October 16, 2025 • 15 mins
The energy transition is here, but are we ready? And are our regions being left behind?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm Jackie Loom with iHeart essay the energy transitions here,
but are we ready and are our regions being left behind?
In this week's episode, we dive into essays evolving energy landscape,
from the decision to keep the Torrens Island power Station
B running until twenty twenty eight to the record number
of renewable projects reshaping our grid. So are we building
(00:23):
a future that works for everyone or are we just
powering ahead? First up, I speak to Minister for Energy
Tom Kots and Tonus to unpack what's being done to
make sure no community is left behind.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
When the previous government did its regulatory investment test to
make the power connect project, which is the interconnected between
South Australi and New South Wales get regulatory approval and
therefore be paid for out of people's bills both in
New South Wales and South Australia, that the show case
for a need to the regulator, so their regretory test
(00:54):
involved closing Torrents Island, so they wanted to displace gas
for this transmission line, so the regnature test was approved
and the regulatary tests also showed that the interconnector was
open between New South Wales and South Australia a g
Eels Torren's Island would not be viable. What happened then,
of course, is the usual things with these upgrades is
(01:17):
blown out by billions of dollars. But the closure of
age El is on time and on budget. So the
state government had a choice to make. We could risk
going for a couple of summers without the connections in
New South Wales and the closure of power station to
see whether or not we could find the gap in
(01:37):
thermal capacity. My view, after having done some serious investigations,
was that South Australia needed that capacity, so we entered
into a bilectual arrangement with AGL to make sure that
they could stay open.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Right, So was the state at serious risk of power
shortages then if this deal hadn't been.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Reached, that's my opinion. Yes, we've been left exposed. When
you put all your faith into an extension cord to
nowhere that's not even plugged in, you really do make
yourself vulnerable to other states. And we need to have
enough capacity in our own state to look after ourselves.
We can't rely on anyone else.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, So as far as the Torrens Island B power station.
How much extra is that going to provide for us
over this extended period that we've got now, so what
does it support? Basically how much of the state?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Oh, it's it's fair bit of consumption. It's over three
hundred megawatts, so it's substantial. Torrens Island needs to be
a twelve hundred megawatt power station. It was one of
the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere of gas by power
stations and it's slowly being a retired unit by unit,
so we've kept these fifty megawatt units on. They're giving
us over three hundred and fifty megawatts, but at any
(02:44):
one time we'll have about three hundred megawatts available. But
it's a good firm supply of generation that can come
on in fifty megawat increments, which gives us a lot
of flexibility. That's a great thing about Torrens Island. It
might be old, and it might be a little bit
of out data technology, but it's proven, it works and
it's reliable.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
I mean, obviously we want to stay on the grid.
We don't want to be going into the dark, so
it's a good stop gap. But as far as renewables, instead,
you know, our net zero targets and all of that
sort of thing. Is that going to be a hurdle
in moving to renewables, this still being online?
Speaker 3 (03:17):
No, And I think this is the big misconception that
we have to sort of battle is, Look, the more
renewables in there, you still need to have gas in
the mix to back them up. I mean, you did
get renewable droughts, which are just naturally occurring. You know,
winds change, some movements, change, cloud cover comes over. Storage
isn't quite where we need it to be. Renewables are fantastic,
(03:38):
they're cheaper than gas and coal, and they're a great
way of getting a lot of energy into the system,
but they need to be firm, they need to be
backed up by something, and until the breakthrough technology comes
in storage, it's going to be gas. The way I
see gas renewables, I see them as partners. Most of
the time, we can provided most of our powers with renewables,
but for those rare moments when the winds up blowing
(04:00):
and the sun's not shining and you get to cold
a sense of events, you've got the gas set of
firm and back you up. So they're partners they're not
in contradiction to each other.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
What about batteries that would be the alternate to you know, storage.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Absolutely, Look, the key to the transition and the renewable
revolution is storage. I mean, whoever really solves that economically
really will win the war. The battery storage is good,
and we've proven to the world with our big battery
that it is something that can work. But it is
still early days, and it is still relatively expensive. And
(04:33):
the duration periods are you know, one, two or four hours.
