Antinuclear

Broken Hill’s exciting future as Australia’s first renewable energy town

Most rural communities are dying – this is a town that has the potential to move forward.

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Broken Hill a frontrunner in renewable energy adoption ABC Radio AM Margaret Paul reported this story on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 …
DARRIEA TURLEY: There is a possibility that Broken Hill could be the first town that would live on renewable energy, that would be sustained by renewable energy. No other town has done that.

MARGARET PAUL: Broken Hill’s acting Mayor is Darriea Turley.

She’s excited that Broken Hill is set to become home to two major renewable energy projects.

The first, a photovoltaic solar farm, is set to produce 125,000 megawatt hours of electricity every year – enough to power 17,000 homes.

The second is a wind farm to be developed at nearby Silverton that could power as many as 43,000 homes.

Broken Hill is home to around 18,000 people.

DARRIEA TURLEY: A very old-fashioned thing, opportunity for
employment, opportunity for our community, opportunity for growth.

MARGARET PAUL: Both projects belong to energy company AGL, and
construction is set to begin in the next two to three years.

Darriea Turley says the city has long relied on the mining industry
for jobs and now it needs to embrace renewable energy. DARRIEA TURLEY:
So it’s a very simple old-fashioned thing. It works hand-in-hand with
our traditional mining, and it’s about how Broken Hill becomes
stronger. Most rural communities are dying – this is a town that has
the potential to move forward.

MARGARET PAUL: The Spanish Ambassador, Enrique Viguera, agrees.

ENRIQUE VIGUERA: The step forward of Broken Hill in this sense to
being a mining, sort of a traditional depending community of fossil
fuels to becoming a 21st century totally renewable energy community,
this is fantastic, this is great. In a short period of time, this is
fantastic.

MARGARET PAUL: Enrique Viguera is also Spain’s former energy
ambassador, and he met with Broken Hill City Council about the town’s
plans for renewable power.

Spain is often regarded up as a world leader for renewables, particularly wind.

But Enrique Viguera says Broken Hill has a lot to teach his country.
…. http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2012/s3641471.htm

November 27, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | New South Wales, solar, wind