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CANBERRA, Australia, August 23, 2006 (Refocus
Weekly)
The federal government in Australia has increased
funding for renewable energy in remote Indigenous communities.
The Bushlight program will receive an additional Aus$11 million
in funding over two years, say environment minister minister Ian
Campbell and minister for indigenous affairs Mal Brough. The support
program has already provided sustainable power to 77 small remote
Indigenous communities.
“The Bushlight program has given residents in participating
communities access to reliable power, improving their quality of
life in a very remote environment,” says Brough. “With reliable
24-hour power supplies, Indigenous communities are able to run
fridges and freezers and keep meat, vegetables, dairy products and
medicines fresh. The program enables communities to use small power
tools, wash clothes and re-establish schools, simple things that
make a major impact on the health and welfare of community members.”
Communities with no electricity were dependent on diesel generators
for their power, but Campbell says the Bushlight program “gives
these communities a cleaner, cheaper and more reliable source of
power.”
“Replacing diesel with power from renewable energy from the sun not
only saves the community the increasing cost of the fuel, it also
provides a more reliable service and cuts down on greenhouse gas
emissions,” he adds. “Through the program, we are demonstrating that
renewable energy systems can be installed in remote locations and
local community members can learn some of the skills needed to
maintain them. These are lessons which can be applied in many parts
of the world where reliable power supplies are not available.”
Bushlight is a four-year program to increase access to renewable
energies in Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and
South Australia. It will provide “an improved understanding of and
confidence in renewable energy systems and increased
self-sufficiency of remote communities” in 200 remote communities,
where a goal is to improve the reliability of renewable energy
systems to enhance the quality of life in remote communities.
There are 1,217 remote indigenous communities in Australia, many of
which are not connected to the grid. Between 1997 and 1999, the
Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Renewable Energy and the
Centre for Appropriate Technology audited renewable energy systems
in remote communities, including indigenous communities, and found
that only one-third of the systems were working and insufficient
capacity at 36%. Only 40% of surveyed indigenous communities were
happy with their renewable energy systems, the audits found.
The operational funding of $8.4 million over four years is provided
by the Australian Greenhouse Office and administered by the
Department of Family & Community Services. A related capital works
program is jointly funded by AGO through the Renewable Remote Power
Generation Program.
Every litre of diesel fuel emits 2.9 kg of GHG emissions and the
project anticipates that, by stimulating the renewable energy
industry in Australia, “will create a flow-on of environmental
benefits.”
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