What we really need is eight hour past batteries or
even week long batteries. These are the game changes that
are on their way, and I have no doubt that
scientists and to knowledge will crack that relatively soon.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Well as far as projects go, fifty four renewable electricity
projects are either under construction or committed to as well
as the ones that have already been completed. You know,
solar farms and wind farms popping up here and everywhere,
you know, between Port Pirie and Portagusta for example, not
that long ago. You know how many of these fifty
four that are committed are in regional areas and still
(05:09):
to come. You know, we've got so much of it
is in the regions.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Well, I'll give you a number that will surprise your listeners.
Is over twenty billion dollars worth of renewable projects that
have got approval in South Australia. So these are projects
that have got tenure on land, they've got the regulatory approval,
but what they need is a connection to and from
these seaboard to provide the big load that are needed
in New South Wales and Victoria. And this is another
(05:33):
reason why a project energy connected is so important. Once
that is open, you could see a flood of investment
in Regional South Australia, which would see a lot of
jobs and a lot of investment in South Australia to
get that power to where the big markets are in Queensland,
New South Wales and Victoria.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
The Regional Australia Institute, they've called for a national framework
obviously that would include all of our other states to
better coordinate investment in these projects. So do you support
this pose what they're calling real Deal model making sure
that the regions do benefit from these massive projects that
you just said, twenty billion dollars is happening in our regions.
(06:09):
We want to make sure that the regions benefit from
the transition.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Well, we do want regions and local communities benefit. There
are still a lot of social license issues about regional
development wind farms. There are some people who are still
very very opposed to transmission lines and wind farms in
their backyard. They view them as visual pollution and they
are still very concerned about them. The truth is is
that they do create jobs, and they do create investment,
and they do create alternative opportunities for work. But most
(06:36):
importantly what they create is electricity load, and that load
is cheap, which means it attracts more industry. So the
big winner for regional communities is when you have these
vast supplies of solar and wind resource on your doorstep
that are away from the major capital cities. Industry look
to these and think we can locate our businesses close by.
(06:58):
And what that gives opportunities for regional communit is to
diversify their work opportunities. Gives farmers the ability to drought proof.
You know, if you've got a job that's nearby, or
you've got solar resources wind resources in your community, paying
royalty for the local community and to the local farmers.
What you then see is benefits locally, so I'm completely
(07:19):
supportive of regional communities having better outcomes from that investment.
But some people who think you can only have one
use for land at any one time rather than multiple
land use. So I think you can farm and have
wind farms on property. You can graze cattle, land sheep
and have solar farms and wind farms on the same property.
(07:39):
So I think we've got to get that mixed right.
But I am very very supportive of those benefits going
to the locals where the infrastructure is because they deserve it.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
With South Australia already leading in renewables, I mean we
are ahead of the game by a long shot. How
do you see us balancing our reliability, our emissions reductions
and our regional development over the next let's say five
years or so.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
What you're seeing now is more industry in South Australia
and that industry is looking for load. And the good
thing about growing the load on the grid it means
all of our prices come down. The more customers to
get on those existing lines, those same costs are spread
over more people, which means we all pay less.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Wouldn't that though, you know? Having more people on the line.
As you say, wouldn't that be a reliability and a
problem for power outages and stuff. You know, when everyone's
boosting their air conditioners, for example, in summer, that's when
you're most likely to have power outages.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
That's right, and that's the great thing about renewables is
generally when the peaks are on is when renewables are
most active. And importantly, you know, we're conducting a lot
of trials now with the home battery schemes where families
can take themselves off grid during those high PEG times
and actually lower demand. There are ways of us managing
this which we're looking at, but they are real problems
(08:56):
and that's why storage is key. If we can get
that storage question right, we can really shave the peaks down,
which means we'll have less gas turning on to meet
that peaked demon, which means all of our prices drop more.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Coming up after the break.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
My heart Essarts, Welcome back today, we're talking about South
Australia's energy transition and what it means for regional communities.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Before the break, we heard from the Energy Minister and
looked at the decision to extend the life of the
Torrens Island power Station and how renewable energy projects can
deliver more than just electricity. Next, we'll hear from voices
on the ground. Julie Bates is the new Chief executive
at Regional Development Australia, Murraylands and Riverland. She joined our
murray Bridge journalist Jenny Lenman for a chat about the
(09:43):
region's large scale solar farms, battery storage and a high
rate of rooftop solar installations.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
We're a very large region, so the fact that there's
available land is a critical part of that. Also got
some great we're on transport route, particularly down in the
Murrayland part of our region, and of course we've also
got the local councils who are vet me encouraging investment
into renewables within their regional locations.
