Sustainable Energy,
The Possibilites for Queensland
Energy management products and services in qld cover many different areas from solar panels, hydro electric pumps, wind turbines, insulation not to mention other energy management issues like the greenhouse and car emissions. With , energy management something on everyones mind now days, we need try to achieve more efficient use of energy for queensland, that also takes into mind all aspects of load management, petrol saving, heat exchange and changes to plant equipment processes.For a complete glossary of energy saving products we recommend reading about it more.
Need for Queensland
Australia has the world’s highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions. Australia is the worlds largest coal exporter and coal is our biggest source of export income. Natural gas exports are also a major income earner. It appears inevitable that international responses to the green house issue are going to have an impact in these areas.
Opportunity for Queensland
The need in the renewable energy area, is not just a challenge, it is a major opportunity. Making Renewable Energy a high research priority will allow us to not just guard against changes in international demand for our fossil fuel resources, but to take a leading role in an immerging area of major significance.
Australia’s Strengths
Australia already has research groups at the forefront of Renewable Energy research. Clearly Australia has abundant solar radiation, wind, and land area for application of the technologies. We also have a market for off grid electricity supply that is unique for a developed country.
Cogeneration and/or Renewable Energy
How energy is used is coming under fire, as needs for the future supply rise ,So do the needs of sustainable energy for future generations. Sustainable Energy is made up of two parts : renewable energy and energy efficiency. Number 1. An energy that that can be made through out human lifetime and does not put long term damage on our environment. Number 2. An energy made up from other many renewable sources such as Alternative, Solar power and also Green energy source that can continue providing energy.
Energy Requirements
Requirements like a non-polluting source that can be relaxed for all sustainable energy, providing that no negative effects occur. They also will prohibit the heavy use of the main source for any amount of if time needed.Currently in Queensland, several towns are making the effort to support sustainable energy. Noosa is a great example of a town attempting to make more efficient use of energy.
Energy Supply
Energy supply, or more importantly, energy services are at the very core of our existence as a society. Our present reliance on fossil fuels is environmentally damaging on a global and local scale and depends on resources that will ultimately be depleted. Renewable Energy Technology offers the potential to meet all our energy needs in a manner that does not damage the environment and can continue indefinitely.
This is a challenge that all nations and regions face. Individuals and businesses can make a difference by taking the time to compare gas tariffs per Kwh in their region, searching for alternative energy supply methods available, and educating others in their area that may not be aware of the urgency involved with the global energy supply problem.
Our Challenge
Criterion 1. The scope for increased Commonwealth research effort in the priority area to deliver a measurable and significant positive impact, by:
a. achieving an appropriate ‘critical mass’ of excellent research through specific support and/or coordination and collaboration at the national level; and
b. addressing Australia’s strengths, opportunities or needs arising from:
i. our nation’s geography, climate, bioresources, economy, way of life and/or culture; or
ii. issues of global importance which impact significantly on Australia; or
iii. Australia’s competitiveness in a global context.
a)
Renewable Energy research by its nature is an applied research field that builds on the developments in fundamental areas such as semiconductors, fluid dynamics, manufacturing, materials, heat transfer and biology. The advantage of this is that it is relatively easier to achieve critical mass than it is in for example Astronomy or Nuclear Physics. Small groups can interact with others in the fundamental fields and often work effectively without massive infrastructure needs. Australia already has many groups performing excellent research in the Renewable Energy area, but struggling for the financial resources to continue.
b)
Australia has the world’s highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions. Australia is the worlds largest coal exporter and coal is our biggest source of export income. Natural gas exports are also a major income earner. It appears inevitable that international responses to the green house issue are going to have an impact in these areas. We face loss of export earnings and possible trade sanctions from countries who do ratify the Kyoto protocol. Failure to be in the lead with the early stages of Renewable Energy Technology development could see other more far sighted countries gaining a major competitive advantage.
The need in the renewable energy area, is a major opportunity. Making Renewable Energy a high research priority will allow us to not just guard against changes in international demand for our fossil fuel resources, but to take a leading role in an immerging area of major significance.
Australia has a number of strengths that mean that it has every possibility of capitalising on these opportunities if it adopts a strategically planned response.
Australia has annual average levels of solar radiation levels equal to the best in the world, and no shortage of available land in which to utilise them. We have a wind resource in the southern regions of the continent that is comparable to Europe’s. Our agriculture industry is large, efficient and adaptable.
