Plans to build the world’s largest solar power plant in Australia have been scrapped after the project developers probed the government’s commitment to clean energy.
Solar Systems announced that it has suspended plans for a 100 MW plant in the Australian state of Victoria.
The plant had plans to use concentrating PV technology and if commissioned would have been three times larger than any other commissioned projects.
Australia has assigned Dick Warburton, a former Reserve Bank of Australia board member who has expressed concerns about human contributions to global warming, to head a review of the nation’s clean-energy goals.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott requested Warburton to consider doing away with Australia’s clean-energy targets. Abbott also has scrapped Australia’s levy on carbon dioxide and sought to disassemble institutions that help the country with pollution control blamed for global warming.
The project was scrapped because of the review into the target along with lower wholesale power prices. Funding for A$75 million from the renewable energy agency was terminated and the plans were reassessed after detailed consideration of finance part, confirmed officials.
In addition, conditional funding of a $35 million from the Victorian government under the Energy Technology Innovation Strategy Fund also was terminated.
Other clean energy developers have expressed concerns about Abbott’s program.
In June 2013, a 1.5 MW demonstration project in Mildura began supplying electricity to the grid. Solar Systems are now exploring alternatives to develop the site on a small scale.
The current target in Australia is to get 20 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2020, up from about 15 per cent in 2013.
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