Owned and operated by Neoen Australia, the Parkes Solar Farm is a 66 MW utility-scale solar photovoltaic project located approximately 10 km west of Parkes in central New South Wales.
The project was constructed in 2017 and reached commercial operation in May 2018. It spans around 210 hectares and uses single-axis tracking technology across more than 200,000 solar panels. The solar farm generates approximately 138,000 MWh of electricity each year, enough to power around 21,000 homes. Most of this output is secured under a power purchase agreement with Simply Energy.
The project was delivered by Bouygues Construction and utilises JA Solar modules and SMA inverters. It also incorporates agricultural co-use, including sheep grazing, while making a meaningful contribution to regional employment and greenhouse gas emissions reduction over its expected 25 to 30-year operational life.
The Parkes Solar Farm was one of the early foundation projects delivered by Tranex Power, where key leadership practices, delivery fundamentals, and construction methodologies were established that continue to be applied across projects throughout Australia today.
The project formed part of an ARENA-funded tranche, driving a number of practical innovations in utility-scale solar delivery, many of which remain industry standard. These included advances in material staging and logistics, equipment utilisation, and the disciplined construction rhythm developed on site, all of which materially improved productivity, safety, and execution certainty and have since been carried forward into large-scale solar projects nationally.
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