Burnt-out power lines and other expensive pieces of electricity grid infrastructure destroyed in the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires could be replaced with stand-alone renewable energy sources like solar panels or wind turbines, according to a report by the Alternative Energy Association.
"The program would be a win for all," said Mr Craig Memery, ATA’s Energy Policy Advocate. "The homeowner gets cheaper, more reliable power; the public spends much less on infrastructure; and the climate benefits from less use of coal-fired power. A well-designed SAPS (Stand Alone Power Supply) will harness 90% or more of its energy from renewable sources. Compare this with energy from the electricity grid in Victoria, where 90% comes from brown coal."
The devastating Black Saturday bushfires that swept the state in 2009 left many communities disconnected from the main power grid after lines and power poles were flash-fried in the fires. The cost to replace this infrastructure and to reconnect isolated properties to the grid is huge.
"There are many existing connections where the cost of upgrading the power line for just one home would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, whilst the cost of a SAPS, with most of its energy sourced from solar or wind power, is a fraction of that cost," Mr Memery said.
The ATA report found that SAPS using renewable energy backed up with battery storage packs offered a safer, more reliable supply than aerial bundled cables.
The recent Bushfire Royal Commission found that fallen overhead powerlines were the cause of the massive blaze at Kinglake.
The ATA say that installing small solar panel and wind turbine energy systems on hard-to-reach properties would lead to a safer outcome for households and savings of millions of dollars in infrastructure.
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