Commenting on the funding for Darling Downs solar farm, Origin energy markets CEO Frank Calabria said: “The strategic location of the solar farm adjacent to Origin’s Darling Downs Power Station gives the project distinct benefits and Origin’s substantial gas-fired generation portfolio will help to balance out the intermittent nature of renewable generation”.
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Construction is expected to begin next year on the projects, which are among 12 across the country to receive funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The coalition plans to cut $1 billion in funding to ARENA, a move expected to be backed by Labor.
“In 2015, this dropped to 43 cents at the EOI stage of ARENA’s $100 million large-scale solar funding round; and to an average of 28 cents in June 2016 when full applications were submitted”, he said.
Genex Power’s 50 megawatt Kidson Solar Farm, west of Townsville, recycling the old gold mine ($8.9 million). It will include 600 megawatts of wind power, nearly triple the 215 megawatts in operation now, and 300 megawatts of solar power, up from nearly nothing, as well as 65 megawatts of biomass, 20 megawatts of small hydropower and 15 megawatts of biogas.
“The first round of our program meets our goal to diversify the energy mix, having new energy costs so that we have enough to power the country’s development, and to reduce the impact of these activities on climate change”.
Australia’s three largest solar farms will be built in Queensland, with the biggest on the Darling Downs. However, because the competitive tender process achieved such dramatic cost reductions, 12 projects with 480MW were awarded a total of $92 million in grants.
Mr Bailey said the Whitsunday, Kidston, Oakey and Longreach solar farms have also secured state government support by winning long-term contracts to provide power.
“We have some of the best solar resources in the world and lead rooftop solar”.
Following up on its own petition, the Clean Energy Council this week published an open letter signed by an impressive list of global clean energy leaders, calling on the Australian Government to protect ARENA’s funding.
“It is now up to successful companies to deliver these projects in line with ARENA’s requirements, which could see all plants built by the end of next year”, ARENA chief executive Ivor Frischknecht said.
Banks were becoming more comfortable supporting large-scale solar, resulting in cheaper finance, he said, while expanded scale and improved construction process through experience also helped make plants more competitive.
He said the approach – working directly with companies – could “speed up” the commercialisation of solar battery storage, concentrating solar thermal and bio-energy.
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“ARENA is not just focused on building more solar”.
