Western Highlands province to have its own solar power farm

A Google image of what a solar power station or farm looks like. It will possibly be built in Mt Hagen to sustain electricity consumers during power disruptions which is an ongoing experience.

The continuous power blackouts and unreliable electricity supply felt in Western Highlands will be a thing of the past as the provincial government has passed a resolution to build a Solar Power Station also known as Solar Power Farm.

A solar power station is a large-scale installation that utilises the sun’s radiation to generate electricity, either through photovoltaic [PV] or concentrated Solar Power [CSP] technology.

The Western Highlands Provincial Government is currently in talks with two international solar power companies to be contracted for the work to begin soon.

Western Highlands Governor Wai Rapa said this will come under the Solar Power Program for this year's budget with a K2 million allocation.

He said the provincial government has already established dialogue with landowners between the Rabiamul Catholic Archdiocese and Holy Trinity Teachers College and they have agreed to release the land for the solar power program.

"We are constantly facing power issues in the province, which is unhealthy for businesses as well, especially those who have had to allocate additional budgets to manage these power shortages," Rapa stressed.

"Since Western Highlands Province's internal revenue comes from GST paid by businesses, the provincial government will build this solar power farm to compensate for their losses and improve the daily lives of the people."

Rapa said, the provincial government is in negotiation with two international power companies from China and Germany and once it is done, work will commence.