<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jul/27/australia-renewables-solar-power-gippsland>
"When Andy McCarthy moved to the heart of Victoria’s coal country in 2010 to
start selling rooftop solar panels he was greeted with “open ridicule”.
But as his Gippsland Solar firm began “having a few wins and making a bit of a
splash”, the response on the streets in the Latrobe Valley towns of Morwell and
Traralgon, and especially the local footy field, took on a more menacing tone.
“People would abuse me or spit at me or send me abusive messages online. I had
my shop vandalised,” McCarthy says.
“To a lot of people in the [Latrobe] valley, they directly relate the
installation of a solar panel to it putting their mate Joe out of a job at the
power station.”
In hindsight, the region, about 150km east of Melbourne, may have been “the
worst place in Australia to start a renewable energy company”, he says.
Still, with doggedness, guile and a product that made economic sense for
customers – even those working in coalmines and power plants – Gippsland Solar
grew to employ hundreds of people. After a 2019 takeover by RACV, the largest
member organisation in Australia, the group’s solar division has provided
employment and industry exposure for more than 1,000 people.
McCarthy’s successes – and missteps – are detailed in his book,
Here Comes The
Sun, published 30 July. It’s an engaging tale, mostly about seizing the
promise of the new but also the challenges of weaning communities off a
fossil-fuel industry that has shaped their identity and provided income for
generations.
It’s also topical as the federal opposition leader, Peter Dutton, undertakes a
tour of the seven sites where he would pledge to build a nuclear power station,
including the Latrobe Valley. A future book reprint would add a chapter on why
the valley might warm to a “white elephant” idea that would stall the shift to
renewables, McCarthy says."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
