Antinuclear

Australia’s funding for solar research would be better spent on building solar thermal

Solar Funding Evokes Mixed Reactions, by Energy Matters, 13 Dec 12 $83.5 million for solar research funding as part of the United States- Australia Solar Energy Collaboration (USASEC) was announced by Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson on Thursday……
While the announcement was generally well received by supporters of renewable energy, not everyone was happy.

Climate think-tank Beyond Zero Emissions labeled the funding a “diversion”.

“While Australia is limiting its large-scale solar energy sector to research, other countries are going ahead and building it – and learning more in the process,” said BZE’s Matthew Wright.

“If Martin Ferguson really supported large scale solar energy, he would have us build it now.”

Beyond Zero Emissions is one of the driving forces behind the push to have Australia’s first large solar-thermal plants with energy storage built at Port Augusta in South Australia.

Early this year, the group released  ‘Repowering Port Augusta‘;   a blueprint for replacing South Australia’s emissions intensive Northern and Playford B brown coal-fired power stations with wind power and solar energy facilities. http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3514

December 14, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, solar