Kalgoorlie Miner: Future in the sun

A local energy lobby has approached developers about a plan to bring the traditional mining hub of Kalgoorlie-Boulder into a national renewable energy project

The project includes the creation of a state of the art renewable energy station in the region bringing with it the promise of a resources future for the Goldfields after existing mined minerals dry up.

The Goldfields Renewable Energy Lobby was formed by local businessmen in August to look into ways to develop renewable energy in the Goldfields.

“They’ve estimated there’s about 40 years of gold and nickel mining left before it goes into decline,” GREL spokesman Rod Botica said.

“We need to use the opportunities we’ve got now and to build on our success to set the Goldfields up for a sustainable future.”

The Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan, which includes the Kalgoorlie-Boulder solar plant proposal, was developed by the Australian not-for-profit Beyond Zero Emissions organisation and the University of Melbourne Energy Institute.

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder station would work a grid with 11 others across the nation, which engineers believe has the capacity to provide 60 per cent of the nation’s energy needs by 2020.

Beyond Zero Emissions communications director Mark Ogge said when he created BZE four years ago there was a perception renewable energy was too inefficient or too expensive to be viable.

He recruited a team of engineers from Melbourne University to develop a working model with costing based on existing technology to test whether Australia’s energy needs could be generated by renewable energy sources alone.

The plan that resulted from the study proposes a combination of wind and solar thermal stations at key points across Australia, which could potentially power 100 per cent of the nation’s energy requirements and do it within the next decade.

Mr Ogge said Kalgoorlie-Boulder was selected as a potential solar station site because of its local economy, infrastructure and weather patterns.

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder station would cost about $14.5 billion to build, Mr Ogge said, but added it would be spread over the 30-40 year life of the plant.

“The investments would be by large private companies,” he said.

“The power plants generate electricity over their lifetime and repay the capital investment plus profit.”

They work by using mirrors to transmit solar energy onto a receiver, which produces heat that can then be used to drive a turbine and generate electricity.

“It works in the same way as coal does,” Mr Ogge said.

“Instead of using coal it uses the sun’s rays to produce that heat which makes the steam that drives the turbine.”

The solar energy could then be stored in liquid molten salt tanks to continue generating power overnight.

Mr Ogge said he believes the 10-year goal is ambitious but feasible.

“It is entirely within the capacity of the Australian economy,” he said.

Mr Botica said BZE plan was appealing because it was generated by engineers and industry experts and because, “the Goldfields featured prominently in the report”.

“We’ve been talking to various proponents and we also met Minister Peter Collier to discuss the project,” he said.

The GREL has received letters of support for the solar station from State politicians, local Government, the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Goldfields-Esperance Development Commission and the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Urban Landcare Group, according to Mr Botica.

He said some mining groups have also shown an interest in the project, and although it is in its very early stages the GREL has approached developers in the field about the prospect of building it.

“We want to put the vision out there that the Goldfields can become a major generator and exporter of carbon free power because we believe it’s a useful sustainable energy for the future,” he said.

“If we have an abundance of the resource here and we start to export it, there’s the opportunity to attract industries that require carbon free power into the Goldfields as well.”

Mr Ogge and BZE executive director Matthew Wright will be in Kalgoorlie-Boulder tomorrow to present the full report at a public launch and field questions.

The launch is scheduled for 5pm at the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Industry conference room.

For more information contact Jim Thomson on 9022 2000.

RANIA SPOONER