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Forum Index : Other Stuff : IFED
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norcold Guru  Joined: 06/02/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 670 |
NQ Project A massive NQ project initiated by a fellow who changed direction completely. What do 4M members feel about such development? Perhaps they can go a little further and add to the biogas power generation with some hydro and solar. We come from the land downunder. Vic |
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| MOBI Guru Joined: 02/12/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 819 |
It looks a bit like a large scale version of what home gardens call "perma culture". I reckon it is a good thing. I think we need a lot more power generation being put where the demand is instead of transporting it 100's of Km. David M. |
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| norcold Guru Joined: 06/02/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 670 |
Mobi, Did you note the chairman, one of his recent press releases was quoted on STT couple months back. He has shown a almost complete reversal of his early day "apparent" philosophies, been following with interest as he originally came from my area. Remarkable to see such people turn to be now pro development. Have emailed my interest in the project hoping to get a reply, perhaps I can then suggest hydro can be integrated in their system, even to suggest a solar farm as well. Note a press release from Jingi(Chinese solar), they have broken the 50 cent/watt PV panel barrier. Long shot but heh why not? We come from the land downunder. Vic |
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| MOBI Guru Joined: 02/12/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 819 |
@ Vic, Now that you mention it, I do remember the name (I hadn't checked the corporate side of your post) I'll see if I can search STT for his latest press release. 50c a watt - WOW! I'll be in that. David M. |
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| norcold Guru Joined: 06/02/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 670 |
December 2013, very enlightening press release. 50c/watt going down with 36c/watt the next barrier. Price of the silicon resource is dropping continually, it is a most plentiful resource. For roof top solar it is great news can see a lot more going on roofs, however with the cost of structure on land based solar it is not as great a % saving, but still a saving. We come from the land downunder. Vic |
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yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
Why cant they be honest and say that they want to build a "vertically integrated" abattoir? NQ probably needs one and they would get community backing and investment. The concept is OK, I am a bit suspicious of the financial arrangements and motivation of the stakeholders. I have seen the same project rehashed and floated from Tasmania to the Kimberly a dozen times over the last 30 years. Its a boardroom favorite, considered to be a proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the irrigated sugar cane/ biomass plant is a slightly different tropical twist, I suspect its in there mostly to tick some govt development boxes and get approval. They want water rights on the Burdekin to dam water and irrigate stock feed for finishing feedlots, they want local govt to lobby the federal govt for transport infrastructure. They want to avoid the six years of planning and certification that AA Co have just gone through for their abattoir. They want to underwrite it with superannuation fund money. The joint venture partnership is where the "captains of agri-business" companies slip in, invest and control the meat processing and marketing and pocket most of the cash. I recall 1999 was a good year for these schemes, aimed at grain production areas because grain prices had plummeted. I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
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| norcold Guru Joined: 06/02/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 670 |
Yeah, I`m suspicious of agri schemes, especially this one, one participant regardless of the "gloss" has not got a very impressive background. Macarthur Coal was probably lucky they found a buyer, Cubbie Station also but at a massive loss. But because of his stint in polies, doors are open so I`m hopeful it`ll get up to a stage to have the dam and irrigation built, before it goes under. That will be an asset to NQ. We have watched plenty Company farming go under in our area, with mainly detrimental repercussions to our family farmers in a big way. Other then some short term employment for locals they serve no purpose other then I guess give their investors a tax deduction. Often wonder about those investors, how do they get their original capital if they continue to invest in go broke schemes? Must have to keep changing banks, cause they fill them.  From you post Yahoo2 I gather your areas seen a few Co`s come and go.
Negative gearing and tax incentives for agri investors if removed would save successful farmers a lot of heartache. My take on abattoirs is they have essentially become extinct in OZ because of crazy work practices along with Captain Agri`s expens"ive" A/c, and there they are not the Lone Ranger But we certainly need them "again".
