A GetUp! supported rally is scheduled for this weekend to draw attention to the opportunity that exists in Port Augusta to help further reduce South Australia’s reliance on fossil fuel based electricity generation with solar power.
Two of Port Augusta’s coal-fired power stations are shuttering and solar energy is being heavily favoured to replace them - not just by the community but also local government and business.
The emissions intensive Northern and Playford B brown coal fired power facilities at Port Augusta supply much of South Australia’s electricity; at the expense of local residents’ health and the wider environment. Representing 760 megawatts capacity, these facilities could be replaced by 6 concentrated solar thermal plants and 95 wind turbines.
“It would enable South Australia to become a world leader in renewable energy, and Port Augusta would become an iconic global hub for baseload solar power generation,” says Repower Port Augusta.
Such a development would not only secure existing jobs, but also create 1,300 construction and 225 manufacturing jobs for South Australia according to the group.
But the plants won’t be built without government support, and that support won’t materialise unless the community demands it.
Currently, a group of people are walking from Port Augusta to Adelaide to help raise awareness of the issue. The walkers are due to arrive in Adelaide on the 30th and a rally is being organised on that day.
The rally, to be held in Rundle Park at 1pm on Sunday September 30, will feature guest speakers, a BBQ, face painting and live music
“If thousands of us come together to raise the profile of this campaign to a national media story, we can make history by pushing for the building Australia’s very first solar thermal plant,” says GetUp!
For solar power supporters interstate, SOLARdarity Walks are being organised in Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland, ACT and the Northern Territory on the same day.