Speaker 5 (10:10):
Looking to the future, it's also mindful to think of
the mix of different energies that we're relying on in
using right.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Yeah. Absolutely, Look, there's no doubt there's significant investment in
this space and one of the things that Regional Development Australia,
Maryland and Riverland does every quarter is we actually map
as best we can where the investment's coming, so that
we've got an idea of the pipeline of investments that
are happening in our region, and I just did a
quick little look just before, and you know, just even
(10:42):
with what we know about, we've got one point three
billion dollars of investment just in the Marylands and Riverland.
So you know, when we talk about renewables and energy production,
it's really substantial for our region and a wonderful opportunity.
I'm sure this is a thinking sola straightaway. Never have
solar panels on our residential homes, but certainly there's solar farms,
(11:04):
we've got wind, we've got hydrogen. That's a really large project,
so it's underway. There's a whole host of things in biofuel. Yeah,
so it's very exciting and there's certainly lots first so
the likes of myself to learn and that's both be you.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
To my role, Yes, absolutely, and congratulations on the appointment
as well. And yeah, bio fuel, you just mentioned that's
really innovative, isn't it tell us more about that?
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, it really is. Certainly we've seen quite a lot
of innovation in that space. And there's one that sort
of pops to mind straight away where there's technology processing
technology that's been developed here in South Australia and are
transferring or processing i should say, used cooking oil for
(11:52):
the gathering that from restaurants and cafes and the like,
processing that creating a biofuel. And there's actually a pilot
happening in our region and where the fuel for thought
lists in a large manufacturing business in our region. So
you know that's thrilling it down to what it can
look like really on the ground. Yeah, it's a very
exciting project and you know, looking forward to seeing where
(12:14):
that one goes.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
It must be great, Julie. You know, working as an
organization like RDA where you can take a sort of
bigger picture perspective where maybe some industries don't realize, oh,
that industry over there has something, has a waste product
that can actually be really beneficial and it kind of
ends up being more economically and environmentally viable.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Absolutely, and that's something that you know our RDA has
actually been working on for quite some time. We're quite
vested in the opportunities around sector economy through our region
and that's sort of what you've just touched on there.
It's what are those waste products for one business, and
how can that be used in another business to create
even greater value. And that's just one part of sect
for economy, but it certainly is a very important part,
(12:57):
and that's where businesses see the economic opportunities that can
actually come out of that type of thinking. So we're
certainly working in that space quite heavily, and I certainly
see that as the future for many of our businesses
to be sustainable into the future.
Speaker 5 (13:14):
And just going back to renewable energy and how it's
really booming throughout the Murraylands and Riverland. How do businesses
like you know, a soul a farm for example, how
does that have knock on effects in the supply chain
and in the local economy.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Well, certainly it puts us in a good space for
securing energy in our region, and I think that you'll
see more and more growth in whatever those businesses are
because there is secure significant energy within region, So that'll
be a plus. Obviously, there's the construction phase, there's a
whole host of industries required. Then there's the maintenance side
(13:51):
of production, and in the case of hydrogen, that's actually
not just hydrogen as a fuel source. That is then
you know, looking at products that are then by products
from that, so a whole other industries are then born.
So yeah, a lot of opportunity. And look, some of
this is we don't know exactly what those opportunities are.
(14:12):
We just know they're there and they'll become more and
more obvious to all of us as these industries get
up and into full production.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Absolutely, and we'll have to watch this space with regards
to more recycling opportunities in the future. A potential solar
battery recycling facility that a company is looking at potentially
coming to murray Bridge. It'll be an interesting space to
watch into the future.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Oh absolutely. And look I've worked in this space for
a while now and you learn something literally every day
because it's such an evolving and we don't have all
the answers yet, so you know that innovation is just
critical at this point and that's where many of the
opportunities are.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
That's it for this week. Don't forget you can hear
iHeart Essay and the iHeart app or wherever you get
your podcasts. I'm Jackie Limb. Join us again next week
for more of the stories. Want to hear I Heard Essay,
The Voice of South Australia.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
I heard essay
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm Jackie Loom with iHeart essay the energy transitions here,
but are we ready and are our regions being left behind?
