremely thankful for the support received over the years from the Biala Wind Farm, our clients look forward to receiving their Christmas Hampers each year on Christmas Eve.”
News Item: 07/12/2022: BJCE Australia sponsors 2022 Binda Community Carols
BJCE Australia is delighted to return as a sponsor of the 2022 Binda Community Carols. A not-for-profit event run by the Anglican Parish of Binda, the Carols will be held this Saturday, 10 November, in Binda. BJCE Australia wishes the residents of Binda and surrounds a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
News Item: 06/12/2022: Applications for the Clean Energy Program closing soon
Applications for the next round of the Clean Energy Program close on Wednesday 22 December. The Program provides financial contributions to support the installation of clean energy improvements to eligible properties within 5km of the wind farm. More information is available under the community and grants section.
News Item: 24/12/2021: December Quarterly Community Newsletter
December 2021 Quarterly Community Update now available to read and download here.
News item: 11/10/2021: October Quarterly Community Newsletter
October 2021 Quarterly Community Update now available to read and download here.
News Update 16-06-2021: Solar farm goes back to school
Upper Lachlan students found out more about career opportunities in the fast-growing renewable energy sector today.
Gullen Range Solar Farm’s Community Engagement Officer Dr Isabel Nelson dropped into Crookwell High School as part of the STEM Industry School Partnership Program.
Isabel talked about the wide range of potential careers on offer, explained the technology that drives the renewables industry and how STEM skills learned in the classroom are linked to real world uses, such as developing and operating clean power generators.
Crookwell High School students were joined by youngsters from Binda, Bigga, Laggan and Crookwell Public Schools and also showcased their problem-solving skills by designing and building catapults and dragsters using only material provided.
Isabel reported that she was extremely impressed with the creative thinking on display.
BJCE Australia is proud to have been an Industry Partner for the SISP program since it started in 2018. We were thrilled to be able to return to the classroom and are looking forward to our next visit.
News Update 19/04/2021: BJCE Australia kicks off a new season with Crookwell Junior Green Devils
BJCE’s Gullen Range Wind Farm is delighted to be a long-term supporter of the Crookwell Junior Green Devils. Under a partnership which commenced in 2019, Gullen Range Wind Farm is one of the major sponsors of Crookwell Junior Green Devils Rugby League Club. In 2020, the rugby league season was suspended due to COVID-19. Training for the 2021 season is now underway. BJCE wishes the Junior Green Devils all the best for their games, which will hopefully deliver a 2021 season win for Crookwell. The 2021 season will start later this month.
News Update 6/04/2021: Bowled over by another impressive Rose Tournament.
Every year the Rose Tournament competition showcases some of the best bowlers in the State and 2021 was no exception. Gullen Range Wind Farm was proud to be a major sponsor of the February tournament at the Goulburn Railway Bowling Club for the fifth consecutive year. Simon Zhao from Gullen Range was honoured to attend the award ceremony and present a number of trophies in both men and women events. The winners of the women’s event were from Bomaderry, the runners up and third placegetters were both teams from Merrylands. The winners in the men’s event was a combined team from Goulburn and Bargo and the runners up, and third placegetters were teams from Sydney. Well done to all the winners! BJCE Australia’s Gullen Range Wind Farm congratulates Goulburn Railway Bowling Club for delivering a very successful event.
Applications for the next Clean Energy Program Stage 2 Funding Round will close on Monday, 22nd March. The Clean Energy Program provides grants towards implementing clean energy improvements in the community. If your property is within 5km of the wind farm, you may be eligible to apply for a grant to install solar panels, solar hot water, wall insulation or double glazed windows on your house. To find out more, click here or contact us.
