Very encouraging comments from Carpenter about technology not...

Very encouraging comments from Carpenter about technology not yet commercially proven on such a large scale, such as wave power and geothermal energy.

11 September 2007

The Premier, Hon Alan J Carpenter MLA, today made the following statement relating to Water Corporation activities:

The Southern Seawater Desalination Plant planned for Binningup is another step closer with renewable energy tenders to be called today.

Premier Alan Carpenter said the Water Corporation would begin advertising for the supply of 200 Gigawatt hours (GWh) per year of renewable energy to power the States second desalination plant.

The Premier said 160 GWh would be supplied from tried and tested renewable energy sources such as wind farms.

And in a unique move designed to encourage tenders from less established renewable energy technology providers, the Water Corporation will also ask for expressions of interest for up to 40GWh per year to be provided by technology not yet commercially proven on such a large scale, such as wave power and geothermal energy.

Should this process not produce a viable alternative, the Water Corporation has the option to procure the full 200 GWh from commercially proven renewable energy technology.

The Premier said the tender process would provide the renewable energy industry with a great opportunity to bring fledgling technology to commercialisation.

With Western Australias natural geographical attributes we have the potential to develop and utilise new technologies such as geothermal and wave power,"the Premier said.

The strong world-wide focus on climate change gives the renewable energy industry a brilliant opportunity to stand up to the plate and help address one of the biggest concerns of the 21st century.

We want to provide our own renewable energy industry with as many opportunities as possible to develop their technology and this unique tender process will help us do that.

The Water Corporation expects to have the tender process finalised by May 2008, with the second desalination plant expected to be operational in 2011.

The site of the proposed Southern Seawater Desalination Plant is currently subject to environmental assessment by the Environmental Protection Authority. The Water Corporation has also signed an in-principle agreement to purchase 44 hectares of adjacent and substantially cleared land and will incorporate this into the planning for the new plant.

The Premier also welcomed an independent report into the environmental impact of the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant in Kwinana, which showed that oxygen levels have not been affected by the discharge from the plant.

The report was undertaken by the Centre for Water Research at the University of Western Australia, under the direction of Professor Jorg Imberger.

The Perth Seawater Desalination Plant is subject to some of the most stringent environmental conditions ever placed on a Water Corporation project, Mr Carpenter said.

It has also been the subject of 17 major reports over the last two years involving more than a dozen experts from around Australia to examine this issue.

It is safe to say that it is now been established - to the highest possible level of scientific certainty by world class experts that the dissolved oxygen lowering hypothesis does not and will not occur to any measurable degree in the deep basin due to the desalination plant discharge.

This is testament to the work of the Minister for the Environment and the rigorous conditions imposed by the Environmental Protection Authority, as well as to the efforts of the Water Corporation in complying with the conditions and ensuring that industry and the environment can co-exist.



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