The Gillard Labor Government has today given the green light to one of the biggest solar thermal projects in the world.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard today confirmed funding to build a solar energy system on the site of an existing coal-fired power station near Chinchilla in Queensland.
When built, the $104.7 million Kogan Creek Solar Boost project will be the largest integration of solar technology with a coal-fired power station in the world.
The project, which relies on Australian-pioneered solar thermal energy technology, is an excellent example of the type of clean energy we want to encourage in Australia.
The integration of the innovative solar technology at the Kogan Creek power station will save 35,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere every year.
With an extra 44,000 megawatt hours of electricity produced a year, Kogan Creek will continue to meet the growing energy needs of Queenslanders and Australians - but in a cleaner, more efficient way.
The project will create up to 120 jobs when building work starts later this year. The technology supplier, AREVA Solar, plans to manufacture the solar hardware locally.
The Australian Government has committed $34.9 million to help build the project.
The go-ahead means solar-generated electricity from Kogan Creek will be powering Queensland homes and businesses by 2013.
Putting a price on carbon will help drive the investment we need in renewable and clean energy technologies such as solar thermal at Kogan Creek.
Further investment will continue to help make industrial-scale solar power more feasible, affordable and viable - which will benefit all Australians.
The Australian Government is supporting renewable and clean energy technologies through the $5 billion Clean Energy Initiative.