Australia is almost ready to get its hands dirty, with the biggest solar farm in the country’s history planned for Queensland.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told online crowds at the Smart Energy Council Summit last week that the development comes with the intention of using more renewable energy projects to help restore the economy from coronavirus.
She said work will commence on the Darling Down site in July, creating more than 400 jobs and a capacity of 400MW in renewable energy.
Adding to that, Palaszczuk said that the state can expect more projects like this to come, as pressure to support infrastructure for renewable energy purposes becomes more of a demand.
“Our economy is very resilient because it’s diverse and it’s decentralised. I see a future where renewables and new technologies support even more jobs in more industries across our regions,” she said.
Of the 400MW generated from the farm, CleanCo will purchase 320MW directly from the farm’s owner, Neoen.
It’s expected the development will power around 235,000 homes across Queensland.
States unite overpotential to drive economic growth
Also taking part in the online event are energy ministers from ACT, WA, SA and Victoria. In particular, Victoria’s Lily D’Ambrosio will employ her speech to help push renewable energy projects into action.
“We strongly believe that the transition to clean energy offers enormous opportunities to create jobs and drive economic growth, and we are taking action to identify and exploit those opportunities,” her speech will note.
Within the summit’s community is Smart Energy Council chief John Grimes, who said the economic effects from coronavirus and climate change need to be dealt with simultaneously. He believes the key is in Australia modernising and growing the economy carefully, creating the hundreds of thousands of jobs now needed to future-proof Australia as a “global renewable energy superpower”.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government is also looking at finalising its technology roadmap which will run through all economic goals for a number of energy sources to help the country reach net-zero emissions – a long-standing objective.
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