Melbourne Water is beginning work on a second treatment plant solar farm. 

A 9 MW solar farm, which will consist of around 20,000 solar panels and cover an area of 10 hectares, is expected to generate 11.7 gigawatt-hours of clean electricity per year and cut the treatment plant’s emissions by up to 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. 

The construction is planned for the northern shore of Sugarloaf Reservoir at the utility’s Winneke Treatment Plant. 

Winneke Treatment Plant provides a quarter of Melbourne’s drinking water and takes more than 90 per cent of the city’s sewage, with water and wastewater treatment processes being one of the biggest carbon emission contributors in the state. 

The new solar farm joins the 18 MW solar project already under construction at Melbourne Water's Eastern Treatment Plant in Bangholme, which, when completed in mid-2022, will be one the biggest behind-the-meter solar installations in Australia.

The two solar farm facilities are expected to produce 44.6 gigawatt-hours of solar electricity per year, adding to Melbourne Water’s renewable energy generation portfolio,  including 14 mini-hydro power stations that generate 60 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year. 

Furthermore, the utility uses biogas from sewage treatment for the generation of clean electricity, which contributes to both treatment plants’ energy needs.