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PUBLISHER’S LETTER www.siliconchip.com.au Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Production Manager Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.) Technical Staff John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Ross Tester Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc, VK2ZLO Rick Walters Reader Services Ann Jenkinson Advertising Enquiries David Polkinghorne Phone (02) 9979 5644 Fax (02) 9979 6503 Regular Contributors Brendan Akhurst Rodney Champness, VK3UG Julian Edgar, Dip.T.(Sec.), B.Ed Mike Sheriff, B.Sc, VK2YFK Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW Bob Young SILICON CHIP is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49 003 205 490 All material copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Printing: Hannanprint, Noble Park, Victoria. Distribution: Network Distribution Company. Subscription rates: $69.50 per year in Australia. For overseas rates, see the subscription page in this issue. Editorial & advertising offices: Unit 8, 101 Darley St, Mona Vale, NSW 2103. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9979 5644. Fax (02) 9979 6503. E-mail: silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au ISSN 1030-2662 * Recommended and maximum price only. 2  Silicon Chip Wind power is increasing in Australia This month, we have been rather critical of the various campaigns to get domestic electricity users to install solar panels on the roofs of their homes. While the idea of promoting solar power is good, there is little justification for it if it does not have a reasonable payback period. In fact, unless you spend a lot of money on a solar system, say $15,000 or more, you are unlikely to cater for your own energy consumption let alone become a “net seller” to your local grid. We also regard systems without battery storage as being a bit of a joke. One of the attractions of installing solar panels and the other necessary equipment is that you become independent of the local electricity supply. During blackouts, you continue to function normally. If you can’t achieve that, then what is the point? However, the renewable energy story in Australia is looking much better than it was just a few years ago. But the real ad­vances are not being made in solar energy but in wind power. In the last two years or so, some big wind farms have been started and there are more to come. For example, there is the 150 mega­watt wind farm in Portland, Victoria and the recently announced 130MW Woolnorth development in Tasmania to be run by, believe it or not, Hydro Tasmania. In fact, they have mapped out plans for 1000 megawatts of wind power. Stage one of the Woolnorth project will comprise six 1.75MW Vestas wind turbines for an initial installation of 10 megawatts. These wind turbines are much bigger than the 600kW units in­stalled in Australia’s first grid-connected wind farm at Crook­well, in NSW. (We featured in the Crookwell wind farm in the January 1999 issue of SILICON CHIP.) Greenpeace and AusWEA (Australian Wind Energy Association) have jointly launched an official target for Australia to install 5000MW of wind power by 2010. Given the progress so far, that certainly looks achievable. Apart from the initial installation, wind farms cost essen­tially nothing to run and have minimal impact on the environment, so they must be regarded as a very good alternative to any ther­mal power station. Still, while 5000MW sounds like a lot of power, it is really only a small percentage of Australia’s gener­ating capacity. And while wind power is good, what about solar power? Aus­tralia’s solar power potential is far greater than wind power but virtually nothing is happening. The main reason that wind farms are being built is that they are simple turn-key projects: just pay your money and Vestas or one of the other wind turbine makers will install your wind farm quick smart. Considering the relatively small amount of money spent or committed on wind farms so far, Australia has little to boast about. We should be committing funds to make real progress in the development of major solar power stations. Government has to get involved in a big way. Consider this: a typical coal-fired power station these days costs at least one billion dollars. What would happen if the Federal government or one of the states decided to devote one billion dollars to research and development over the next five years with the aim of building a major solar power station? We would make real progress. One billion dollars over five years is a trifling amount, considering our Gross Domestic Product. I am sure such a project would be successful and would put Australia well on the way to eventually generating a major por­tion of its power from the sun. Let’s do it. Leo Simpson www.siliconchip.com.au