A city with sunshine to spare Solar plans for dam

Blacktown Sun
Tuesday 8/7/2008 Page: 6

Blacktown Council will ask the Federal Government to consider a plan to develop Prospect Reservoir as an experimental solar power centre. Mayor Leo Kelly said he would endorse the innovative proposal by former Papua New Guinea district commissioner David Marsh, but said it was too complicated to be dealt with by the State Government. Mr Marsh's plan would see solar power generated from Prospect Reservoir linked to the national power grid.

"The open land site is suitable for a land-based solar array," Mr Marsh told the Sun last week. "The topography allows for cell arrays to be located on frames near the shoreline. We will use a raft of sealed plastic pipes to support the solar array to allow the panels to be floated in the dam while tethered to the frame structures offshore. "The panels will also act as an evaporation inhibitor and help retain the water in the dam." Mr Marsh has also proposed the solar power generated could be used to run the desalination plant at Botany Bay.

"My proposal will provide a strong impetus to the development of the industry," he said. "The superseded panels can also be sold to farmers as a power source, as well as dam covers to slow evaporation." Blacktown Council is a member of the Blacktown Solar Cities Consortium. The group, which includes BP Solar, Integral Energy, the ANZ Banking Group, Landcom, and Big Switch Projects, was set up after the city was named as part of the Federal Government's $75.3 million energy saving Solar City initiative. "I will refer Mr Marsh's plan to Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett for study," Mayor Kelly said. "I have no confidence in our (State) experts. They laughed when the then Sydney University Professor Harry Messel proposed solar power use more than 50 years ago.

"I don't want them to kill Mr Marsh's plan without careful study." Integral Energy's major projects manager, Len Blair-Hickman, said its main interest was in how the solar equipment could be connected to its electricity network. "This could pose some difficulties, but would technically be possible," he said. A Sydney Water spokesman referred the Sun to the Sydney Catchment Authority. A spokeswoman for the authority said water quality was its main concern with the plan.

"Prospect Reservoir is an integral part of Sydney's drinking water supply. It plays a critical role as a back-up water supply source when supply from the other dams are interrupted," she said. "Water quality would be adversely affected if large sections of the reservoir were covered with solar panels." State Climate Change Minister Verity Firth said Mr Marsh's proposal could be eligible for support under the Government's $40 million NSW Renewable Energy Development Fund. "This fund supports projects that will lead to greenhouse gas emission savings through the use of renewable technologies and supporting their early commercialisation," she said.