NSW deep dive › Project › Limondale Solar Farm
Limondale Solar Farm
Innogy Renewables Australia (developer); Engie (current operator)
solaroperatingConfidence: Very high
Capacity and technology
Technology
solar
Capacity (MW)
349 MW
Storage
400 MWh
Estimated capex, local spend and peak workforce
Total development cost
~$699M benchmark estimate
349 MW × $1.2M/MW (solar) + + 400 MWh × $0.7M/MWh (co-located BESS)
Industry benchmark only — not project-specific. Sources: Clean Energy Council, BloombergNEF 2024 Australian utility-scale LCOE inputs, AEMO ISP 2024 cost assumptions. Actual capex varies materially by site, OEM, supply chain and grid-connection works.
Estimated local / regional spend
~$154M benchmark estimate
22% of capex — Clean Energy Council benchmark for renewable energy construction in regional Australia. Actual local content varies by project siting, procurement strategy and any access-scheme local-content conditions.
Estimated peak construction workforce
~175 roles benchmark estimate
Industry benchmark: ~0.7 FTE/MW wind, 0.5 FTE/MW solar, 0.4 FTE/MWh BESS, 1.5 FTE/MW pumped hydro. Peak during civil/electrical phase only — operations workforce is typically ~5-10% of construction peak.
Workforce breakdown — sector mix and phasing
Sector mix and phase distribution for the estimated construction workforce. Basis: industry norm (Clean Energy Council, ARENA, AEMO ISP 2024 + comparable EIS Social Impact Assessments). Numbers are decision-support indicators, not a project-specific forecast.
By service sector / industry (peak year)
Civil / earthworks
~44 FTE
Electrical trades
~53 FTE
Mechanical / structural
~18 FTE
Plant operators
~18 FTE
PM / engineering / env
~18 FTE
Logistics / admin
~26 FTE
By phase (across construction window)
| Phase | FTE | What's happening |
|---|---|---|
| Mobilisation + civils (year 1) | ~105 | Site prep, access roads, foundations, early electrical. Civil trades dominant. |
| Peak construction (year 2) | ~175 | All trades concurrent. Turbine / panel delivery, electrical install, commissioning prep. |
| Commissioning / demob (year 3) | ~122 | Specialist electrical and testing. Civil and structural ramping down. |
| Operations (ongoing) | ~12 | Permanent O&M workforce — typically 5–10% of construction peak. Plus periodic major-maintenance windows. |
Sector mix from CEC, ARENA and AEMO ISP workforce profiles for utility-scale Australian builds. Phase distribution from comparable EIS Social Impact Assessments. Indicative only — actual workforce varies with OEM, contractor strategy, weather and OSOM scheduling.
Approvals and access rights
Project status
operating
Planning status
Limondale 1 approved 1 Sept 2017 (SSD-7680, 249 MW, operating since 2021). Limondale 2 (240 MW + BESS) at proposal stage (SSD-8025).
Access right status
not in REZ access scheme
EPBC status
verify
Grid connection
adjacent to Transgrid 220 kV substation; near PEC interface
Financial close
Limondale 1 operating. Limondale 2 pre-FID.
Construction start
Limondale 1 completed
Operations start
Limondale 1: 2021 (operating). Limondale 2: unknown.
Location
LGA
Balranald Shire
Region
Far West NSW
REZ
—
REZ relationship
outside REZ but regionally relevant
Coordinates
-34.65, 143.55 (approximate)
Project documents — EIS, SEARs, proponent pages
Direct links to public documents and pages for this project. Phase 2 ingestion will pull updates automatically; Sprint 0 entries are verified manually with a confidence score per record.
- planning portal pageConfidence: Very highLimondale Solar Farm — NSW Planning Portalhttps://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/projects/limondale-solar-farm ↗Two-stage project: 249 MW operating (SSD-7680); 240 MW + 50 MW / 400 MWh BESS proposed (SSD-8025).
Notes
One of the largest operating solar farms in Australia. Limondale 1 (249 MW, operating since 2021). Limondale 2 (240 MW + 50 MW / 400 MWh BESS, proposed). Adjacent to Transgrid 220 kV substation. Outside any declared REZ but PEC-relevant.
Source confidence: 85/100
Last verified: 2026-05-13
Every material fact on this page is sourced. A "View source" link is provided per source below.
Last verified: 2026-05-13
Every material fact on this page is sourced. A "View source" link is provided per source below.
Source evidence
Confidence: Very high- primaryNSW Planning Portal — Major ProjectsView source ↗Authoritative for NSW SSD and SSI planning status. Hosts each project's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), SEARs, response to submissions, and other planning documents. Outranks proponent and media reports for planning_status. Per-project EIS and SSD page URLs are tracked under each project's project_documents.
- primaryAEMO — Generation InformationView source ↗Technical pipeline data for NEM connections. Authoritative for grid-connection technical status.
- secondaryProponent project websitesView source ↗Proponent-supplied content from each project's dedicated page on the proponent's website. Useful for technology, capacity intent, community engagement messaging, project newsletters, fact sheets and timeline updates. Cannot override official planning_status or epbc_status. Per-project page URLs are tracked under each project's project_documents.
Open questions
- Planning status against the NSW Planning Portal — verify SSD reference.
- EPBC referral status — verify against DCCEEW public notices.
- Storage MWh and voltage figures — confirm from proponent documents and AEMO Generation Information.
- Workforce and accommodation commitments — confirm in SSD documentation or VPA.
- First Nations engagement reporting — confirm in IEP / cultural heritage chapter.
See this project in context
LGA detail
Balranald Shire
3 projects · everything affecting this council area
Regional spend
Annual flow by year
This project's share of the year-by-year capex flow into regional NSW
Project timeline
Gantt by REZ
Visual overlap with neighbouring projects' construction windows
Cross-sector pressures
Non-REZ competing demand
What else is being built in the region in the same window