MIRBOO North author and renewable energy campaigner Andy McCarthy is not only proving himself an emerging writing talent but a major detractor of nuclear energy.
Founder of Gippsland Solar McCarthy describes the proposal to site a nuclear power station in the Latrobe Valley as “really sad”.
“Replacing existing coal-fired power stations with nuclear reactors is deliberately playing on doubts in the Valley about the region’s energy future”.
“Nuclear doesn’t stand up to scrutiny,” McCarthy says.
McCarthy’s debut novel ‘Here Comes the Sun’ traces the once troubled schoolboy’s painful journey from a Year 10 dropout to one of Australia’s biggest employers in green energy.
Diagnosed with ADHD and relentlessly bullied at high school to the point where major panic attacks saw him hospitalised, McCarthy struggled to find his niche.
“I never really fitted in as a teenager,” says McCarthy.
“I felt like I was on the outer.
“Misunderstood and not sure where my place was.
“When I dropped out of school my prospects were not good. I had an energy burning inside but no idea what to do.”
After three years drifting, aged nineteen, McCarthy discovered his passion for solar.
“It kept me out of trouble,” says McCarthy.
Andy McCarthy’s solar energy story began simply enough in his own garage.
When McCarthy founded Gippsland Solar, renewable energy accounted for just point one per cent of the grid.
Within ten years solar energy had grown to thirty to forty per cent of the grid but the journey to renewables was not without its challenges.
“Renewable energy gave me purpose,” remembers McCarthy.
Surviving the hurly-burly of establishing a new business McCarthy eventually sold Gippsland Solar to RACV Solar staying on as Chief Executive for a three-year term.
Further acquisitions by RACV Solar created one of the country’s biggest rooftop solar installation specialists.
The determination and grit evidenced in ‘Here Comes the Sun’ saw McCarthy eventually triumph and find happiness.
Father to three highly energised boys McCarthy can add volunteer umpire and football club president to his colourful resume.
“I coached junior football and netball for seven years.”
Now President of the Mirboo North Football and Netball Club McCarthy is a well-recognised figure in the Mirboo North community.
The 2014 wildfire in the Morwell Open Cut was a defining moment for McCarthy.
“I was playing cricket in Moe when I started coughing,” McCarthy recalls.
“I ended up coughing for weeks.”
Was McCarthy well ahead of his time?
“It took a long time to take people on the journey,” McCarthy answers diplomatically.
“I admit I was belligerent and arrogant.
“Single-minded then but now I have learned to stop and listen.”
Grilled further over his stand against nuclear power for the Latrobe Valley.
“Nuclear energy sells false hope to the people of the Valley,” says McCarthy.
“The transition from coal to renewables was always going to be difficult in the Valley”.
‘Here Comes the Sun’ will appeal not just to those interested in renewable energy.
“The transition to renewables began after the Morwell Open Cut fire,” claims McCarthy.
The concept of neurodivergence is also explored in ‘Here Comes the Sun’.
Neurodivergence is a commonly used term used to describe people who may experience the world differently than others and is often associated with those on the autism spectrum or young people diagnosed with ADHD.
‘Here Comes the Sun’ is published through affirmpress.com.au
