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

As 2006 Adelaide Thinker in Residence, I advised the South Australian government on climate change policies. As I traveled around this beautiful state, seeing everything from the shimmering seascapes of the Eyre Peninsula to the lush terrains of the Adelaide Hills, my big energy idea came in Port Augusta.

I'd just finished visiting Leigh Creek, an Outback brown-coal mining town. Leigh Creek coal supplies are expected to run out in about 15 years. When they do, the aging Northern and Playford power plants near Port Augusta that depend upon Leigh Creek's coal may have to close, too. On the surface, it looks like bad news. But look a bit deeper. The Leigh Creek mine closure could be a blessing in disguise. Northern South Australia has lots of other energy generating assets that can take its place.

There's lot of sun and geothermal power in the region. And thanks to Leigh Creek, there's also infrastructure like roads and more importantly, power lines. This infrastructure easily be repurposed for carrying renewable energy. To give just one example, the infrastructure of electric power lines stretching from Port Augusta to Leigh Creek could be used to create power parks. These would be areas like special economic zones where alternative energy producers -- be they solar PV, concentrating solar power, hot dry rock, wind, or anything else -- could use the electricity delivery infrastructure left behind by the coal industry to develop, generate and deliver clean kilowatts. This would spark competition and innovation while creating needed electricity for South Australia.

When I returned to Adelaide to develop the idea further, I learned that I wasn't the first to have it. Acquasol had thought of it, too. By combining solar energy, desalination and solar salt harvesting into a single project, this unique company had already taken the power park idea a step further. After meeting Acquasol's management, I became a non-executive director. This is a very exciting company with a very exciting idea at a very exciting time.

South Australian Premier Mike Rann believes that battling climate change is mankind's most significant challenge, bigger than battling terrorism. So do I. So does Acquasol. Combining forward-looking renewable energy policies like those of Premier Rann with smart companies like Acquasol, we can have optimism about the future. Every day at Stanford University, where I teach, I see smart ideas coming out of California's Silicon Valley, helped along by a supportive state government that encourages innovation. If South Australia follows a similar path with renewable energy, the state's prospects will be as bright as the sun around Coober Pedy.

That's a highly convenient truth.

Stephen Schneider is a climatologist at Stanford University in California. .