A $9 million solar farm will start construction in the next couple of months at North East Water's Wodonga sewage treatment plant, which the company plans to use to stop prices increasing for customers.
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The contract has been awarded to NSW-based company Photon Energy Engineering Australia and a detailed design of the project has begun.
NEW planning and infrastructure executive Rebecca Jhonston said the West Wodonga solar farm will generate three megawatts of energy.
"The project will see the installation of 10,000 solar panels at the site and it will generate more than enough electricity to power the nearby sewage treatment plant," she said.
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"The contractor will be partnering with many local businesses throughout the project and we took this into consideration during the tender process, with the aim to keep as much of the investment within our region as possible.
"One of the electrical sub-contractors that will be used on the project also has an employment program which supports our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities."
The electricity will also be transferred to run Wodonga's water treatment plant at Huon Hill in the short term.
The life of the solar farm is expected to be at least 25 years and will contribute to 50 per cent of NEW's total daytime power consumption coming from renewable energy including wind and solar generated power.
The company has committed to achieving net-zero emissions before 2050.
