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Darling Downs Solar Farm

Solar power plant in Queensland, Australia. Approximate location -27.112, 150.8819.

SolarQueenslandAustralia

Darling Downs Solar Farm is a 110 MW solar power station in Queensland, Australia. It is operated by APA Group. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 47k homes (estimated). It ranks #176 of 536 Australia power plants by installed capacity. 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).

110Source-backed capacity
46,803homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id AUS0000526.

Data status

Known data

FacilityDarling Downs Solar Farm WRI
CountryAustralia · Queensland WRI
Coordinates-27.112, 150.8819 WRI
FuelSolar WRI
MW installed capacity110 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerAPA Group WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#176 of 536 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#16 of 69 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers2.34× · 47 MW median · 69 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent46,803 calculated
Climate18.7°C · HDD 687 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 34/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

CommissionedNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
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.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 200 MW for Darling Downs solar farm, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: B_SCOPE_PARENT_COMPLEX - recommended action: build_parent_complex_model - confidence: not_comparable_without_scope. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

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 (location L100000805514); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 110 MW, Darling Downs Solar Farm is well above the median solar plant in Australia (47 MW). 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 APA Group.

Local climate & thermal context

This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 27.1°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

18.7°Cannual mean temp
687heating degree-days (base 18°C)
947cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
360 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 25 °CJF: 24 °CFM: 23 °CMA: 19 °CAM: 16 °CMJ: 12 °CJJ: 11 °CJA: 13 °CAS: 16 °CSO: 20 °CON: 22 °CND: 24 °CD25 °C

Heating degree-days here run 72% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 23/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 0.0% 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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
34/100environmental-severity index
13.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
276 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 #16 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 -27.112, 150.8819 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Darling Downs Solar Farm?

Darling Downs Solar Farm is a 110 MW source-record solar power plant in Queensland, Australia.

How many homes can Darling Downs Solar Farm power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 46,803 homes (estimated).

Who operates Darling Downs Solar Farm?

Darling Downs Solar Farm is operated by APA Group.

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