Chamber Flats – A Semi-Rural Setting for Solar Power

Chamber Flats is a locality within the Logan City local government area about 19 miles south of Brisbane. It is the subject for this study of solar power potential in the area.

• Location – Chamber Flats is situated about 8 miles south of Logan city. It is bordered by the localities of Park Ridge, Logan reserve, Buccan, Logan Village, Stockleigh, North Maclean, Munruben and Park Ridge South. Most of the western and southern boundaries of this locality run along the Logan River. It is also accessible by two major roads close by, namely the Mount Lindsey Highway and the Waterford Tamborine Road.

   

• Area – As the name suggests this was mostly flat grassland with some scrubland. The area also contains lumber tress and hence when it was first settled logging was a big business. It is speculated that this area was named after one the first settlers who came here in the mid nineteenth century. Although logging has waned as a business there are a few commercial farms around. There are also agricultural farms littered around Chamber flats. There is a fair deal of rainfall in the area, but there is consistent sunshine throughout the year, which makes good possibilities for Solar Power in Chamber Flats.
  

• Real Estate – Chamber Flats has a combination of many different types of properties like agricultural farms, logging farms, suburban residences and acreage plots. This area primarily used to be agricultural farms but has given away to larger semi-rural living homes due to property prices going up.

  Most of the residential houses here are larger than typical suburban homes but smaller than acreage plots. The acreage plots are mostly for agriculture and for commercial purposes. There are a few acreage plots which are used for horse rearing, but most of them are used for business. Average unit price tend to be around 500,000 Australian dollars with a medium size plot of land attached and more for larger farms areas.

• Potential for solar power – There is good potential for solar power in Chamber flats as it contains versatile properties where solar power can be of use. Firstly Most of the acreage plots are used for commercial purposes. Except for lumber businesses, which tend to have heavy power consumption, most of the other agricultural work can be encouraged to take up solar power to cut costs.

  Even in the lumber business non-essential power requirements which don’t require heavy power can run of solar power. For residential homes the obvious benefits apply, like minimizing dependence on the power grid. There are newer homes coming up in the area which can be fitted with solar panels and then offered up for sale.

  There isn’t much potential right now in setting up a large solar station in this area as most of the land is already taken up. However if smaller chunks of land can be redeveloped and put together into a larger area then setting up arrays would be feasible.

Solar power in Chamber flats and its surrounding areas can be a boon for renewable energy push in the region. With much growth predicted it is imperative that every nook and cranny for solar power possibilities be explored.