PRESS RELEASE
Port Augusta solar thermal on track as renewables attract investment and create jobs Port Augusta’s 150 MW solar thermal power plant is on track, with SolarReserve opening its Australian headquarters in Adelaide and its field office in Port Augusta.
The power plant will create 650 construction jobs and the field office in Port Augusta will serve as the base for local workers and businesses to participate in the Aurora project and for SolarReserve to maximise local opportunities.
Construction of the power plant will begin this year and is estimated to be completed in 2020. Premier Jay Weatherill is also turning the first sod at the 212 MW Lincoln Gap wind farm near Port Augusta, which is expected to create up to 130 jobs.
The $450 million Lincoln Gap project is privately funded and will feature a 10 MW battery to provide storage. The wind farm is set to be commissioned in late 2018.
The Premier is also officially opening the first stage of the 18 MW SSE Australia Whyalla Solar Farm. The project has created 20 jobs, with most coming from the Whyalla region.
Labor’s support for renewables contrasts with Steven Marshall’s policy of scrapping the Renewable Energy Target and Nick Xenophon’s view that wind farms cause brain damage.
Both of them support the Turnbull Government’s NEG, which would discourage investment in renewables.