News Update 23/02/2021: Free Workshop to assist community groups applying to our Community Fund
The 2021 Gullen Range Wind Farm Community Fund Funding Round is now open. The Community Fund provides grants to projects or initiatives that benefit the community within 10km of the wind farm. It forms part of the Gullen Range Wind Farm Community Enhancement Program (or CEP). The Community Fund is administered by Upper Lachlan Shire Council (ULSC). The Guidelines and application forms are available on the ULSC webpage here. In the last Funding Round, five local groups benefited from Community Fund grants totalling more than $65,000. Successful projects funded included banner flags and a marquee for the Crookwell Potato Festival, the refurbishment of Bannister District Hall Association’s community hall and a rock wall entrance to Pat Cullen Reserve. This year, $73,754 has been made available for the Community Fund.
We are arranging a free workshop to assist with preparing grant applications. The workshop is aimed at community groups who intend to apply and would like some guidance about how to prepare a grant application. The workshop will be held on Tuesday 16th March 2021 at the Crookwell RSL Services Club from 5.30pm. To register, click here.
These workshops have been held for the past three years, coinciding with the period when applications to the fund are being received by Upper Lachlan Shire Council. Previous attendees have found the session very useful, but attendance is not compulsory. The workshop is conducted by our consultant independently of our involvement as part of the Section 355 committee that determines successful applicants. If you want to find out more about the Community Fund or the Community Fund Workshop, please click here.
News Update 22/02/2021: Artrageously good! Gunning all set for 2021 Festival
BJCE Australia’s Biala and Gullen Range Wind Farms are delighted to be a Gold sponsor of the 2021 community-led Gunning Arts Festival. This year, the ‘rejuvenation’-themed Festival will feature a strong line-up of both online and face-to-face events, including play and story readings, music performances, arts/craft workshops, competitions, an art exhibition and much more. Leading up to the main 2-day event in October, you’ll also be treated to smaller events that will be held throughout the year. For further information, please visit the 2021 Gunning Arts Festival website here.
Don’t forget that you can already contribute to The Festival showcase FlashWrite project! You are welcome to submit a story up to 1500 words that embodies local life experiences of the Southern Tablelands. FlashWrite is open to all ages and the closing date has been extended to 5pm on Friday, 30th July. For more details, please visit the FlashWrite Project page by clicking here. The FlashWrite Project is sponsored by BJCE Australia and supported by an Upper Lachlan Cultural Funding Program grant. The Upper Lachlan Cultural Funding Program is funded by the Upper Lachlan Shire Council.
News Update 15/02/2021: Is your community group looking for funding?
Applications have opened for the 2021 Gullen Range Wind Farm Community Fund Funding Round. The closing date for applications is 4pm on Friday, 16th April 2021. The Community Fund provides grants to projects or initiatives that benefit the community within 10km of the wind farm. It forms part of the Gullen Range Wind Farm Community Enhancement Program (or CEP). The Community Fund is administered by Upper Lachlan Shire Council (ULSC). The Guidelines and application forms are available on the ULSC webpage here. In the last Funding Round, five local groups benefited from Community Fund grants totalling more than $65,000. Successful projects funded included banner flags and a marquee for the Crookwell Potato Festival, the refurbishment of Bannister District Hall Association’s community hall and a rock wall entrance to Pat Cullen Reserve. This year, $73,754 has been made available for the Community Fund. If you would like to find out more about the Community Fund, please click here.
Although a little delayed by COVID-19, the Biala RFS firefighters came together earlier this month to celebrate Christmas with a tasty BBQ. BJCE’s Biala Wind Farm was delighted to cover the catering costs. We wish the local RFS a very safe and happy 2021.
Over Christmas and the New Year break, BJCE’s Biala Wind Farm donated to the Meals on Wheels Christmas Fruit Hamper Drive. Twenty-six hampers were delivered to Crookwell residents to bring joy during the festive season. Biala Wind Farm also supported Crookwell Information Neighbourhood Centre’s (CINC) end of year Christmas concert by supplying colouring-in books to help fill the children’s gift bags.
News Update 22/01/2021: Goulburn times five powered by Gullen Range in 2020
News Update 18/01/2021: Have you got a story to tell about Upper Lachlan life?