Extract from ABC News
Updated
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Joseph de Pedro says this site near Barcaldine could soon house 80,000 solar panels. (ABC News: Chrissy Arthur)
Two Spanish companies want to build a massive solar farm near the central-western Queensland town of Barcaldine.
They
said the relentlessly sunny conditions and the intensity of solar
radiation in the region make it stand out as the perfect location to
build what could become the state's largest solar farm.At a public meeting in the town on Tuesday night, the proponents outlined their plans for a site on the town's eastern outskirts.
Kingsway Europe SL and Elecnor Australia have formed a company called Barcaldine Remote Community Solar Farm that would plan and develop the project.
Joseph de Pedro from Elecnor said once approvals and finance were in place they hoped to start building early next year.
"We are going to be installing approximately 80,000 panels. We have got here approximately 35 hectares, so about 80 per cent of this land is going to be covered with solar panels," he said.
"The capability of this power plant is to provide electricity for more than 7,000 homes."
He said 100 jobs would be created during the construction phase, which would last about a year.
"We would rather employ those people locally, in preference to bringing them in from Brisbane, or Sydney or anywhere else for that matter," he said.
Elecnor picked Barcaldine as the ideal location for a solar farm due to the quality of sun in the area, and because it already has a gas-fired power station and good power infrastructure.
"We also own two satellites in orbit, so we have done cartography studies and planning studies of different regions, and Barcaldine offers one of the best radiation spots in the world," Mr de Pedro said.
"The other closest spot would be the Atacama Desert in northern part of Chile."
The plant is expected to generate 53,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy into the national power grid each year.
Barcaldine solar farm 'could become tourist attraction'
"The project will use solar panels which will tilt in the direction of the sun as it crosses the sky," Mr de Pedro said."All the power that would be generated in Barcaldine is going to be connected through a connection agreement into the network that is owned by Ergon and then transported throughout."
Elecnor is also building a solar farm at Moree in north-west New South Wales, and has renewable energy projects across the globe.
Mr de Pedro said some projects had the potential to become tourist attractions as well as power generators.
"We have got lots of clients around the world - in Chile, in Brazil, Argentina, Spain," he said.
"In some cases, they (renewable energy projects) are so spectacular and grandiose, you have people driving up to have a bit of a look and in some instances they have become a bit of a tourist attraction."
Tom Lockie has worked in Barcaldine's tourist industry for 20 years and said a solar development would certainly interest visitors.
"It is something that people wouldn't see everywhere, and some people probably would never see it again in their lifetimes," he said.
"They tell us you will even see it from the moon, so it has got to have some sort of interest on the tourism side."
In a region hit hard by drought, Barcaldine residents are also hoping for some economic spin-off if the plan goes ahead.
Mayor Rob Chandler said most people at the public meeting were supportive of the project.
"Well it means a $60 million injection into Western Queensland, 100 employees in the first 12 months of construction and six or seven full-time employees once it is finished," he said.
"It will be a huge boost to confidence - bring it on."
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