Renewable energy future ‘inspiring’

OPINION: One of the earliest movies I remember watching was the 1953 production of War of the Worlds (many years after its release – I am not that old!).

One of the images that always stayed with me was of the alien machines that looked like gigantic tripods stalking the landscape. For me, that image was not scary, but it represented everything that was awe inspiring about the future.

It was that image that came to mind the first time I saw the gigantic turbines of the Gunning wind farm. They were huge, majestic and eerily silent. For me, it was as if the future had finally arrived.

It would seem that with the final agreement on the revised Renewable Energy Target (RET) we are likely to see many developments, previously stalled due to funding uncertainty, go quickly into their construction phases.

For the Yass Valley, Epuron’s 134 turbine project which straddles the border with Harden Council is currently awaiting planning approval, but Epuron construction manager Andrew Wilson said he was hopeful that construction would start soon after receiving planning approval.

The question will remain, of course, whether it will be eligible for Renewable Energy (RE) Certificates.

This was a point raised by our local NSW MP and Minister for Planning Pru Goward. In a statement, she also added that, “Wind farms remain extremely divisive and distressing propositions for rural communities such as ours and the sooner wind farm companies adopt ethical community engagement practices, the sooner we will be able to resolve much of this division”.
I think this depends on whether the government takes up a leadership role in dispelling the nonsense being peddled by those who claim health concerns or property devaluations because of the proximity of wind farms. Alas, it seems that this is unlikely to be the case at both a Federal and State government level.
The place of solar energy in the renewable energy mix is much brighter (pun intended). The drop in the price of solar cells and the foreshadowed wide availability of home battery systems make the solar energy revolution almost a fait accompli.

Indeed, the latest Lowy poll of Australian attitudes shows 43 per cent of Australians believe solar will be our primary source of electricity ten years from now. The potential is not just in domestic solar electricity generation, but also at the commercial and the community level.

This last one is the most exciting because it would allow communities such as ours in Yass to build, operate and profit from large solar farms. One such solar community farm in the ACT is to be situated by the Majura Parkway near the Majura Wines vineyard.

The NSW Government is also keen to support communities developing such infrastructure in the regions.
It occurs to me that the Yass Valley Council might consider taking the lead in this matter, both from the ethical point of improving our renewable energy profile, but also as a revenue generating initiative at a time when its rates base is not keeping up with the increasing demands of ageing local infrastructure.
The move to renewable energy as a tool to reduce the effects of climate change is the issue for our times.

I look forward to hearing from our elected representatives at the federal, state and local government levels about how they are going to assist us as a community to make our contribution to keeping the region liveable for our kids and grandkids.

* Opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and not necessarily representative of Scoop Yass Valley.