Workers have almost completed the installation of 42,000 piles and will now move on to constructing solar farm "single axis" tracking systems and affixing solar panels.
About 246,000 panels will be installed across the site.
More than 200 workers are expected to be working on the solar farm at the peak of construction, with numbers increasing in recent weeks as installation of key solar generation components gets under way.
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Several north-east Victorian businesses have been contracted to work on the project, including Benalla's Delatite Steel and Watters Solar from Shepparton.
Benalla-based independent business James Civil Group has also been working at the Winton Solar Farm site since March.
Tasked with managing the civil construction of the solar farm, the group’s 10 employees have been busy preparing the site’s internal paths and preparing the foundations for the substation.
“Working on the Winton Solar Farm has been a great opportunity to complete a complex and challenging project close to home,” Cameron James from James Civil said.
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“It has given James Civil Group the opportunity to gain valuable exposure to the growing renewable energy sector.”
Workers will soon complete the Solar Farm’s "Golden Row" – the first row of installed solar panels that will be used as a point of reference for subcontractors constructing all remaining solar arrays.
Solar panels feature the latest in photovoltaic design and are "bifacial" meaning they can generate solar energy from both sides.
FRV Services - the project’s owner - and principal contractor, Gransolar, are keen to make sure qualified workers from north-east Victoria are given opportunity to work on this ground-breaking project.
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Employment positions will be advertised as they become available via at this link.
When complete, the Solar Farm will generate 210,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean energy a year, enough to power about 52,000 Victorian homes.
● For more information about the project, visit this link.
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