[Greens-Media] Coal companies investing in solar thermal are well ahead of Rudd and Wong

[Hollo, Tim (Sen C. Milne)]

Coal companies investing in solar thermal are well ahead of Rudd and
Wong

Sydney, Tuesday 12 August 2008  The announcement by several major global
coal corporations of significant plans to invest in solar thermal power
stations should lead the Rudd Government to shift its focus from coal to
renewable energy, Australian Greens climate change spokesperson, Senator
Christine Milne, said today.

Engineering company WorleyParsons today announced that it was
investigating building an array of large-scale solar thermal power
plants across Australia, starting with a 250 MW plant to be operational
within 3 years. The project depends on the cooperation of major coal
corporations including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Wesfarmers and others.

Senator Milne said, "It is no surprise that major global companies that
are seriously exposed to carbon liability are recognising the need to
diversify. In today's world, a heavy reliance on coal is a tremendous
risk, so it makes perfect sense that these players are turning to an
obvious mature alternative such as solar thermal power.

"It is hardly surprising that coal companies, like tobacco and asbestos
before them, are still lobbying to protect their past while putting an
eye to the future with a diversification strategy. The challenge for the
Rudd Government is to invest in the future, not protect the past.

"It is becoming ever clearer that, as the pipedream of 'clean coal'
fades into the future, large scale renewable energy technologies like
solar thermal will leapfrog into the lead. This conservative estimate
would see solar power pumping the equivalent of 8 large coal-fired power
stations into the grid before even the more bullish industry projections
have a single commercial geosequestration plant coming online.

"The exciting vision of a solar power boom across Australia will not
happen unless the Rudd Government steps up to the plate with the right
incentives, starting with immediately increasing the mandatory renewable
energy target and supplementing it with comprehensive renewable energy
feed-in tariffs.

"An emissions trading scheme design which protects existing coal
investments, as Rudd and Wong's proposal would do, will not make this
completely achievable vision become a reality.

"Instead of frittering away ETS revenue on protecting the coal sector,
we should be investing those funds in the infrastructure and training
that we will need in order to make the transition to a zero carbon
energy grid.

"The Greens have proposed a scheme to help drought-stricken regional
Australia by diversifying income streams for farmers. 'Farming Renewable
Energy' would take the transmission lines out to where the solar
resources are best and facilitate the consultations necessary to
pre-permit large areas for renewable energy to enable the solar boom.
Such a scheme would make this proposal happen many times over.

"Australia can be the Saudi Arabia of solar. These companies are
demonstrating that they are prepared to look at it. Is the Rudd
Government prepared to make it happen?"


Tim Hollo
Media and Communications Adviser
Senator Christine Milne
+61 (0)2 6277 3063
+61 (0) 437 587 562
www.christinemilne.org.au

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