A solar monitoring station has been installed near Swan Hill as part of the Brumby Labor Government’s plan to map Victoria’s best solar energy hotspots.
Member for Northern Victoria, Candy Broad today announced that the monitoring station had been completed and was fully operational, during a visit to the site at Powercor's Swan Hill substation, near the corner of Sea Lake Swan Hill Rd and Memorial Drive.
“A clean environment is crucial for our future and that’s why the Brumby Government has contributed almost $400,000 to developing a solar atlas that will continue to drive new investment in regional Victoria,” Ms Broad said.
“The new solar monitoring station will collect new data for the atlas.
“The atlas will provide industry with high quality information to help drive new investment in regional Victoria by pinpointing the most suitable locations for solar energy.
“Real-time data, such as solar radiation, will be collected every minute at the ground-monitoring station.
“The new ground-based data will be integrated with existing ground-based and satellite-derived data.”
Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor said that publicly available ground-based data for northern Victoria was currently limited to historical observations from Mildura, Bendigo and Wodonga.
“This leaves a significant gap in a number of regional areas where there is potential for large-scale solar development,” he said.
“The new ground monitoring station, implemented as part of the solar atlas project, will help provide the data required to fill this gap.”
Mr Batchelor said existing satellite data showed Victoria had excellent solar resources, particularly north and west of the Great Dividing Range.
“This high solar radiation, coupled with easy access to transmission lines to connect into the electricity grid, make Victoria an attractive location for solar investment,” he said.
Mr Batchelor said the atlas would build on work already underway by the Brumby Government to attract solar investment in regional Victoria, such as the $100 million currently available for a large-scale solar project.
The solar atlas is a joint initiative between the Victorian and Queensland governments.