Engineers from the University of New South Wales are set to play a big role in maximising the abilities of a massive new solar photovoltaic (PV) power station.

Their involvement comes after AGL Energy Limited agreed on financial terms in the $450 million project with the federal Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the NSW Government. Plans so far will see more than two million PV panels will be installed at two sites in the state’s west, with a combined generating capacity of 155 megawatts. It is expected to be operational and supplying power to 50,000 Australian homes by 2015.

UNSW was the beneficiary of a $19 million grant from the Education Investment Fund late last year, and has used the money to begin building a Power Systems Interface Facility inside its Tyree Energy Technologies Building. The Facility will investigate significant issues related to the successful integration of large-scale solar PV into Australia’s electricity grid.

“This is a milestone for solar energy in Australia that will hopefully encourage future investments in similar utility-scale renewable power plants,” says Vassilios Agelidis, Director of the Australian Energy Research Institute and Professor of Power Engineering in the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications at UNSW, “this facility will attract and benefit a range of industries, and will help deliver invaluable energy technologies and solutions to the Australian and global community.”

ARENA’s project fact sheet is available here.