Travel the coast road a lazy 550 kms north of Queensland's capital Brisbane and you will come across the superb city of Gladstone. The city has a history very much tied up with the fossil fuel industry and remains Australia's fifth largest multi-commodity port and, more significantly, the world's fourth largest coal exporting terminal.
Perhaps you'd think Gladstone wouldn't be an area where you'd expect to find much support for clean, renewable energy? You'd be wrong though, as solar energy has made big inroads into even this city dominated by the coal industry.
Part of the reason is its climate. Gladstone averages around 4.2 hours of sun per day, which is is one of the highest readings for an Australian city. The sliding costs of solar panels, combined with the leap in electricity prices and the desire to reduce carbon emissions has made Gladstone folk sit up and take notice of home solar power systems.
Many installers service the coal city of Gladstone, proof that there is nowhere that solar energy fears to tread in Australia. In fact, more than 7,801 solar power systems had been installed in Gladstone by the end of June 2020; working out to around one in three homes having solar panels installed.
You bet solar energy is the future for this wonderful Queensland city.
