Access to the Daintree in far north Queensland is still limited after Cyclone Jasper, and final costings, deadlines and investors for the renewable-energy microgrid project remain uncertain.Access to the Daintree in far north Queensland is still limited after Cyclone Jasper, and final costings, deadlines and investors for the renewable-energy microgrid project remain uncertain.
In 2019 the Queensland government’s KPMG report on the viability of a microgrid in the Daintree concluded it “presents numerous technical and commercial risks and is likely to be financially unviable without significant upfront and ongoing government support”.Ecologist Dr Hugh Spencer, a long-time Daintree resident, established the Cape Tribulation tropical research station in 1988 in the wake of the 1984 Daintree blockade.
Third-generation Daintree resident Lawrence Mason burns through some 700 litres of diesel a week to run a shop, a cafe and a tour company in the region.“The KPMG report in no way addressed my power needs or problems,” Mason says. “It was a typical governmental report written with an outcome in mind. As far as I know, no businesses here were consulted at all.”
“The general consensus from residents and businesses is that they are sick of one survey after another and just want a system that works.” Living in the Daintree since 2015, Jeremy Blockey operates the Cape Trib Farm with his family, a tropical fruit business that also provides accommodation for tourists.