25 October
2006 - New low emission energy technologies supported
by the Australian Government have the potential
to make major reductions in Australia’s greenhouse
gas emissions, the Minister for the Environment
and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell said today.
Senator Campbell said funding
announced today of $125 million for two low emissions
technology projects in Victoria was a key component
of the Australian Government’s investment of $2
billion to address the impacts of climate change.
The two projects – Solar Systems
and Hazelwood power station – are the first funded
and announced under the Australian Government’s
$500 million Low Emissions Technology Demonstration
Fund.
Senator Campbell said that climate
change posed a considerable challenge to Australia
and that to achieve substantial reductions in
the long term we need to invest in developing
the technologies that will enable those reductions.
“Developing an effective suite
of low emissions technologies is a key focus of
our $2 billion climate change strategy,” Senator
Campbell said.
“All low emissions technologies
need to be considered and, where appropriate,
given opportunities to demonstrate their future
capacity to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
“With our extensive solar resources
and long history of Australian ingenuity, it is
not surprising that solar technology has done
well in Australia, and it is particularly exciting
to see solar technologies preparing to make the
leap from small to larger scale applications.
“Australia is an energy intensive
economy and we have an abundance of coal, a cheap
energy source that has underpinned the success
of our economy for years. It is essential that
we look at how we can best develop that resource
in the most sustainable way.
“The technologies announced
today will not only benefit Australia. Once they
can demonstrate a commercial capacity they can
be exported to other countries, including our
major overseas partners in the Asia Pacific Partnership
on Clean Development and Climate,” Senator Campbell
said.
The two projects are:
• Solar Systems Australia Pty
Ltd: up to $75 million for a large-scale solar
concentrator power project in the Mildura region.
This renewable energy power station will demonstrate
the use of heliostat mirrors to focus concentrated
sunlight onto high-efficiency photovoltaic cells
to generate electricity.
• International Power (Technologies) Pty Ltd:
$50 million for its Hazelwood 2030 project. The
demonstration project will retrofit brown coal
drying technology, and a pilot carbon dioxide
capture and sequestration facility.
Rob Broadfield
