Solar Power Possibilities in Forestdale

A suburb of Logan City in the south east of Queensland, Forestdale is the focus of this study to ascertain the possibilities for solar power in the area.

• Location – Forestdale is located about 6 miles east of Logan City and about 14 miles south from Brisbane. It is bordered by Larapinta, Parkinson, Hillcrest, Browns Plains, Boronia Heights, Greenbank and Heathwood. The entire northern boundary of this area runs along the Johnson road and the western and southern boundaries run along the Greenback military camp area.

   

  It is also fairly close to the Mount Lindsey highway, the primary connector for which is the Johnson road. This area also has the Greenwood lakes, a recreational wetland area which also acts as a nature reserve. Forestdale has population of about 2500 individuals according to the last census

   

• Real Estate – compared to the real estate price in the neighboring area, Forestdale tends to be a little pricier owing to the larger sized areas that usually come with the houses. Definitely not acreage farms but bigger than normal suburban homes with space to spare.

   

  There are a few farmland areas and nature reserves like the Greenwood Lakes which are not for development, but most of it is residential suburb and it is predicted to grow in the coming years. Hence solar power in Forestdale will tend to be tied to residential suburban living in the coming years.

   

  Average house prices in this area hover around 670,000 to around 680,000 Australian dollars. House along with the yards tend to be fairly large in this area. The appeal of coming to this area is living large in a suburban setting which is not too cramped.

   

  It is not surprising that a lot of the properties are being lapped up with newer owners as suburbs in this area and all around Logan City expand.

   

• Solar Power Potential – Forestdale does offer good growth areas for solar power. Primarily centered around the integration of solar panels with suburban homes, there is also possibility of developing solar arrays with yet unreleased and undeveloped land.

   

  Suburban areas collectively tend to draw a lot of power from the local grid and with this area expected to grow it is going to go up. It is important to develop ways to lessen the load on the grid by pushing solar power in homes with subsidies so that a major chunk of that load is taken away.

   

  Newer and older houses which have been redeveloped in Forestdale are already offering integrated solar power. This also needs to be encouraged in the public sector like street lighting, water supply and other spaces. Providing utilities for large suburban areas also draws a lot of power form the grid and solar power is one means of cutting that down.

   

  Large solar power arrays in Forestdale are a possibility but it all depends on how much land is released later.

Developing renewable energy sources like solar power and putting them in to the market is the requirement of the hour as emissions need to be cut down. Solar power in Forestdale would be a big step in that direction.