Antinuclear

Giant solar energy plants for New South Wales and Queensland

Giant solar energy plants to run 100,000 homes, Sydney Morning Herald, Ben CubbyJune 20, 2011 THE two giant new solar power plants slated for Moree in western NSW and Chinchilla in Queensland will mark the first time solar power in Australia is deployed on a scale large and reliable enough to rival coal as a source of ”baseload” energy. Neither plant is close to being the world’s biggest, with much more powerful solar power stations in the US and Spain already under construction, but enough power to run more than 100,000 households will be generated without the use of fossil fuels….… The state government said the Moree solar farm was expected to contribute around $210 million to the NSW economy, much of it flowing through the Moree district, and would lead to at least 300 new construction jobs. It said over the 30 years the power station was expected to operate it would displace about 10.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gas that would otherwise have been released by the burning of fossil fuels.

“The project will drive regional investment, create jobs and ensure NSW is well positioned to meet its future energy targets,” the Energy Minister, Chris Hartcher said. “Moree is an ideal place to host the plant, with good links to the national electricity grid and a climate that will deliver strong outputs from the plant.” The NSW plant is based on large photovoltaic cells, which are similar in some ways to rooftop solar panels. The Chinchilla plant, which is slightly larger, uses solar thermal energy – concentrating the sun’s rays via mirrors on to a central point to generate huge amounts of heat. …..Giant solar energy plants to run 100,000 homes

June 19, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | New South Wales, Queensland, solar | solar