Thailand sets 25% renewable energy target
Thailand, which like Australia relies on fossil fuels for around 80 per cent of its energy consumption, plans to increase the share of renewable energy sources to 25 per cent of total output by 2021. The Ministry for Energy says the move is designed to reduce the amount of costly fossil fuel imports and boost energy security. Under the new goal, approved by the National Energy Policy Committee, output from biomass will be 4,800MW; biogas 3,600MW; solar 3,000MW; wind 1,800MW and the balance will come from hydropower and waste. Thailand is providing incentives for renewable energy projects to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, Bloomberg reports.
Chilean miners tap into unsubsidised solar
Chilean mining companies are expected to be the principal customers of two large-scale solar projects to be built in the Altacama desert. The projects will be built without subsidies and demand for the output will come primarily from the Chilean mining industry, which has been looking to find ways to improve its green credentials as well as potentially warding off shocks arising from fluctuating electricity costs and a sometimes unreliable grid, PV Tech reports. First Solar will build one of the projects, a 162MW, $370 million solar park in Luz Del Norte. US firm SunEdison also filed plans to construct a 92MW, $241 million solar PV plant in the north of the country. Chile’s Altacama desert has the best solar resources in the world.
WA wind farm tries again for planning approval
A State planning watchdog is set to rule within days on a proposal to build one of WA’s biggest wind farms on farmland near Kojonup, the West Australian reports. Moonies Hill Energy wants to build a 74-turbine wind farm costing at least $200 million as part of long-held plans to capitalise on the Federal Government’s renewable energy target. The newspaper says the plan has divided the small wheatbelt community, where some residents are worried about the project’s effects on people’s health and their ability to farm. The project was knocked back by the Great Southern development assessment panel – which vets all major proposals in the region – Moonies Hill won the right to have it re-heard. The panel will decide whether to reject or approve the project tomorrow.
Stockman’s Hall of Fame goes solar
AGL Energy says it has installed a 20kW solar PV array pat the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame in Longreach, Western Queensland, to help the museum offset up to a quarter of the electricity consumed at its Cattleman’s Restaurant & Grill and cool storage facilities. AGL says the solar installation is the first component of a seven-year energy efficiency partnership between AGL and the Hall of Fame, which will include a building management system to save up to an additional 30 per cent of the museum’s power bill, which equates to a saving of up to $55,000 per year.
