Dam solar plan looks up
TOWNSVILLE could become home to Australia’s first floating solar farm under a $ 336 million proposal that promises to create up to 1200 local jobs.
HydroSun will submit a market- led proposal for a solar farm on Ross Dam to Townsville City Council this week.
Under the proposal, 33,400 individual “floats” would be installed on the water, generating up to 200MW/ hour.
HydroSun chairman Soren Lunoe said the council could become a high- voltage generator and retailer of electricity, with the farm to also offset water pumping costs from the Burdekin Dam. Energy would be stored on shore, with 400 containers each housing a ½ MW/ h battery made of vanadium, a metal that stores energy.
HydroSun proposes to mine vanadium at Julia Creek, for use in batteries that are double the size of lithium- ion batteries. Mr Lunoe, who invented the solar float technology 12 years ago, said the floating panels produced about 20 per cent more power on water compared to on the ground. “When solar panels are on the ground, the production capacity reduces due to heat,” he said. “The water acts as a cooling agent.”
If the council adopts the idea, HydroSun will look to State and Federal governments to fund and own it. The company has spoken to state and federal politicians, including the Prime Minister’s office, Environment Minister Josh