Water rights on the Burdekin, I don`t follow you there assume you mean the Gilbert and Etheridge. Here`s another possible negative. Prawns Gone We come from the land downunder. Vic |
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| norcold Guru Joined: 06/02/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 670 |
Didn`t expect a answer from IFED, but got one. Because the HV transmission line is limited their biomas plant will be producing excess this excess will be converted into pellets. Thus solar and or hydro is ruled out. Looking at the condition of the power poles (timber, ancient and falling down) up here in the north doubt very much if there is any will to build new transmission lines. Conversely the HV transmission line going through my property has concrete poles, but it was built by the private mining co to supply the Red Dome mine Chilagoe(now closed reached its production life) Handed over to Ergon after the mines closure. I shake my head in frustration and annoyance. Guess you folks down south where the population is are going to have no choice but put up with power production in your backyards, wait for it nuclear is coming soon to a suburb near you.
I think I should change tack and go for Real Estate. You can get land up here for $500 a acre or less, top location, magic weather. Neighbours are a little eccentric but hell location, location, location
We come from the land downunder. Vic |
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| yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
Yep, sorry I was typing one thing and thinking about something else, I was going to say something about cost of production of sugar and what the cane farmers in the Burdekin shire thought about all this, considering the price of sugar has dropped for 4 of the last 4 years but I got sidetracked. Looks like Landline is doing a story on the NQ irrigation scheme/s next Sunday 6th Apr, should be interesting viewing. I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
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| norcold Guru Joined: 06/02/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 670 |
Sugar not being a real staple food and being on the nose a bit(contributes to a lot of problems in western countries diets), you`d have to wonder why they propose a scheme growing it. No doubt in irrigated country that has great solar radiance the yields are way up, compared to the wet eastern coastal belt. That has been proven in our area where sugar has been grown for last 10 years or so. But still why not rice or some such staple food crops. But I guess tis all market related, and if we get the dams etc private farming will use the resources in time. We have the land, the water and the ideal growing climate in NQ, why not develop it. Even from a ecology view this barren land with water can produce crops that require not only water and sunshine but CO2, surely we can do so sustainably with todays tech. Turn brown land into green land by using 10% of the river run. Recall when the Burdekin Dam was built it was proposed it would take 5 years to fill, it was full and overflowing only part way through the next wet. We are a land of flood and drought, dams can even that out. We come from the land downunder. Vic |
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| yahoo2 Guru Joined: 05/04/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1166 |
I see Yeppoon had 582 mm last week. I remember driving through there with my parents years ago, it rained so much there were pineapples rolling down the hills onto the roads. the result of dam may depend on the river system, ATM the most diverse wetlands in the world is the deltas coming off the cooper and strzelecki. I would consider selling up my business to campaign against water management that effects the specific flows needed to flood the coongie lakes system. I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not... |
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| norcold Guru Joined: 06/02/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 670 |
I`d probably be with you on the channel country area. But firstly I`d have to experience that country for many years. Our floods up here are massive and as I`ve experienced them especially in the Gilbert, Etherage and Einsleigh lets mitigate that flood water and build dams there. Not only pineapples roll down the hills, whole buildings, tis crazy and expensive our general desire to live on the coast up here. Check out Vasi`s videos of the Danube and those wet lands. It made me take a restock of the opinion I had that ecologies were totally stuffed in Europe from centuries of mans interference. Development can go hand in hand with ecological considerations, visit our Tinaroo Dam and its irrigation system,( I doubt the ecology was considered when that was built) see the wildlife it has brought to our arid area, and the history of flooding in the Cairns area before that dam was built. Cos with all the swamp reclaiming in that city area one can see a disaster in the future should it not be controlled properly. Up here we need to remove the population concentration from the coastal areas and develop the inland that along with an inland highway instead of the costly constantly flooding coastal highway. Our area shows the wisdom in that. Greatly reduced cyclone threat, cheaper to maintain roads etc etc list is endless of the benefits. But from my perspective proper power grids to tap that sun and wind power away from populations. Guess the Texas example could be proof of that, but I`d like to hear those Texans in the rural areas give their take on that. I`m rambling on again. We come from the land downunder. Vic |
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