2015-03-25
Vivienne Glance
Last week, in a surprise announcement, the WA Government approved the phasing out of the Office of State Development, and the formation of a new body, The Office of Renewable Energy. Over the next four years, the nearly $81 million annual budget from State Development will be transferred to assist renewable energy projects. Fossil fuel subsidies will be reduced, and eventually be phased out all together.
The announcement also stated that the first project off the blocks would be to build the Kalgoorlie Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) Farm. This utility-scale energy generation facility will provide base load solar power to WAs South West region. In particular, a high capacity transmission line will serve the energy needs of metropolitan Perth.
CST farms work on a similar principle to coal-fired power stations by creating steam to run turbines that generate electricity, the only difference is that the energy is provided by the sun not fossil fuels. Beyond Zero Emissions has created a YouTube animation that explains the process.
Generating electricity directly from a Goldfields CST farm has been a long-standing aim of Greens Party MLC for the Mining and Pastoral Region, Robin Chapple.
It is estimated that the farm will create 38 permanent jobs once the farm is operating, and many more jobs indirectly in support services. This will be a significant boost to employment at a time when some mines in the region are becoming exhausted or too costly to extract minerals, especially gold.
The use of CST farms is one of the cornerstone renewable energy projects outlined in a report Senator Scott Ludlam commissioned in 2013. The ENERGY 2029 Report lays out a comprehensive plan for the rapid decarbonisation of the electricity grid in the South West of Western Australia and was researched and written by Sustainable Energy Now (SEN). Climate, landscape and energy needs mean this region is very suitable for the transition to renewable energy generation on a large scale. The metropolitan area of Perth is already the states largest renewable energy generator through the uptake of rooftop solar. However, to ensure peak hour supply across a wider region, and for greater energy storage capacity, CST farms and other renewable technologies are essential.
So far, the general response from Greens MPs is delight that the WA Government has begun the switch to renewables, and away from carbon-producing energy sources such as coal, gas and oil. Although some in the old industries claim that the set-up costs of these farms outweigh the benefits, the Greens are clear that Australia must take a longer-term view.
History supports this argument. In the early part of the 20th century, subsidies were provided to build the first power stations and gas pipelines. Governments did not wait for market forces to determine when, or even if, critical infrastructure was built. Government infrastructure spending on renewables, as advised by the Office of Renewable Energy, will encourage greater private investment, create sustainable energy generation, jobs and skills development and most importantly, reduce carbon emissions.
Whilst the Kalgoorlie CST Farm is the first major utility-scale operation to be given the go-ahead, other major renewable energy infrastructure will be built in the coming years. Over the next twelve months the Office of Renewable Energy will define a comprehensive plan to transition the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) electricity grid to 100% renewable energy generation. This will include major projects such as more CST farms (including one further afield in the Pilbarra), wind turbines, biomass, geo-thermal and wave generators. It will also be coupled with smaller scale community projects for more remote and regional areas. The existing Greenough River Solar Farm is already a great success and has the capacity to expand to 40 megawatts (MW). Smaller farms in Carnarvon and Kalbarri are working well and have wind and battery power backups and this type of energy generation is very well suited for mining camps, pastoral stations, Aboriginal communities and remote tourism locations.
The Kalgoorlie CST Farm is scheduled to begin construction in 2017. Initial scoping for the project was carried out in anticipation of the creation of the Office of Renewable Energy and a suitable site has been earmarked. It is an abandoned gold mine about 30 kilometres east of the Kalgoorlie town site in an area that receives an average of ten hours of sunshine per day and is not prone to earthquakes.
A town known for digging up gold from the earth is now looking forward to harnessing the golden power of the sun.
This story was commissioned especially for our April 1, 2015 Green magazine. Any issues with factual accuracy should be taken up with our Fools Day Coordinator.