Australia in race for biggest solar plant

By Peter Smith in Sydney
Published: May 18 2009 17:31

Australia plans to build one of the world’s largest solar power station networks in partnership with the private sector as part of its commitment to source 20 per cent of its needs from renewable energy by 2020.
Solar collectors harness energy at a power plant in Harper Lake, California. A network of US solar plants is plannedKevin Rudd, the prime minister, said the government would invest up to A$1.4bn ($1bn, €775m, £700m) in solar energy out of the A$4.7bn Canberra has promised to spend on clean energy initiatives over the next decade.
“We don’t want to be clean energy followers worldwide, we want to be clean energy leaders worldwide,” Mr Rudd said. He disclosed that the network would be three times the size of the current largest solar power plant in California.
Australia’s plans mean it will join a global race to construct the world’s biggest solar plant. Earlier this year Southern California Edison, the US utility, signed up with a solar energy company to build a network of plants that would produce 1.3GW of energy, more than Australia envisages but which may take longer to finish.

Proposals for big solar facilities are also being considered in regions such as the Middle East and north Africa, although these are at an early stage.
Australia is one of the world’s leading coal exporters and the country derives 85 per cent of its power from burning the fuel. It has struggled to develop a domestic solar power industry, with a number of infant solar energy technologies moving to more attractive markets such as California.
Canberra said this month that it would delay the introduction of its proposed emissions trading scheme (ETS) by a year, until mid-2011. It was bowing to industry calls for more time to prepare for the scheme as the country’s economy sinks into recession.
At the same time, Canberra raised the upper limit of its carbon reduction target from 15 per cent to 25 per cent by 2020 and promised more industry support.
Climate change was a central campaign theme for Mr Rudd when he won the 2007 election. The rethink over the ETS was a significant turnround for the prime minister, who had only a month earlier said a delay would be irresponsible.
The solar power network, which is not expected to be operational before 2015, aims to produce up to 1,000MW of energy, which compares with Australia’s current energy capacity of 45,000MW.
John Connor, head of the Climate Institute, an independent research group in Sydney, said Canberra’s plan to source 20 per cent of the country’s needs from renewable energy would drive an estimated A$20bn of private sector investment.
“Australia and other countries can’t rely on a silver bullet, and what the government is doing is to help develop a mixed portfolio of clean energy options, which includes wind, geothermal, solar and carbon capture and storage,” he said. The mixed portfolio strategy would help develop the most commercially viable options, he added.
Successful private sector tenders for the solar power network are due to be made public in the first half of next year.
Additional reporting by Fiona Harvey in London
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009