ReWired Podcast: Episode 3
A quiet revolution in large scale solar is unfolding across the country. Discover how it is rewiring our electricity grid and transforming local communities.
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From Elvis to the moon and the stars; a small town’s solar powered adventure.
You might have already heard of Parkes, a small town in Central West New South Wales.
might have even been one of the thousand of people who arrive every year at the annual Parkes Elvis Festival complete with jumpsuit, sideburns and swinging hips.
might have seen it in the classic Australian film, The Dish. That was the movie that celebrated the Parkes Radio Telescope Observatory and its role in the first moon landing.
Now Parkes is about to get famous for something else altogether: solar power.
The regional centre is the site of one of 12 new large-scale solar farms being supported by ARENA. This exciting development is just a few hours south of Griffith, the solar farm project featured in our last episode.
ARENA granted $7 million to developers Neoen to help them activate the $114 million required to build the Parkes project.
This project will install over 200,000 panels, giving the farm the ability to power almost 20,000 average homes. Its 50MW output will be enough to look after all the town’s domestic needs.
The Parkes’ locals are excited to share their open, flat spaces that will make the most of Australia’s plentiful sunshine.
In fact, it’s been estimated that that a 50km2 solar farm harvesting the Australian sun would be enough to cover all of the nation’s electricity needs. (Discover more amazing solar statistics like this on our website.)
Another fun fact: the combined energy generation of the Kidston, Griffith, and Parkes solar farms, featured in the first three episodes of our podcast, would be enough to power 50,000 homes and contribute 130MW of power to the National grid.
Now, listen live here
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