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Clare Solar Farm

Solar power plant in Queensland, Australia. Approximate location -19.8398, 147.2105.

SolarQueenslandAustraliaPV

Clare Solar Farm is a 128 MW solar power station in Queensland, Australia. It is operated by FRV-Fotowatio Renewable Ventures. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 54k homes (estimated). It ranks #148 of 536 Australia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2018, it is around 8 years old — recently built. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 19.6% of Australia's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (38.6% low-carbon) (2025).

128Source-backed capacity
54,462homes powered (est.)
2018commissioned (~8 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id AUS0000528.

Data status

Known data

FacilityClare Solar Farm WRI
CountryAustralia · Queensland WRI
Coordinates-19.8398, 147.2105 WRI
FuelSolar WRI
MW installed capacity128 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerFRV-Fotowatio Renewable Ventures WRI
Commissioned2018 WRI
TechnologyPV WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#148 of 536 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#6 of 69 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers2.72× · 47 MW median · 69 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent54,462 calculated
Climate23.7°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 42/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 operating-unit sum (location L100000805605); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 128 MW, Clare Solar Farm is well above the median solar plant in Australia (47 MW). Technically it is described as PV. Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel; output varies by time of day and weather, so it pairs with storage or flexible backup.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Capacity vs largest solar plants in Australia

Haughton River Solar Farm: 500 MW500Haughton R…Sunraysia: 200 MW200SunraysiaHayman Solar Farm: 180 MW180Hayman Sol…Daydream Solar Farm: 150 MW150Daydream S…Wilpena Solar Farm: 145 MW145Wilpena So…Clare Solar Farm: 128 MW128Clare Sola…Ross River: 128 MW128Ross RiverLilyvale Solar Farm: 125 MW125Lilyvale S…

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by FRV-Fotowatio Renewable Ventures.

Local climate & thermal context

This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 19.8°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

23.7°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,088cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
69 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 28 °CJF: 27 °CFM: 26 °CMA: 24 °CAM: 22 °CMJ: 19 °CJJ: 18 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 22 °CSO: 24 °CON: 26 °CND: 27 °CD28 °C

This site has effectively no heating season (tropical/equatorial climate), so winter heat loss is not the driver here. The thermal concern shifts to year-round process heat and humidity/heat-driven corrosion of hot equipment.

Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 1.0% at warm-season highs here (estimate).

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
42/100environmental-severity index
9.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
57 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #6 largest solar power plant of 69 in Australia by capacity.

Australia has 69 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 4,331 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -19.8398, 147.2105 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Clare Solar Farm?

Clare Solar Farm is a 128 MW source-record solar power plant in Queensland, Australia, commissioned in 2018.

How many homes can Clare Solar Farm power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 54,462 homes (estimated).

Who operates Clare Solar Farm?

Clare Solar Farm is operated by FRV-Fotowatio Renewable Ventures.

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