Government announces regional renewable push
The Federal Government has announced a new program which it says will drive the deliver of 150 megawatts of energy through new renewable energy resources in regional and remote areas of the country within the next five years.
Federal Minister for Energy, Gary Gray, said that the program aims to deliver on increase energy demand in regional centres.
"It's no secret that in Western Australia we have a lot of remote areas and meeting our growing energy demand is a big issue," Mr Gray said. "Where there is no grid-connected electricity, many communities and industries truck-in fuels to generate energy."
Mr Gray said the government's Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is supporting these communities and industries to use renewable energy solutions through its $400 million Regional Australia's Renewables (RAR) initiative.
The Industry RAR program will support the development of renewable energy solutions, including hybrid and integrated systems in off-grid and fringe-of-grid locations across Australia – enabling industry to generate industry from a combination of energy sources.
"Hybrid and integrated systems can add to the reliability of a renewable system by providing energy for a full 24-hour period, not just when the sun shines or the wind blows," Mr Gray said.