Garrett praises new centre

NT Business Review
November, 2008 Page: 4

A MULTI-million dollar solar centre in Alice Springs is set to become one of the world's top 10 sources of solar data. The town is now the heart of Australia's solar industry, and the new centre is the nation's largest and most diverse, with more than 15 solar technology installations. The installations were officially unveiled by Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett at the Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre.

He joined DKA chief executive John Huigen, Territory Minister for Central Australia, Alison Anderson, project partners, industry experts and residents at the launch. "While solar technology research was big in the 1970s and eighties, this is the renaissance of solar, and in Australia this centre is the place where the research becomes a reality," Mr Garrett said. Senior project manager Lyndon Frearson said the solar centre aimed to provide technical information as a technology testing ground.

But it has also been designed as a tourist attraction and educational facility for students and the public. "This will have the ability to capture people's attention - I've already heard people saying that it's 'really cool'," he said. "That's what we want, but I think the big thing is that this is an Alice Springs initiative. The idea was conceived, designed, engineered and built by locals.

"This is Alice Springs really making it happen." A unique aspect of the centre is that it will constantly collect and collate data from the technology, building up a public internet database over time. "When it is all finished, this will be in the top 10 of data collecting centres in the world," Mr Frearson said. "I think the data we collect will, of course, inform the public and large companies about the best options. "But also I think it will inform policy-making and its direction into the future."