In this week's episode, we dive into essays evolving energy landscape,
from the decision to keep the Torrens Island power Station
B running until twenty twenty eight to the record number
of renewable projects reshaping our grid. So are we building
(00:23):
a future that works for everyone or are we just
powering ahead? First up, I speak to Minister for Energy
Tom Kots and Tonus to unpack what's being done to
make sure no community is left behind.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
When the previous government did its regulatory investment test to
make the power connect project, which is the interconnected between
South Australi and New South Wales get regulatory approval and
therefore be paid for out of people's bills both in
New South Wales and South Australia, that the show case
for a need to the regulator, so their regretory test
(00:54):
involved closing Torrents Island, so they wanted to displace gas
for this transmission line, so the regnature test was approved
and the regulatary tests also showed that the interconnector was
open between New South Wales and South Australia a g
Eels Torren's Island would not be viable. What happened then,
of course, is the usual things with these upgrades is
(01:17):
blown out by billions of dollars. But the closure of
age El is on time and on budget. So the
state government had a choice to make. We could risk
going for a couple of summers without the connections in
New South Wales and the closure of power station to
see whether or not we could find the gap in
(01:37):
thermal capacity. My view, after having done some serious investigations,
was that South Australia needed that capacity, so we entered
into a bilectual arrangement with AGL to make sure that
they could stay open.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Right, So was the state at serious risk of power
shortages then if this deal hadn't been.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Reached, that's my opinion. Yes, we've been left exposed. When
you put all your faith into an extension cord to
nowhere that's not even plugged in, you really do make
yourself vulnerable to other states. And we need to have
enough capacity in our own state to look after ourselves.
We can't rely on anyone else.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, So as far as the Torrens Island B power station.
How much extra is that going to provide for us
over this extended period that we've got now, so what
does it support? Basically how much of the state?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Oh, it's it's fair bit of consumption. It's over three
hundred megawatts, so it's substantial. Torrens Island needs to be
a twelve hundred megawatt power station. It was one of
the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere of gas by power
stations and it's slowly being a retired unit by unit,
so we've kept these fifty megawatt units on. They're giving
us over three hundred and fifty megawatts, but at any
(02:44):
one time we'll have about three hundred megawatts available. But
it's a good firm supply of generation that can come
on in fifty megawat increments, which gives us a lot
of flexibility. That's a great thing about Torrens Island. It
might be old, and it might be a little bit
of out data technology, but it's proven, it works and
it's reliable.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
I mean, obviously we want to stay on the grid.
We don't want to be going into the dark, so
it's a good stop gap. But as far as renewables, instead,
you know, our net zero targets and all of that
sort of thing. Is that going to be a hurdle
in moving to renewables, this still being online?
Speaker 3 (03:17):
No, And I think this is the big misconception that
we have to sort of battle is, Look, the more
renewables in there, you still need to have gas in
the mix to back them up. I mean, you did
get renewable droughts, which are just naturally occurring. You know,
winds change, some movements, change, cloud cover comes over. Storage
isn't quite where we need it to be. Renewables are fantastic,
(03:38):
they're cheaper than gas and coal, and they're a great
way of getting a lot of energy into the system,
but they need to be firm, they need to be
backed up by something, and until the breakthrough technology comes
in storage, it's going to be gas. The way I
see gas renewables, I see them as partners. Most of
the time, we can provided most of our powers with renewables,
but for those rare moments when the winds up blowing
(04:00):
and the sun's not shining and you get to cold
a sense of events, you've got the gas set of
firm and back you up. So they're partners they're not
in contradiction to each other.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
What about batteries that would be the alternate to you know, storage.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Absolutely, Look, the key to the transition and the renewable
revolution is storage. I mean, whoever really solves that economically
really will win the war. The battery storage is good,
and we've proven to the world with our big battery
that it is something that can work. But it is
still early days, and it is still relatively expensive. And
(04:33):
the duration periods are you know, one, two or four hours.
