Approval has been given for one of the world’s biggest onshore wind farms to be built near Broken Hill in New South Wales. The massive 1 gigawatt Silverton Wind Farm will consist of 598 turbines. The farm will be able to generate enough power for about 430,000 homes. This also represents about 4.5% of New South Wales’ total energy needs.
At present, the federal government in Australia wants 20% of the country’s power to be generated from renewable sources by 2020. As I’ve previously stated, I’d certainly like to see that target raised a good deal more.
The project site states that the wind farm will contribute more than $700 Million to the regional economy, providing jobs and other economic benefits. The $2 billion project will be built by German renewable energy company Conergy.
It’s good to see plans for substantial renewable energy projects in Australia, given that Australia is one of the worst per capita polluters, due to a reliance on large supplies of coal.
I’m continuing the clean tech theme from my last post, as I’ve come across another inspiring TED2009 presentation that I think is well worth sharing. This one is about a bold plan to deploy convenient, affordable, 100% electric cars, fueled entirely by clean energy. This is not a plan that’s going to happen at some stage in the future, they are working on it right now, and it’s a big plan.
So how would you run a whole country without oil? These are the first words in this presentation by Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Better Place. This seems to me like a great place to start when thinking about starting a new tech business for the 21st century. While many are still thinking in terms of fossil fuels and cutting emissions slowly, others are leaving that thinking well behind and attempting to create a different future, one without the need for coal and oil – zero emissions as soon as possible. Needless to say, I think this presentation is well worth watching.
As you can see in this video, President Obama has been talking of a race to a renewable energy future, and about ways to spark the massive transformation needed in the U.S. and around the world.
This kind of rhetoric is quite a contrast from the previous administration. Of course it remains to be seen whether he gets the necessary support. Repower America is asking people to call congress to let them know they “stand with President Obama and millions of other Americans in calling for a clean energy economy”.
