Adelaide Advertiser
Thursday 13/5/2010 Page: 11
Whyalla will have the nation's largest solar power plant within three years. In total, 300 parabolic dishes will collect and concentrate solar energy, producing enough electricity to power 9500 homes and reduce greenhouse gases by 60,000 tonnes a year - equal to taking 17,000 cars off the road. Whyalla councillor and chair of the UniSA Regional Sustainability Centre, Eddie Hughes, says that's almost enough electricity to service the entire city - Whyalla has about 10.000 homes.
"This is fantastic news for Whyalla," he said. "The $230 million project will employ 200 people during construction which will be a positive for Whyalla and the region. "Whyalla has plugged away for nearly 14 years to secure a large scale solar thermal project, with the latest announcement coming on top of the $15 million solar storage demonstration plant which is under construction." The $230 million 40MW project draws most of its funding, $170 million, from a private sector consortium including NP Power, Sustainable Power Partners, Lycopodium and Wizard Power. The rest, $60 million, was announced in the Federal Budget this week.
Tony Robey from Wizard Power said the Commonwealth was to be commended for supporting the Whyalla Solar Oasis under the Renewable Energy Development Program. "This project will not only deliver clean, renewable energy to Australia, it also provides great recognition of the world-leading technology which has been researched, developed and commercialised in Australia," he said.
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