No more diesel trucks a major upside of solar in remote communities: Gunner
Announcing a $2 million boost to rolling out solar and battery projects for 72 remote communities, Michael Gunner has claimed motorists will notice better quality roads as a result.
Northern Territory
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THE Chief Minister has claimed better roads would be one of the biggest benefits of 72 remote communities transitioning from diesel to purely solar and battery systems.
Michael Gunner on Monday said $2 million would be spent to safeguard land for companies to then transition 72 remote communities over to renewable energy.
It comes as the NT Government looks to reach 50 per cent renewables by 2030.
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“The $2 million buys us, buys the business sector that are wanting to invest, certainty,” the Chief Minister said.
“It provides information around land tenure and land access, it will provide information around demand now and future demand, and it’ll also help us know the right governance model and the right procurement model,” Mr Gunner said.
The NT government is hoping for around $400 million in private investment to help build solar and battery systems in remote towns.
When asked what communities had to say about the proposed changes, Mr Gunner said the Territory’s roads wouldn’t crumble as quickly.
“Diesel has a massive impact on their roads,” he said.
“Pretty much every community I’ve been to where we’ve done solar-diesel changes, where we’ve reduced the diesel loads by up to about 25 per cent, we’ve seen massive impacts on the quality of the roads and the maintenance of the roads.”
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Renewables and energy minister Eva Lawler said transitioning remote communities from fossil fuels was crucial to achieving the NT’s emissions targets.
“This announcement will drive part of our target of 50 per cent renewables by 2030,” Ms Lawler said.
“If we can see 73 of our remote communities move from diesel power to solar, to renewable energy, that will provide five per cent of our renewable target,” she said.
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