Solar power study for Woolshed
A very sparsely populated area dominated with hilly terrain and scrubland Woolshed is subject of the study – Solar power in Woolshed.
Location and connectivity – Located about 18 miles west of the center of Ipswich Woolshed is primarily a farm area with extensive Scrubland and open places. The latest census shows the population of the area to be around a 100 individuals.
Woolshed is primarily bordered by the Bluff, Mount Marrow, Tallegalla, Prenzlau, Hutton Vale and Grandchester. Very few of the major roads of the area connect to Woolshed. The closest train station is Rosewood which is about 10 miles away. The location of this area is also quite far away from the nearest highways.
Land – Due to problems of connectivity this area is very underdeveloped in terms of the real estate business. There are a few large and wide farms strewn about with small houses present. The growth of the city of Ipswich hasn’t had too much effect here as the location inhibits it.
Solar power potential in Woolshed makes sense only if it is on an industrial scale. With large open uncultivated spaces many of the open and unallocated farm lands could be collated to form a large power station to house an array. This array could then feed power to the local areas.
Although Woolshed in itself doesn’t offer much in terms of commercial solar power for individual homes, it can be a power generation plant. The reasons being
Wide open spaces and a very small population
Absence of rural industrial farms
Primarily scrubland with not much of flora and fauna diversity
Abundance of sunshine as it is with most places in south east Queensland
A lot of flat grassland which may be developed into promising real estate over time
With the over production of power in Queensland from conventional sources like thermal and gas powered plants, it is very important that Solar
and other renewable energy sources be encouraged in this area. Individual homes can take some load of the requirement off by installing solar panels themselves. As the prevalence of solar power increases, gas and coal powered turbines would be closed over time. This is very necessary as Australia embarks on the implementation of stricter environmental norms.
With solar power in Woolshed on an industrial scale, the power production in surrounding areas like Swanbank can be turned down so the overproduction and the emissions associated with it can stop.
With Ipswich and its immediate surrounding areas all set to grow exponentially, with solar power arrays in woolshed, could cut down the requirement for thermal power production. It is necessary to do so as the time frame to stop climate change is closing. If steps are taken now for the commercial solar power it would have a very positive impact in the near future.
Woolshed is the right kind of place to set up large solar power arrays. If this is laid as an option on the table it could open up many more possibilities for clean renewable power in south eastern Queensland.