Consortium bids for Australian green power funds

AUSTRALIA: A Queensland consortium was launched on Thursday to bid for 100 million Australian dollars (90 million US dollars) in Australian Government funding for solar power pilot projects.

The consortium includes the Queensland government, energy companies Ergon and Energex, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), universities and (South) Korean government-owned electricity giant KEPCO.

Queensland Energy Minister Stephen Robertson said two key parts of the bid include a solar thermal storage technology pilot project, which captures heat from the sun and stores it for future electricity generation, and a trial of fitting solar photo- voltaics to the power grid.

Robertson said KEPCO’s involvement could create green business opportunities in Asia. The Federal Government will announce the winning bid of its National Energy Efficiency Initiative in April, with funds to be released in July 2010. CANBERRA, Thursday, Xinhua