The Perth Sunday Times reports that, “Anthony Wiseman, regional director for Areva Renewables, a division of the French power generation technology giant Areva, said solar power plants were technically capable of providing 24-hour power as energy storage technology, now available, removed the need for back-up from greenhouse gas-emitting coal and gas-fired generators.
Areva, and partners CS Energy and Wind Prospect, has won a commitment from a Federal Clean-Energy Fund to cover one-third of the cost of a $1.2 billion Solar Dawn project, near Chinchilla, QLD, that will feed the grid with 250 megawatts from a solar power plant but with after-sunset power from a gas-fired generator.
Mr Wiseman, Solar Dawn’s project director, said Spain has had a successful take-up of renewable energy due to government-mandated feed-in tariffs, which drive private investment in renewable projects.”
These are the type of government investments we are demanding to transition Australia from our dependency of fossil fuels. However, we must emphasise that we oppose any use of coal seam gas as back up as it is so destructive to the environment.