What we really need is eight hour past batteries or
even week long batteries. These are the game changes that
are on their way, and I have no doubt that
scientists and to knowledge will crack that relatively soon.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Well as far as projects go, fifty four renewable electricity
projects are either under construction or committed to as well
as the ones that have already been completed. You know,
solar farms and wind farms popping up here and everywhere,
you know, between Port Pirie and Portagusta for example, not
that long ago. You know how many of these fifty
four that are committed are in regional areas and still
(05:09):
to come. You know, we've got so much of it
is in the regions.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Well, I'll give you a number that will surprise your listeners.
Is over twenty billion dollars worth of renewable projects that
have got approval in South Australia. So these are projects
that have got tenure on land, they've got the regulatory approval,
but what they need is a connection to and from
these seaboard to provide the big load that are needed
in New South Wales and Victoria. And this is another
(05:33):
reason why a project energy connected is so important. Once
that is open, you could see a flood of investment
in Regional South Australia, which would see a lot of
jobs and a lot of investment in South Australia to
get that power to where the big markets are in Queensland,
New South Wales and Victoria.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
The Regional Australia Institute, they've called for a national framework
obviously that would include all of our other states to
better coordinate investment in these projects. So do you support
this pose what they're calling real Deal model making sure
that the regions do benefit from these massive projects that
you just said, twenty billion dollars is happening in our regions.
(06:09):
We want to make sure that the regions benefit from
the transition.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Well, we do want regions and local communities benefit. There
are still a lot of social license issues about regional
development wind farms. There are some people who are still
very very opposed to transmission lines and wind farms in
their backyard. They view them as visual pollution and they
are still very concerned about them. The truth is is
that they do create jobs, and they do create investment,
and they do create alternative opportunities for work. But most
(06:36):
importantly what they create is electricity load, and that load
is cheap, which means it attracts more industry. So the
big winner for regional communities is when you have these
vast supplies of solar and wind resource on your doorstep
that are away from the major capital cities. Industry look
to these and think we can locate our businesses close by.
(06:58):
And what that gives opportunities for regional communit is to
diversify their work opportunities. Gives farmers the ability to drought proof.
You know, if you've got a job that's nearby, or
you've got solar resources wind resources in your community, paying
royalty for the local community and to the local farmers.
What you then see is benefits locally, so I'm completely
(07:19):
supportive of regional communities having better outcomes from that investment.
But some people who think you can only have one
use for land at any one time rather than multiple
land use. So I think you can farm and have
wind farms on property. You can graze cattle, land sheep
and have solar farms and wind farms on the same property.
(07:39):
So I think we've got to get that mixed right.
But I am very very supportive of those benefits going
to the locals where the infrastructure is because they deserve it.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
With South Australia already leading in renewables, I mean we
are ahead of the game by a long shot. How
do you see us balancing our reliability, our emissions reductions
and our regional development over the next let's say five
years or so.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
What you're seeing now is more industry in South Australia
and that industry is looking for load. And the good
thing about growing the load on the grid it means
all of our prices come down. The more customers to
get on those existing lines, those same costs are spread
over more people, which means we all pay less.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Wouldn't that though, you know? Having more people on the line.
As you say, wouldn't that be a reliability and a
problem for power outages and stuff. You know, when everyone's
boosting their air conditioners, for example, in summer, that's when
you're most likely to have power outages.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
That's right, and that's the great thing about renewables is
generally when the peaks are on is when renewables are
most active. And importantly, you know, we're conducting a lot
of trials now with the home battery schemes where families
can take themselves off grid during those high PEG times
and actually lower demand. There are ways of us managing
this which we're looking at, but they are real problems
(08:56):
and that's why storage is key. If we can get
that storage question right, we can really shave the peaks down,
which means we'll have less gas turning on to meet
that peaked demon, which means all of our prices drop more.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Coming up after the break.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
My heart Essarts, Welcome back today, we're talking about South
Australia's energy transition and what it means for regional communities.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Before the break, we heard from the Energy Minister and
looked at the decision to extend the life of the
Torrens Island power Station and how renewable energy projects can
deliver more than just electricity. Next, we'll hear from voices
on the ground. Julie Bates is the new Chief executive
at Regional Development Australia, Murraylands and Riverland. She joined our
murray Bridge journalist Jenny Lenman for a chat about the
(09:43):
region's large scale solar farms, battery storage and a high
rate of rooftop solar installations.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
We're a very large region, so the fact that there's
available land is a critical part of that. Also got
some great we're on transport route, particularly down in the
Murrayland part of our region, and of course we've also
got the local councils who are vet me encouraging investment
into renewables within their regional locations.
