Now here is a property which would easily top a neighbour's brag about their new rooftop solar array.
Your very own power station - complete with five hydro turbines and two 2.7 megawatt generators.
It goes without saying the new owner would have access to a "generous water supply", because it's sitting on top of a 2700 megalitre dam.
Unfortunately the dam infamously burst in in 2013 and has been declared "no longer viable" and would be a big restoration project.
This is the now decommissioned Oaky River power station near Armidale in the New England Tablelands which is for sale.
CBRE has the unusual task of selling a power station complete with 214 hectares of freehold property.
This property formed the basis of the Oaky River hydropower scheme for nearly six decades.
The dam and hydro station was built back in 1956 to supply renewable energy by trapping flows along the Oaky River which winds its way down the Great Divide's flanks.
The station was powered by water dropping 285 metres through an underground pipeline from the dam to spin the five turbines which in turn powered two 2.7 megawatt generators.
Located just outside Wollomombi with Armidale 55km to the west. the property's key natural characteristics include generous water supply and suitable topography, while existing hydropower infrastructure spans five hydro turbines, two 2.7MW power generators, ample shedding and staff housing.
It sits within the New England Renewable Energy Zone which has been identified by the NSW government among the highest priority areas for generating additional renewable energy.
The property boasts 8.2km frontage to the Oaky River including Oaky Falls and native forests.
Agents suggest its spectacular location offers scope for possible uses such as bio-conservation, carbon sequestration projects and/or retreat-style eco-tourism.
CBRE's Boo Harvey and Edward O'Dwyer are managing a two-stage expressions of interest campaign, with submissions invited before October 20.
"Renewable energy is on the rise in Australia, accounting for nearly one-third of the country's total electricity generation in 2021, and Oaky River is an ideal brownfield site for a significant redevelopment," Ms Harvey said.
"The natural rock formations are ideally-shaped for large reservoirs and, while the power generation system has been inactive for nearly a decade, much the infrastructure that pumped renewable power into the grid remains."
For more information contact Boo Harvey on 0498 990075 or Edward O'Dwyer on 0409 160576.
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Chris McLennan
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
