World’s oldest living rainforest runs on ‘dirty’ energy

British naturalist Sir David Attenborough called it “the most amazing place on Earth.”

The Daintree World Heritage Site in North Queensland’s world-famous rainforest and crystal clear waterways attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

But visitors are often shocked to hear that many hotels and businesses in the area are burning hundreds of litres of diesel every week just to stay open.

“People are really scared, especially in Europe,” said local hotelier Mark Cromwell.

“They come into national parks that are World Heritage listed… and the message is: ‘We’re not really working on environmental conservation.'”

The Daintree, just a two-hour drive north of Cairns, has a permanent population of about 800 people but is not off mains electricity.

This was a decision made by the Queensland government in the 1990s to curb development and overpopulation in the world’s oldest surviving rainforest.

But in 2012 the government’s Daintree policy was repealed, allowing residents and businesses to set up their own isolation networks with approval from the energy regulator.

The federal government will take this a step further in 2022, awarding an $18.75 million funding agreement for a renewable energy microgrid, which will include an 8-megawatt solar farm that will deliver power to homes and businesses through underground cables.

In a statement from then Under-Secretary-General for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Tim Wilson, the government committed to delivering electricity by 2024.

But construction of the microgrid has yet to begin and only a small amount of funding has been allocated to Brisbane-based Volt Advisory to deliver the project, which the government promises will create 200 jobs.

The federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water said in a statement that $1.55 million of the $18.75 million grant was paid to Bolt Advisory Group.

“The only work carried out at the site has been surveying,” the statement said.

“Confidentiality requirements that apply to all federal grants prevent the department from commenting on the terms of the grant agreement with Volt Advisory.”

The project also requires additional private funding to move forward, though Volt Advisory declined to disclose the exact amount, and no investors have yet been announced.

Scott Dwyer, from the University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures, said microgrids were a practical solution for tourist communities where seasonal influxes of visitors put strain on the power grid, but the systems were complex and expensive.

“Microgrids are still in their infancy in Australia and there is still a lot of uncertainty about regulatory hurdles and business models,” Dr Dwyer said.

“For that reason, it’s hard to attract investors.”

Green power is polluted

Mark Cromwell, who owns and operates a luxury lodge in the area, burns about 400 litres of diesel per day in summer to power air conditioners, refrigerators and a wastewater treatment plant.

He estimates he uses 250 litres of fuel a day just to keep his shop running, even when there are no tourists.

“It’s really embarrassing that we have to rely on generators,” Cromwell said.

“I would like to install solar power and batteries, but it would require a $1.3 million investment, which I can’t afford.

“A lot of the businesses in the Daintree are just mom-and-pop businesses, they’re not multi-million dollar operations.”

Further up the road, renowned botanical artist Betty Hinton, 89, has run the Flora Villa Ice Cream Factory since the 1980s, producing 60 varieties of biodynamic, organic ice cream.

To make and cool her product, she switches between two diesel generators that she maintains herself, spending $2,500 a month on fuel.

“I hate ice cream melting, so I learned how to use the freezer so I don’t lose any ice cream,” Hinton said.

“I hope I never have to lift 200-liter oil drums… What keeps me going is just determination and the knowledge that one day the microgrid will be completed.”

Many tourism and business operators in the Daintree support the microgrid project, but others in the smaller community do not.

A 2019 KPMG report commissioned by the Queensland government to investigate the feasibility of a microgrid in the region concluded that “a microgrid-based solution does not appear to be a suitable long-term solution for the Daintree.”

“While microgrids offer the potential to provide residents with a reliable and secure energy network, they carry a number of technical and commercial risks and are likely to be economically unviable without significant upfront investment and ongoing government support,” the report said.

The report instead recommends further investment in establishing or improving independent power options for individual homes.

Concerns over urbanization of rainforests

Former Mayor Mike Berwick said microgrids “won’t have a direct impact on the environment per se,” but expressed concern they would lead to more urbanization in the area.

“This is a side effect of encouraging more development in places where we should be promoting conservation values,” Berwick said.

Despite the concerns, Bolt Advisory director Richard Schoenemann said the “vast majority of people” in the Daintree supported the project.

“They need it,” he said.

“Running diesel generators to run a resort is very expensive, very dirty and very tedious.

“It’s expensive, it’s polluting and it doesn’t fit with the sustainability that the people of the Daintree want to promote.”

He said the company hopes to start construction of the microgrid in April next year and is in discussions with several investors and construction companies.

“We’ve had a lot of support, especially from resorts and business owners who want a better solution,” he said.

“People will see the benefits.”

Sydneysiders go off-grid

Peter and Gina Tsiglis and their five children, aged between seven and 14, set off on a road trip from their home in Marrickville, Sydney, and arrived in the Daintree Rainforest in 2017.

They were captivated by the natural beauty of the area and purchased 24 acres of land in 2021, where they now run the Daintree Fan Palm Farm and Cafe.

“When we bought this house there was nothing. We didn’t even have a working generator so we had to start from scratch,” Tsiglis said.

The couple spent about $100,000 to install a solar power system and batteries, but in an area that receives metres of rainfall a year, they still have to occasionally turn to a generator for their energy needs.

She said she remains “neutral” on the microgrid project.

“By the time we moved in, some people were saying that power supply would be guaranteed by April 2024, but we are still having meetings and discussing it,” she said.

“Who knows if that will ever happen?”