A 200-hectare solar panel farm slated for development in South East Queensland will generate enough electricity to power 550,000 homes says the project’s developer.

Approval for the estimated $1 billion development of the farm, to be situated west of Toowoomba at Bulli Creek, has been granted by Toowoomba Regional Council under the proviso that construction of the first stage of the project begins within four years and that it will have a 35-year operating limit from when it begins operations.

The approval grants developers Solar Choice a total footprint of up to 2,000 megawatts (MW) over the next eight years across 13,000 acres of cleared, flat cattle grazing land and the option of building the site in stages of 100MW to 500MW or more per stage.

The first phase connection will be 550MW with QLD’s Powerlink agreeing to the farm's connection to their Bulli Creek substation.

From there, an uncertainty lingers around whether the project will get the needed investment to take the project up to its 2,000MW potential.

Investment will also be affected by the Australian government’s future stance on the Renewable Energy Target policy and the extent of the grants Solar Choice receive from government.

Image: Brisbane Times.