THE BYRON SHIRE
Byron 2 erm College t uide g course n this i inserted Echo! week’s
Volume 25 #43 Tuesday, April 5, 2011 Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au www.echo.net.au 23,000 copies every week
The push for local power
LESS IS MORE, MORE OR LESS
Singing it up for their supper
Ray Moynihan
A state government department is throwing its weight behind moves to produce more home grown green power in the region, as plans to import additional coal-fired electricity face ongoing question marks. The Department of Industry and Investment is funding a series of community-based projects to plan for the ‘transition to a low carbon economy’, with key workshops and forums in the coming weeks in Byron Bay and Brunswick Heads. Council figures show there’s already been a dramatic surge in local energy production in the past two years. While the total contribution remains small, there was a massive jump in the number of houses with solar panels in the Shire, from around 40 to over 700, producing a 2000 per cent increase in renewable energy fed into the grid, from less than 20 to over 400 megawatt hours.
Nimbin Solar Farm Last Thursday saw the launch of the Nimbin Community Solar Farm, a unique community-based federally funded collaboration which has created several new jobs and will generate enough energy to power over twenty homes. In Moree, further inland, conditional approval has just been granted for a new solar mega-farm, featuring 180, 000 solar panels across 160 hectares, powering more than 12, 000 homes. At the same time controversy is growing around long-standing plans for new high-voltage transmission lines that will bring additional electricity to meet growing demand in the northern rivers region. The state-owned Transgrid corporation wants to spend a quarter of a billion dollars building new lines that would run from west of Tenter-
Shoppers got an unexpected treat with their greens last week when musicians from the world stage brought it home to their local. At the invitation of New Brighton Farmer’s Market organiser Jude McDonald (pictured), Kram and Ash Grunwald played for a box of veggies at last Tuesday’s market. Photo Eve Jeffery
field to Lismore, but the project’s being opposed by groups who’ve raised concerns about local environmental impacts and questioned whether it’s needed at all. Late last year an investigation by the national energy watchdog found that in its planning for the massive new project Transgrid had breached rules requiring it to assess alternative options, including renewable energy. A report by the watchdog – the Australian Energy Regulator – strongly criticised Transgrid, but decided not to purse legal action after the state-owned
corporation committed to more transparency and wider consultation. Following calls for public submissions on alternative options, and analysis of the resulting proposals, Transgrid says the new power lines remain the most effective way to meet ‘growing peak demand’ in the region. However, the Lismore-based Environmental Defender’s Office describes the $225 million project – designed to carry largely coal-fired electricity – as ‘dinosaur’ infrastructure which is unnecessary if demand can be reduced
MP Page scores Local Govt and North Coast cabinet positions
NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell has announced his Cabinet, with MP Don Page scoring both Minister for Local Government and Minister for North Coast Region. Mr O’Farrell said the key regional areas of NSW would finally be recognised in the new Cabinet, with other appointments being the Cencontinued on page 2 tral Coast (Chris Hartcher), Western
NSW (Kevin Humphries), Illawarra (Greg Pearce) and the Hunter (Mike Gallacher). He added that the Nationals have one fewer position – and the Liberals one extra position – in the Ministry based on the results of last Saturday’s election. He also scrapped the environment portfolio and added it to the Premier’s Department.
ABN 82 087 650 682
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