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Darwin DRW

Solar power plant in Northern Territory, Australia. Approximate location -12.4157, 130.8908.

SolarNorthern TerritoryAustralia

Darwin DRW is a 4 MW solar power plant in Northern Territory, Australia. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 1.7k homes (estimated). It ranks #450 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).

4Source-backed capacity
1,701homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WKS0068285.

Data status

Known data

FacilityDarwin DRW WRI
CountryAustralia · Northern Territory WRI
Coordinates-12.4157, 130.8908 WRI
FuelSolar WRI
MW installed capacity4 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#450 of 536 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#63 of 69 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.09× · 47 MW median · 69 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent1,701 calculated
Climate27.2°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 50/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
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 7 MW for Darwin City Of Darwin solar project I, 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 L100001023676); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 4 MW, Darwin DRW is below 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).

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 12.4°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

27.2°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
3,363cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
34 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 28 °CJF: 28 °CFM: 28 °CMA: 28 °CAM: 26 °CMJ: 25 °CJJ: 24 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 28 °CSO: 29 °CON: 29 °CND: 29 °CD29 °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 1.5% 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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
50/100environmental-severity index
5.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
26 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 #63 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 -12.4157, 130.8908 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Darwin DRW?

Darwin DRW is a 4 MW source-record solar power plant in Northern Territory, Australia.

How many homes can Darwin DRW power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 1,701 homes (estimated).

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