Watts in the Desert

This unique book offers an introduction to the development of renewable energy in Australia in the early 2000s. Examining the rise of dispersed, embedded solar energy systems in Western Australia, it looks specifically at the Solex project in Carnarvon, WA, which pioneered the harvest of solar energy from what was once considered the pursuit of the lunatic fringes of society to a viable energy source for mainstream society and industry.

In this fascinating case study Fullarton shows how a practical demonstration of innovative existing technology can have an incredible impact on a national scale. The ideas behind the Solex project slowly became adopted by the broader community and were eventually taken up enthusiastically by the general population of Australia.

Analyzing government and utility policies throughout the 2000s, the book traces how ambivalence was followed by wholehearted incentives to the roll-out of alternative energy and subsequent active opposition to alternative energy in favor of traditional fossil fuel as government philosophies changed.