Sunny outlook for plan
Council welcomes push for solar power farm
A GOLD Coast developer wants to build a solar farm in the city’s far north as exorbitant household power prices continue to bite.
Ormed Investments has lodged plans for the city’s first renewable energy provider on a 200ha site on Goldmine Rd, Ormeau.
The project, which could be up and running late next year, would produce five megawatts of power, less than 1 per cent of the city’s annual total power usage of 712 megawatts, according to power wholesaler Powerlink.
The application has been welcomed by city leaders who say a private enterprise renewable energy wave could help lure “green” power users such as Google or Amazon.
Planning reports show hundreds of solar panels would be built across six “precincts”.
The farm would employ about 10 people on site each day because the solar panels needed regular cleaning.
Ormed Investments, led by Brisbane businessman Suman Makan, will also power a battery to store electricity.
It would “allow for support” to the Gold Coast city’s grid for “peak load times”.
The battery will be spread across up to forty 12m shipping containers which will be placed in a line along the edge of the site bordering the railway line.
University of Queensland solar energy expert Dr Michael Cholette said the project could have many benefits for the Coast, including reducing stress on the city’s power network.
“It could help minimise the likelihood of outages and reduce the city’s carbon footprint while providing a huge boost for researchers,” he said.
“While five megawatts is relatively small, every bit helps and this could lead to a greater deployment of solar power in the area.”
The project was lodged this week with the Gold Coast City Council and will be assessed by councillors early next year.
Ormed ultimately hopes to create a mixed-use development but it has put the idea on the backburner because of potential traffic and flooding issues.
Its planning report says the solar farm was an ideal interim use for the site in the mediumterm because it would have little impact on traffic or on potential flooding.
Area councillor and Acting Mayor Donna Gates said the farm would be a positive development for the city.
“It will be really interesting to see this and it could be a positive by generating greater power than we already get.”
City planning boss Cr Cameron Caldwell said: “We welcome large-scale investment … and this would be a first for the renewable energy market here.
“Residents are concerned about increasing power prices and any reduction in this would be a welcome benefit.”
The Gold Coast’s solar power push comes less than a year after billionaire Elon Musk signed on to create a giant battery for South Australia to prevent future blackouts.