Go solar for a bright future

IF THE (VICTORIAN RENEWABLE) TARGET DOES GO AHEAD, IT COULD HELP FUEL A SOLAR BOOM THAT THE GOULBURN VALLEY COULD BENEFIT FROM

Things are looking bright near Numurkah with the ambitious proposal for a large-scale solar farm.

Shepparton has long touted itself as the ‘‘solar city’’, but recent proposals have had other areas across regional Victoria as potential sites for large-scale solar developments.

Last night, the Moira Shire Council approved a proposal for a large-scale solar farm at Wunghnu, near Numurkah.

It is easy to see why renewable energy companies are looking at central Victoria.

The central area of Victoria receives lots of sunshine and has close access to the grid and large energy using cities.

The energy market has been in a rapid state of change in the last few years, as investment in renewable energy has increased and old power plants have been decommissioned.

The state once thrived on cheap brown coal, but this has slowly changed as older power plants, including the Hazelwood Power Station, have been shut down.

Environmentalists have welcomed the move away from brown coal, but the change has also presented its own difficulties as the energy market adjusts to the changes.

Power prices have been on the increase, with large companies, including agricultural companies, getting hit with ever increasing power bills.

For agricultural producers competing in the global market, a power price spike can be a big hit to their international competitiveness.

A return to the days of brown coal looks unlikely, and with falling prices in renewable energy, we can hope that power prices eventually stabilise.

A renewable energy boom could be a big driver of economic growth across regional Victoria, and Goulburn Valley is in the right area to take advantage.

Although it is a long way to go for the project to go to construction, the $175 million solar farm at Wunghnu would be one of the largest Australian projects for French energy company Neoen.

The Andrews Labor Government is pushing renewable energy hard, with the introduction of a state renewable energy target.

If Daniel Andrews gets his way, 25 per cent of our state’s power will be sourced from renewables by 2020, with further increases to 40 per cent by 2025.

The issue of renewable energy targets is politically contentious, but if the target does go ahead, it could help fuel a solar boom that the Goulburn Valley could benefit from.

The Editorial in today’s Shepparton News - “Go solar for a bright future.”

Australia on cusp of large-scale solar boom as setup costs tumble, experts say

Large-scale solar looks to be on the cusp of an Australian boom.

The Moree solar farm is Australia's
newest large-scale solar farm
and the fourth largest in the country.

The country has quietly had a record-breaking year in the construction of major solar projects, and the trend is predicted to continue.

Seven large-scale solar projects were completed in 2016 and even more will be built over the next 12 months, as rapid advances in technology propel large-scale solar towards price parity with wind power.

Clean Energy Council CEO Kane Thornton said it was "a record year" for large-scale solar, which could soon overtake wind as the cheapest form of renewable energy, thanks to rapid advances in technology.

Read the ABC story - “Australia on cusp of large-scale solar boom as setup costs tumble, experts say.”

Solar farms better than expected - it actually works

One of the prices we have to pay for our ideological divide on renewable energy is that we have to read headlines like this, particularly in the Murdoch media: “Solar and wind power simply don’t work, not here, not anywhere”. It was written by the former chairman of a coal mining company, in case you were wondering.

Solar doesn’t work? New analysis of Australia’s first large-scale solar farms shows that solar actually does work, and rather better than expected. And the findings should make it a lot easier for future projects to get the backing of equity investors and bankers, if not the owners of coal fired generators desperately protecting their turf.

The research has been produced by US-based solar module manufacturer First Solar, whose panels have been used for around three quarters of the large-scale solar projects built in Australia to date, by capacity.

Read Giles Parkinson’s story on RenewEconomy - “Solar power does work – and a lot better than we thought.”

Large-scale solar plants given $350 million push

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t least four, and as many as 10, new large-scale solar farms will be built across Australia with the help of $350 million in new funding initiatives announced today by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

ARENA today marked the start of its large-scale solar competitive round, a $100 million programme that is seeking bids from major solar PV project proponents for grants of up to $30 million. Projects must have a minimum generation capacity of 5 MW (AC).

Read the ARENA press release - “$350m to kick start new large-scale solar projects”.

Craig's 'Conversation' comment about Clean Energy Finance Corporation

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raig Froome writes on The Conversation about the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

The Clean Energy Program Manager at The University of Queensland’s Global Change Institute, said: “In defending the federal government’s decision to bar the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) from investing in wind and small-scale solar power, environment minister Greg Hunt explained to ABC Radio what he sees as the future direction for the CEFC. He said that the funding was to focus on projects that were “not mature and not commercial”, identifying three main areas as worthy recipients of investment:

-      large-scale solar, including new solar thermal technologies;

-      emerging technologies such as wave energy;

-      measures to improve energy efficiency.

Read Craig’s story - “The Clean Energy Finance Corporation is meant to back winners, not minnows”.