Speaker 5 (10:10):
Looking to the future, it's also mindful to think of
the mix of different energies that we're relying on in
using right.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Yeah. Absolutely, Look, there's no doubt there's significant investment in
this space and one of the things that Regional Development Australia,
Maryland and Riverland does every quarter is we actually map
as best we can where the investment's coming, so that
we've got an idea of the pipeline of investments that
are happening in our region, and I just did a
quick little look just before, and you know, just even
(10:42):
with what we know about, we've got one point three
billion dollars of investment just in the Marylands and Riverland.
So you know, when we talk about renewables and energy production,
it's really substantial for our region and a wonderful opportunity.
I'm sure this is a thinking sola straightaway. Never have
solar panels on our residential homes, but certainly there's solar farms,
(11:04):
we've got wind, we've got hydrogen. That's a really large project,
so it's underway. There's a whole host of things in biofuel. Yeah,
so it's very exciting and there's certainly lots first so
the likes of myself to learn and that's both be you.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
To my role, Yes, absolutely, and congratulations on the appointment
as well. And yeah, bio fuel, you just mentioned that's
really innovative, isn't it tell us more about that?
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, it really is. Certainly we've seen quite a lot
of innovation in that space. And there's one that sort
of pops to mind straight away where there's technology processing
technology that's been developed here in South Australia and are
transferring or processing i should say, used cooking oil for
(11:52):
the gathering that from restaurants and cafes and the like,
processing that creating a biofuel. And there's actually a pilot
happening in our region and where the fuel for thought
lists in a large manufacturing business in our region. So
you know that's thrilling it down to what it can
look like really on the ground. Yeah, it's a very
exciting project and you know, looking forward to seeing where
(12:14):
that one goes.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
It must be great, Julie. You know, working as an
organization like RDA where you can take a sort of
bigger picture perspective where maybe some industries don't realize, oh,
that industry over there has something, has a waste product
that can actually be really beneficial and it kind of
ends up being more economically and environmentally viable.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Absolutely, and that's something that you know our RDA has
actually been working on for quite some time. We're quite
vested in the opportunities around sector economy through our region
and that's sort of what you've just touched on there.
It's what are those waste products for one business, and
how can that be used in another business to create
even greater value. And that's just one part of sect
for economy, but it certainly is a very important part,
(12:57):
and that's where businesses see the economic opportunities that can
actually come out of that type of thinking. So we're
certainly working in that space quite heavily, and I certainly
see that as the future for many of our businesses
to be sustainable into the future.
Speaker 5 (13:14):
And just going back to renewable energy and how it's
really booming throughout the Murraylands and Riverland. How do businesses
like you know, a soul a farm for example, how
does that have knock on effects in the supply chain
and in the local economy.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Well, certainly it puts us in a good space for
securing energy in our region, and I think that you'll
see more and more growth in whatever those businesses are
because there is secure significant energy within region, So that'll
be a plus. Obviously, there's the construction phase, there's a
whole host of industries required. Then there's the maintenance side
(13:51):
of production, and in the case of hydrogen, that's actually
not just hydrogen as a fuel source. That is then
you know, looking at products that are then by products
from that, so a whole other industries are then born.
So yeah, a lot of opportunity. And look, some of
this is we don't know exactly what those opportunities are.
(14:12):
We just know they're there and they'll become more and
more obvious to all of us as these industries get
up and into full production.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Absolutely, and we'll have to watch this space with regards
to more recycling opportunities in the future. A potential solar
battery recycling facility that a company is looking at potentially
coming to murray Bridge. It'll be an interesting space to
watch into the future.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Oh absolutely. And look I've worked in this space for
a while now and you learn something literally every day
because it's such an evolving and we don't have all
the answers yet, so you know that innovation is just
critical at this point and that's where many of the
opportunities are.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
That's it for this week. Don't forget you can hear
iHeart Essay and the iHeart app or wherever you get
your podcasts. I'm Jackie Limb. Join us again next week
for more of the stories. Want to hear I Heard Essay,
The Voice of South Australia.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
I heard essay
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