Thursday 16 May 2013

$200m Broken Hill solar plant approved

www.abc.net.au
2 Apr 2013

A $200 million solar power station for the far west has been recommended for approval by the NSW Government. Electricity company AGL Energy is planning to build the plant at Rob Day Station south-west of Broken Hill. AGL Energy has indicated there will be 150 jobs in construction and four ongoing positions once the solar power plant is operational at the end of 2015. The company has agreed to environmental conditions the state has imposed in approving the solar power station.

The company will change the entrance to the plant, and has to monitor biodiversity in the area and put a power line to the solar power plant underground. Geoff Luke, the owner of Rob Day Station where the plant will be, says he is confident the company will be able to meet the environmental conditions "I don't know the actual specifics, but I know one was a tree that may have held a buzzard at one stage which we haven't seen in a long time," Mr Luke said. "I've got a small solar set-up myself and that doesn't annoy me at all. It's a very silent producer so it's not a problem at all." He's welcomed the approval.

"It's something that I think a lot of people have been quite anxious to see go ahead along with the wind farm also," he said. "They've been very diligent in their research around the area so I'll be living next to it so I'll be quite happy with it." AGL Energy is also planning to build a wind farm near Silverton. It has not yet been approved for construction. Both have been named major projects by the NSW Government.

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