Queensland Government funding clean coal plants rather than solar power plants

www.couriermail.com.au
May 18, 2010

PREMIER Anna Bligh is glowing about Queensland's potential to develop large-scale solar power stations but the Government hasn't allocated any direct funding into solar plants as it has for 'clean coal' plants. The Federal Government last week said eight shortlisted solar power station projects, including five with sites in Queensland, would share in $15 million for studies to help the Government choose two winning projects before June 2011.

The winners receive one-third federal funding to help build their plants. The NSW Government has pledged $120 million to help the NSW projects bidding in the program, saying it could bring hundreds of green jobs to NSW. The Victorian Government has made $50 million in funding available to Silex Systems which aims to build near Mildura what would be one of the world's largest solar power plants. But no Queensland funding is going to large-scale solar power plant projects. Ms Bligh, welcoming Queensland's dominance of the solar grant shortlist unveiled last week, said: ''This is recognition of our plan to ensure Queensland is a world leader in large-scale solar energy production and utilisation.''

Spain and the US are now the world's biggest builders of solar power plants but India is set to gain on them fast. India plans to have 22,000MWs in capacity from solar plants by 2020. That is more than double Queensland's total existing grid capacity, which is powered by carbon-emitting coal and gas plants. Ms Bligh said the Government was using a range of measures to encourage Queensland families and businesses to "do the bright thing'' and switch to solar.

But the Government hasn't earmarked any funding to help solar power plant projects, whereas it has allocated $300 million to help develop 'clean coal' power stations including the ZeroGen project near Rockhampton. ZeroGen and three other clean coal projects shortlisted for $2 billion in federal funding have already received up to $120 million in federal funds for assessment studies. Asked why the State Government has allocated $300 million to government-owned generators to pursue clean coal but hasn't allocated any to companies to pursue solar plants, the Government said it was focused on supporting roof-top solar panels.

David Robertson, a spokesman for state energy minister Stephen Robertson, said funding for clean coal and for solar were ''two different things''. ''Just because we've committed funding to one thing to this point doesn't mean we automatically have to commit funding to another thing at the same point. They're two different things,'' he said. He said the Government would assess any funding requests presented to it, with such applications being considered ''through the normal budget processes''.

Many governments say coal will remain a major energy source and clean coal technology is vital to curb its destabilising impact on the world's climate. But there is increasing doubt over the technology. University College London professor of chemical engineering and CO2 Technology Centre director Stefaan Simons at a conference in Adelaide in April called on Australia to rethink its pursuit of clean coal, saying it was ''potentially a dangerous diversion, soaking up time, resources and funding'' that could be better and more readily applied to other low-emission technologies.

In January a US study co-authored by University of Houston professor Michael Economides dismissed underground storage of carbon gases from power stations as ''profoundly non-feasible'' because the storage sites required for even a modest power station would be so vast as to be impractical.