Antinuclear

Solar electricity in direct competition with coal

“Germany is a world leader in solar power but it has half as much sun per square metre as Australia,” he adds. … solar power is in direct competition with coal- generated electricity.

Solar Energy Gets a Boost, But Offers Much More, By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Australia, Oct 4, 2010 (IPS) – Proponents of renewable energy say that a planned large-scale solar power plant in Australia’s northern Victoria state, which will produce enough output to provide electricity to 60,000 homes, is just a fraction of what could be achieved if federal and state governments were fully committed to harnessing solar energy.
The proposed 180-megawatt Mallee Solar Park power station, to be built near the town of Mildura – some 550 kilometres northwest of Melbourne – will become the largest of its kind in Australia upon its anticipated completion date in 2015.

Belonging to TRUenergy, one of Australia’s largest energy companies, the project recently received the financial backing of the Victorian Government, which committed 100 million Australian dollars (96.6 million U.S. dollars) in late September to the Mallee Solar Park. ………..
The Mallee Solar Park, which will use solar photovoltaic technology, has been shortlisted alongside three other prospective solar photovoltaic power stations and four solar thermal projects for financial backing as part of the federal government’s 1.5 billion Australian dollar (1.45 billion U.S. dollar) Solar Flagships Programme (SFP).

Photovoltaic plants convert the sun’s radiation directly into electricity, while solar thermal technology generates electricity by using steam from solar-heated water to drive a turbine.

Under the SFP, one solar photovoltaic project and one proposed solar thermal plant will be selected to receive federal funding, with the recipients to be announced in the first half of 2011.
……………………. “Australia has much more abundant solar energy than pretty much any other developed country or continent,” says Tony Mohr, from the Australian Conservation Foundation,

“Germany is a world leader in solar power but it has half as much sun per square metre as Australia,” he adds. … solar power is in direct competition with coal- generated electricity.

AUSTRALIA: Solar Energy Gets a Boost, But Offers Much More – IPS ipsnews.net

October 5, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change - global warming, energy, solar, Victoria | Australia, climate change, climate change - global warming, energy, renewable, solar