Fremantle City Council is implementing key elements of its One Planet Council strategy, with plans advancing for a large-scale commercial solar farm on the former South Fremantle landfill site, and a new strategic vision for transport that emphasises public transport in the city centre and integrating planning approaches that enable optimisation of land along transport corridors.
The council has granted First Solar a 12-month exclusivity period to undertake due diligence, resolve regulatory and environmental issues including site contamination remediation plans and to seek buyers for power under a Power Purchase Agreement model. Fremantle City Council itself, which owns 90 per cent of the 19.4 hectare former tip site, has said it may be one of the buyers for electricity. First Solar will fully fund the construction and operation of the farm.
The new Fremantle Integrated Transport Strategy adopted by council includes an integrated approach to transport and land use planning, and looks at the road network in the context of prioritising public and active transport, including a possible high speed light rail network in the city centre and developing pedestrian and cycling environments that promote active transport.
They are reusing contaminated land which is otherwise going to sit neglected for the next 50-100 years.
Unless significant remediation be undertaken to warrant development of the land into residential or commercial use, then I believe this is a very good purpose use of the land.
I would suggest that the PPE’s would be more useful to commercial business and residents which use more on peak electricity.
obviously there are some costs and benefits here. Namely they will be sending electricity into the grid which will be used elsewhere. It’s a great opportunity to save money via a PPE on electricity and lock in contracts.
As for the light rail, Fremantle should invest in a private network that could be linked to a state network as it currently looks like the state government has failed in delivering it’s MAX light rail.
As far as safety is concerned, light rail is quite safe in public areas both within Australia and Europe.
I am all for solar but putting a solar farm in a residential area?
Of course First Solar will fund the whole project it means big $ for them. There are lot’s of other sites more suitable for something like this.
I hope they don’t go ahead with this.
Iva needs to come to Melbourne [or anywhere in Europe if funds permit] where there is a mixed mode transport system. Zurich, Berlin, Munich, Prague all have trams interfacing with both pedestrians and cars.
Cars cause far more injuries than trams to pedestrians. The ‘ideal’ may be to have separated systems, but better to have a mixed mode system, than no public transport system at all.
Light rail systems may only be safer and more effective when they are clearly separated from public areas, walkways, footpaths etc. like our roadways. And not built to be at the exact same level or include physical and visual seamless flow design into the public walkways etc. It would clearly be a neglect for public safety and would erode the current safety provided by having separation of mass transport systems, mass public corridors from mass public gathering spaces, plazas, walkways,outdoor eating areas etc. By allowing mass transport into exposed masses of public the risk to
such public in event of an accident, disaster etc. is logically also en masse, when compared to smaller and adequately separated public areas from mass transport systems. Thus smaller accident events logically make for an easier response and lessen the burden on emergency services, hospitals compared with an en masse situation.