Australia's first utility-scale solar farm is expected to be operating in mid-west Western Australia by mid-2012.
A utility-scale solar farm is one that is large enough to feed directly into a power grid.
First Solar started construction of the plant in Greenough, south of Geraldton, on Friday.
Rob Bartrop from First Solar says the advantage of solar power over other renewable sources of energy is that it generates electricity when most people are consuming power.
"The great positive with solar is that it correlates well with peak load and that the sun is shining and solar farms are working at the same time that people are switching on their airconditioners and going to work, so it's got a lot of value to the grid because of the time of day that it generates," he said.
"This is the first utility scale solar project in Australia, 10 times bigger than anything else currently installed.
"Interestingly it is the first solar farm and not just a commercial rooftop installation."
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