Western Queensland energy sweet spot an economic enabler

The Remote Area Planning and Development Board is partnering with leading renewable energy company Sunshot Energy to look at how various sources of energy available in the region can create new industries.

Speaking on Thursday at Barcaldine, headquarters for the proposed renewable energy hub, RAPAD chairman Tony Rayner said it was very exciting to get the opportunity to research value-adding opportunities.

"The state government's support for this modern and sustainable approach to establishing emerging industries underpinned by solar power is warmly welcomed," he said.

As well as hoping to create a minimum 200 new full-time jobs, it aims to increase the local population by 38 per cent, provide a regional economic benefit of $41 million per annum, and boost annual wages in the region by $16.2 million.

By doing so, the thinking goes that a robust local economy would be created that was immune to drought.

"We've already demonstrated with three solar farms that they work very effectively," Cr Rayner said. "It's early days yet but it's accessing energy that's nice and clean and green, it's an economic enabler for other industries, and that's what the work will be able to study now that we've received additional funding."

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Treasurer and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Cameron Dick said the proposed hub, which would feature a new solar farm, had the potential to turbocharge economic growth in the region.

"Figures provided by Sunshot indicate the Barcaldine Renewable Energy Hub could create 200 local jobs and attract up to $500 million of new investment to the central west," he said. "It would also help put further downward pressure on power prices while strengthening our state's push towards a cleaner energy future."

Sunshot's executive chairman Professor Ross Garnaut AC has been working with RAPAD since 2017 and will carry out the study.

As well as pointing to a need for more solar than currently available via two solar farms at Barcaldine plus one at Longreach, Mr Garnaut identified biomass resources from timber and splitting water as other possibilities to be looked into.

"A little bit of electricity will go back into the grid along the 132kv line but the main story is developing industrial activities that can provide long-term employment and diversification of the economy, using local advantages," he said.

"When you think systematically about things, there's a lot of possibilities and we're going through all of those.

"One is using pyrolysis, using prickly acacia to make a high quality char and bioenergy."

Other biomass resources include fallen dead gidyea timber, which Professor Garnaut said could be returned to the soil much more effectively as carbon if it was turned into char.

"It accumulates more carbon around it through the soil bacteria it attracts," he said.

Splitting water into hydrogen and then using the hydrogen to make ammonia and other fertilisers was another possibility to be pursued.

"The main cost of that is the cost of electricity, so if you've got cheap electricity, you've got the water here," Professor Garnaut said.

Greenhouse horticulture, successfully trialled by Sundrop Farms at Port Augusta using seawater and sun, is also on the ideas board.

A similar venture in western Queensland would need a lot of electricity to keep the temperature steady, so the air didn't cool on a winter's night or get too hot on a summer's day.

"If you've got low cost energy you can provide the right climate for that, and if you've got the fresh sunshine that you've got here, horticulture in a controlled environment can be very productive," Professor Garnaut said.

"Sundrop Farms don't have artesian water so they use solar energy to desalinate sea water.

"Here you don't have to do that and you've got even better sunshine than you've got in Port Augusta."

Read more: Cheap solar and water from air technology offers big gains for farmers

Other renewable initiatives to be analysed as part of the Barcaldine Renewable Energy Hub include construction of a biosteam turbine generator and a 50-megawatt commercial battery for storage.

The Barcaldine Regional Council has committed $100,000 towards the proposal.

The feasibility study is expected to deliver its findings by September.

"Then we hope once you start establishing a base of new industries, the idea will get around that you can think of western Queensland in a different way," Professor Garnaut said. "Then other industries will come."