New round of LEED funding opens in WA

The Western Australian Government is offering $10 million worth of funding through the Low Emissions Energy Development Fund. Businesses, universities and government and non-government organisations have been invited to apply for the funding, which will need to be matched by $3 for every $1.

Applications should be submitted by 5 pm on 24 March, via the Department of Environment and Conservation website: www.dec.wa.gov.au

The Fund will invest a total of $30 million in technologies where WA has clear natural and competitive advantages, including geothermal, bioenergy and clean coal technologies and renewable energy technologies such as wind, wave, tidal and solar.

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There have been two funding rounds completed to date. $1.5 million was awarded in Round 1 to support the Future Farm Industries Cooperative Research Centre in developing an oil mallee harvester as part of a bioenergy supply chain. Round 2 saw $12.5 million in-principle support offered to Carnegie Corporation in developing a demonstration wave energy facility off the WA coast.

Solar farm project launched in Carnarvon The $1.3 million first stage of a large scale 510 kilowatt (kW) solar farm to supply renewable power to Carnarvon and its surrounds has been launched by the Western Australian Minister for Regional Development Brendon Grylls.

The Solar Farm Carnarvon project will be built, owned and operated by EMC Solar. The company has said that the project will be the first power station in Western Australia that operates entirely from solar energy.

Located on a 45 hectare site on Massey Bay Road, previously the town’s landfill, the solar farm will have an initial 120 kW capacity. All electricity generated will be fed into the Carnarvon town grid via a Power Purchase Agreement with Horizon Power.

Construction of the first stage is underway, and is expected to be completed in the first half of the year. A twelve month commissioning and testing period will follow. The next stage of the project is then likely to commence in mid-2011.

The first stage of the project will consist of 180 frames of 16 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, configured in six rows of approximately 250 metres each (1.5 kilometres in total length).

EMC Solar Managing Director John Davidson said that the North West’s tropical sunlight coupled with Carnarvon’s moderate climate made the town an ideal location for solar energy production.