Renewables, not a station
A GROUP looking at new forms of electricity generation has rejected a call for the Far North to build its own power station.
Instead the Tropical North Queensland Renewable Energy Industry Steering Committee says the future is renewable energy using the region’s natural assets of wind, solar and biomass.
It comes after the Cairns and Mining Conference this week was told the region needed its own power station. Geologist Brett Duck said that an independent power station was required because processing material from future mines would need enormous amounts of electricity.
Committee spokesman David Smyth said the group believed renewable energy solutions could provide lower costs and improved certainty of electricity for residents and businesses.
He said the majority of electricity to the region came from fossil-fuelled power stations in southern Queensland incurring large transmission and distribution costs and losses.
Mr Smyth said solar, wind and biomass were and could be used to supply electricity in the future.
He said the cost of renewable energy technologies had fallen significantly in the past five years making it economically viable compared to older forms of electricity generation and distribution.
Mr Smyth said the rise in power costs was hitting businesses and residents hard.
‘‘The uncertainty in pricing is also reducing the ability to attract new business to the region and provides uncertainty for existing businesses,’’ he said.
Turbines are an option for more electricity in the Far North.
‘‘We need to change how electricity is supplied to the region.’’
Silicon Solar Resources Group – which has plans for a $1.4 billion silica quartz mine at Mt Surprise – will require 210MW of electricity for a beneficiation process plant and a smelter.
Company commercial operations manager Andrew Hamilton said that unless the SSRG received electricity subsidies and tax concessions the plants would have to be built overseas.
The developer of a $ 150m windfarm at nearby Forsayth said it would be able to supply some of the electricity needs of the mine.
Infigen Energy senior development manager Frank Boland said the windfarm could provide electricity for the 60MW beneficiation plant and possibly supply other power from its other wind farms.