Speaking at the International Solar Energy Society conference in Sydney yesterday, Environment Minister Peter Garrett announced $3.3 million in Federal funding for a solar power station to be constructed in Alice Springs as part of the Australian Government’s Solar City initiative. The funding is half of the project’s total cost of $6.6 million.
According to Minister Garret, the Ilparpa Solar Power Station, to be located 8 kilometres south west of Alice Springs, will generate more than 1800 megawatt hours of electricity for the area each year and reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by an equivalent of 1300 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Alice Springs is a most suitable site for the implementation of solar power farms due to its very high level of sun exposure, with solar irradiation averaging 6.16 kilowatts per square meter per day.
The Australian designed system will have twenty-six 14 metre high mirrored dishes that track the sun throughout the day. These will concentrate the sunlight onto a receiver studded with highly efficient solar panels.
Alice Springs, the second largest city in the Northern Territory, is rapidly becoming a showcase city in relation to renewable energy, with a special focus on solar power. Recently the $3.1 million Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre was opened by the Government, Australia’s first solar technology park designed to educate visitors on various related technologies.
Work is expected to commence on the Ilparpa Solar Power Station in mid 2009, with a view to completion in 2010. The project will be carried out by Melbourne based Solar Systems, which is also soon to construct a $420 million 154 megawatt solar power plant in north-west Victoria that the company states will be the biggest and most efficient photovoltaic power station in the world.
