A solar farm is a large scale electrical generating system comprised of photovoltaic (PV) modules and associated electrical infrastructure.

For this code of practice, a solar farm is considered to have a system rating of at least 100kW and is, or will be, operated and maintained by a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU).

A solar farm may also be known as a PV power plant or solar park. PV modules may also be known as PV panels or solar panels.

Examples of solar farms include:

• PV power plants that generate electricity that is primarily supplied into a transmission or distribution network for the PCBU to on-sell
• PV power plants that generate electricity for a specific source such as a mine site or off-grid community
• a business that installs its own PV power plant to supply its business even if it still occasionally
draws power from the distribution network
• a large commercial system (e.g. a system installed on the roof of a shopping centre, industrial
estate or carpark; PV arrays floating over lakes, dams, or effluent or wastewater treatment ponds)
• specifically designed industrial or housing estate which has interconnected PV installations that
result in a system that is greater than 100kW.

Individual residential or domestic dwellings with a PV solar system owned and operated by the homeowner are not captured by this code of practice. This is the case whether these sites are bulk metered sites (e.g. multiple PV installations on resident owned units in a retirement village connected at the one common point to the distribution network), or if the electricity output from a number of these sites is aggregated or combined for bulk on-sale (e.g. by residents using an app or other process to sell their excess electricity to the highest bidder rather than individual contracts with an electricity retailer), unless the PV installations are owned and operated by a PCBU and have a combined system rating of at least 100kW.

Where a PV installation does not fit within the definition of a solar farm but subsequent variations, additions or changes in ownership (e.g. a residential installation is leased to a PCBU), result in the installation being captured within the definition, this code will apply depending on the life cycle stage of the solar farm.

Importantly, if a PCBU is not captured by this code of practice, but they are operating a PV installation that has a system rating of less than 100kW, they still have duties to ensure their business is conducted in a way that is electrically safe and the health and safety of workers or other people is not put at risk by the conduct of the business.