Palmwoods
District News

January
1999

Page 1

Power facility means jobs for Palmwoods

A LANDMARK hydro-electric facility costing just under a million dollars and generating around 30 new jobs will be operational in Palmwoods late next year.

The hydo-electric facility will operated from the Landershute Road water treatment plant and will use renewable energy to provide power for around 150 households.

The plant to be built by Alstrom Australia, will harness the high pressure water flowing through a 2.5 km tunnel from Lake Baroon to the Landers Shoot Water Treatment Plant, producing an average of 300kW of energy an hour.

"Consumer-led demand for renewable energy marks a turning point for the energy industry generally," Caloundra City mayor and Water Board chairman Des Dwyer said.

"This totally renewable energy source has been made possible through the demand created by the Energex earth's choice program and more affordable renewable energy generation technology.''

The project is funded by Energex's earth's choice program whereby members contribute an average of $2.50 per week to their electricity bill, which is used to fund 'green' sources of energy.

Energex retail marketing manager Peter French said that consumers now play a major role in the fight against global warming. "Until this year the industry has led the development of renewable energy sources, but now consumers are leading the charge,'' he said. "Through the earth's choice program more than 7000 south-east Queensland households have provided almost $1 million for the development of clean sources of energy that do not pollute the environment.''

The Sunshine Coast Environment Council is delighted with the project and said that all parties involved should be heartily congratulated.

"Australia has the third highest rate of greenhouse emissions in the world. This is a great way of targeting a reduction,'' SCEC president Vivien Griffin said.

A first for the Sunshine Coast, the scheme was launched on December 9 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Snowy Mountains scheme and National Greenhouse Challenge day.

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