Australia has a capable manufacturing sector which is well able to take the technologies to market, provided the correct market and policy signals emerge. For a developed country we are unique in having a major part of the country not covered by grid electricity. Over 1 MWe of load has been identified in non grid connected applications, with electricity prices ranging up to 10 times the city price. This provides a valuable niche market for establishing Renewable Energy Technologies and building economies of scale that lead to mass market application.
Australia also has a community that is financially secure by world standards, and very supportive of initiatives in the area of renewable energy and environmental improvement in general.
Criterion 2.
The scope for Australia to build the capacity needed to achieve that impact, taking into account:
a. existing expertise, experience and technological capacities or whether such capacities can be reasonably acquired or accessed;
b. the availability, quality and scale of necessary research infrastructure;
c. research conducted in other nations and the potential benefits of international collaborations; and
d. the overall magnitude of the investment required to make an impact.
Factors that are likely to limit Australia’s capacity to achieve the desired outcomes – such as skills shortages in key disciplines, structural issues or other considerations - should be identified.
a)
Australia has a number of research groups in the Renewable Energy area, who are already at the forefront of world developments and who could easily expand their activities if the necessary financial were available. The two biggest existing groups are based at the University of NSW (Photovoltaics) and the Australian National University (Photovoltaics and Solar Thermal). The Australian CRC for Renewable Energy unites many of the countries groups in a world class cross border cooperative centre. There are many smaller groups and overall, every aspect of Renewable Energy is represented.
b)
The Renewable Energy area has the advantage that it does not require prohibitively expensive items of infrastructure. Photo voltaics is possibly one of the most infrastructure intensive areas and world class facilities are already in place at both the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales.
c)
Germany and other European countries, Japan and America are all investing considerably more than Australia in Renewable Energy Research. Australia participates in a number of International Energy Agency programs aimed at fostering international collaboration. These include the Photovoltaic Power Systems (PVPS) program and the Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems (SolarPACES) program. Participation in these programs is a very effective way for Australia to make sure that the Research it does do makes full use of overseas developments and can be effectively targeted at niche areas not covered by others. Since renewable energy is not as dependant on single large infrastructure items in the way that Nuclear physiscs is for example, it is possible to make world leading contributions and claim niche areas without outspending other global players.
d)
Not withstanding the comments above, there is a minimum level of investment needed to effectively address Renewable Energy research as a nation. Arguably we are in danger of falling below that. The groups that are currently successful in the field, are in many ways trading on intellectual capital established in previous decades when ARC funding was easier to obtain, the federal governments Energy Research and Development Corporation was in operation and many state governments had Renewable Energy R&D funds available.
Current government funding for Renewable Energy research is limited to approximately $4m per year, largely made up of ARC grants and the modest $1.4m / year contributed to the Australian CRC for Renewable Energy.
An appropriate strategically targeted increase would be a sum of approximately $20m per year. Put in context, the expenditure planned for the new nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights, would cover this for 15 years.
Criterion 3.
The scope for Australia to capture the benefits of the research, through the potential of the research to:
a. achieve commercially, socially or environmentally relevant outcomes over the cycle of the priorities regime; or
b. enhance significantly Australia’s overall innovation capacity by broadening the knowledge base, and fostering acquisition of skills and understanding of emerging areas of ‘hot’ research.
As discussed above, Renewable Energy research is explicitly aimed at providing environmentally relevant outcomes. There is major potential for Australia to capture a share of an industry that is currently experiencing growth rates of the order of 30% per annum.
The social aspect deserves mention. The most important observation that can be made in this regard, is that successful application of Renewable Energy technologies, would represent a shift from fuel intensive energy system to a greater reliance on manufactured technology. Studies of the employment consequences of fossil fuel versus Renewable Energy technologies indicate that the Renewable Energy option typically generates twice as many jobs per unit of energy produced. It is also reasonable to expect that because these will be jobs in a developing technology area, they will foster a greater range of skills than for example mining currently does.
Realistically achievable milestones for Australia to achieve would include: an extra 10% of electricity generation from Renewable sources by 2010; meeting our Kyoto green house gas emission targets and then following them with further reductions; increasing the market share for Solar Hot Water to 50% by 2010.
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