Cohuna Solar Farm

Project: Cohuna Solar Farm

Location: Cohuna, Victoria
Duration: 1 Year

In December 2018, Tempo Engineering engaged McDowall Affleck to undertake the detailed design of the vivil works for the 80 hectares site located on Leitchville Kerang Road, approximately 8 km south of Cohuna, Victoria 3568, which had been identified for the development of a 34 MW solar farm by Enel Green Power. When fully operational, Cohuna Solar Farm will boast approximately 87,000 bi-faced panels that harness sunlight on both sides to achieve improved efficiency in energy generation. With 34 MW of installed capacity, the plant will be able to generate 77 GW/h per year and decrease CO2 emissions by approximately 70,200 tonnes over 12 months.

The scope of work included a Hydrology/Hydraulics study; PV panel layout optimisation; site drainage design; road and inverter pad design.

The project challenges required extremely tight time and budget constraints; demanding development approval conditions; Enel Green Power’s global specifications do not match Australian Standard practice. McDowall Affleck and it’s Italian partner Studio Techné assisted Tempo Engineering in clearing Development Approval conditions and liaised with Enel Green Power to obtain relaxation of their global specifications to better reflect Australian Standard practice.

The real key was the value engineering on the project including McDowall Affleck and Studio Techné working with Tempo Engineering and Enel Green Power to deviate from Enel Green Power global specifications to optimise the design without compromising the performance requirements. Such approach was possible due to the trusted long-term relationship with Enel Green Power and allowed Tempo Engineering to meet their budget expectations.