Partnerships
We aspire to do more than just build the infrastructure that will sustainably power Australia into the future. We are also committed to doing our part to support the development of the technology, skills and workforce that will see Australia become a renewable energy power house.
Spark Renewables is a member of the Clean Energy Council’s Agrisolar interest group, established to bring together members involved or interested in agricultural practices on solar farms to share what they are working on, hear from others, and discuss other innovations, studies or regulations relating to agrisolar initiatives.
PV Industries Solar Circular trial
Spark Renewables is partnering with leading solar panel recycling and resource recovery company PV Industries to drive the diversion of solar panel waste from landfill and find sustainable end-of-life solutions for solar panels.
The project brings together a collaborative and industry-led approach to develop solar panel recycling and end-of-life solutions for the solar and lithium-ion battery economies.
As a part of the partnership with PV Industries, Spark Renewables provides data from the Bomen Solar Farm to the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and will allow the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to use Bomen Solar Farm as a testing ground for its Solar Panel Triage Unit technology. Solar panels have been provided to PV Industries for trialling their recycling technology and conducting research and development with UNSW.
The project has been funded under the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA) Circular Solar grants program.
Tertiary institute funding and research collaboration
We collaborate on research and trials with several leading Australian tertiary institutions. We have a particular focus on supporting research and trials that drive the successful long-term co-location of agricultural and renewables projects to maximise the productivity of the land through co-existence of solar and agriculture work - also known as 'agrivoltaics' or 'agrisolar'.
A sheep co-grazing agrisolar initiative was implemented at the Bomen Solar Farm in 2021, whereby local farmers run their sheep onsite at the solar farm. This trial having proved successful, there are now 2,000-3,000 sheep on-site.
Currently, Spark Renewables is supporting a three-year research project led by Charles Sturt University to investigate how solar panels impact pasture growth. By monitoring plant growth, solar radiation, soil moisture, and biomass across the study sites, the aim is to identify the ideal pasture mix for solar farms - one that thrives under panels, provides quality grazing land, and reduces fire risk.
We have also commenced a partnership focussed on agrivoltaics with Macquarie University, under the leadership of the Director of Research Training at Macquarie Law School and a Senior Lecturer in Law at Macquarie University, Dr. Madeline Taylor. The partnership involves a three-year Fellowship to create innovative legal models that facilitate the co-development of renewable energy and agricultural production.
These partnerships are part of our ongoing effort to build our relationships with Australian universities, to work together with some of the best minds from across the nation and play our part in progressing the renewable energy transition in Australia.
Australia-first technology trial to lessen impact on solar farm neighbours
We are investing in an Australia-first technology to lessen the impact of solar projects on neighbours and surrounding community.
Since May 2021, the “TrueCapture” technology system has been deployed at our Bomen Solar Farm, allowing for the angle of individual trackers to be controlled. While this technology is generally used to increase electricity yield, Spark Renewables is the first in Australia to use this technology to adjust the angle of individual solar panels to mitigate neighbour visual impact.
By adopting this innovative technology on our solar farm, we have been able to significantly reduce the visual impact of the solar farm on our neighbours, and provide a solution that can used by other solar farms.
