Port Augusta pair in Canberra to lobby for solar plant
Two Port Augusta residents, one a veteran power industry worker, will lobby the federal government to help build a solar thermal power plant in their town.
A SolarReserve thermal power plant in the USA. Photo: Supplied/SolarReserve
Gary Rowbottom, who has worked in the town’s coal-fired power station for 17 years, and Lisa Lumsden will be in Canberra on Wednesday to take their case directly to government ministers and MPs.
They say with Port Augusta’s power station closing in less than 10 weeks, the time is right for the Commonwealth to embrace a clean energy alternative to create local jobs.
“This is a crucial time for our community. We need the support of the federal government to help make solar thermal happen to create new jobs and provide on-demand clean energy,” Rowbottom said.
A solar thermal power plant uses a series of mirrors or lenses to concentrate sunlight and heat a liquid to produce steam.
That steam is then used to drive a turbine and produce electricity.
AAP
