Intelligent solutions for the production of environmentally-friendly power and water

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For more information, contact:
Stewart Taggart, director, Acquasol Infrastructure Ltd
phone: 02-9948-6272
email: staggart@acquasol.com.au               

               Australia Can Lead World In Developing Low Emission Technologies

Australia can be a world leader in reducing global warming if it allows the market - not just the goverment - to pick future energy winners, according to internationally-renowned climatologist and 2006 "Adelaide Thinker in Residence" Dr. Stephen Schneider.

"There's a 'good news' story for Australia in the climate change issue," says Dr. Schneider, a professor at California's Stanford University. "Australia has enough resources -- sun, geothermal, wind, waves and biomass -- to make a dent in both the domestic and international greenhouse problem if it wants to."

How?

"Australia should create 'power parks' in regional areas with abundant renewable energy resources. There, government-supported electricity transmission infrastructure can enable new energy technologies to be tested under 'real world' conditions. For instance, several places around Australia have overlapping wind, solar and geothermal resources. Why not build transmission infrastructure to these regions and see what technologies emerge as most cost-effective? Should these same regions contain geological formations favorable for carbon storage, so much the better. The point is to encourage competition to lower costs."

"Government has long assisted the fossil fuel industry with transmission infrastructure; renewables deserve the same chance."

Already, two decades of innovation spurred by favorable government policies in Europe have entrenched powerful downward price trends in the renewable energy industry, particularly wind and solar. The result: wind, solar and other renewables may turn out to be cheaper than coal or nuclear technologies in the future when the long lead times of building coal and nuclear capacity as well as their social and environmental costs are taken into account.

"Wind, solar and geothermal require only a short lead time to build, and these technologies are ready now. Carbon capture and storage in Australia won't be ready until 2015. Its ability to sequester huge amounts of CO2 over long periods is still unclear. Next-generation nuclear power won't be ready until 2020. By then, economics may have moved in favor of renewables. The great thing about power parks is that they allow different technologies to be developed side by side. In fact, 'ruling nothing out' should be the governing rule behind power parks."

In 2006, Dr. Schneider spent six months in South Australia as the state's "Adelaide Thinker in Residence" advising the state on climate change policies. In a report to the state government entitled Climate Change: Risks and Opportunities, Dr. Schneider suggests four regions of the state that would be ideal for such 'power parks.' These are the southeast, the northern pastoral district, the area around Olympic and the northwest of the state. Similar locations for power parks could be found in Australia's other states.

Funding for such power parks could be provided by such programs as the federal government's Low Emission Technology Demonistration Fund. To date the fund has targeted 80% of the $410 million allocated so far to the fossil fuel industry and only 20% to renewables. To provide better balance, the federal government should level the playing field by funding 'power parks' in each Australian state. This, in turn, would allow the market, not just the government, to pick the nation's energy winners. For its part, the government should help prime the pump and engage in safety monitoring and research.

"If new energy generation technologies are allowed to truly compete in providing lower emissions, and if government can stay away from providing lopsided subsidies for fossil fuels, then Australia and the world should benefit from the lowest-cost, most-greenhouse friendly energy and water technologies."

The next 20 years are crucial, he says.

"Over the next two decades there will be a huge turnover in energy generation capacity, both in Australia and overseas and billions and billions of dollars of investment must be made. The reason is that aging and dirty capacity must be replaced at the same time as huge new capacity must be brought online to meet rising per capita energy consumption," Dr. Schneider said.

"Whatever gets built, that capacity will be with us for 40+ years. It's impossible to overstate how crucial it will be to get this right if we are to have any chance of beating global warming."

Note: since leaving Australia as Adelaide Thinker in Residence, Dr. Schneider has joined Acquasol Pty Ltd. as a non-executive director. Acquasol is mentioned in Dr. Schneider's report as one of two examples in South Australia of the 'power park' concept. The other is "Solar Oasis."