Renewable energy policies

Solar energy benefits the state by providing electricity at much cheaper rates than those of traditional sources, writes Matthew Wright.

It may appear counter-intuitive, but getting millions of solar panels onto rooftops saves more money than it costs. Feed-in tariffs enacted by state governments have enabled ordinary Australians using their savings to build a solar power station at home benefiting the community.

When those solar households who had saved to get their panels installed under the solar feed-in tariff programs export their solar production to the grid, which occurs mostly during higher demand daytime periods, they are given a slightly higher than average retail rate for the electricity they are selling. The prices they have been paid are relatively meagre when compared with the ridiculously high rates paid to big coal or gas power plants.

At the same time that little solar households who have invested their money in a rooftop power station are being paid between 44¢ and 60¢ per kilowatt hour, the old power companies with their dirty belching coal and gas plants are receiving as much as $12.50.

By Matthew Wright

Coal’s days are numbered.

The transition to renewable energy is now well underway. It will put an end to the adverse health impacts coal mining and combustion now has on the health of Australian families such as those in the Hunter Valley. The increased rates of asthma, respiratory and cardiovascular illness that affect thousands will be a thing of the past.

In terms on climate change, the shift to renewables will do more for reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions than the carbon price championed by Climate Change Minister Greg Combet and the Labor government.

For a city like Newcastle, whose development is historically linked to the coal industry, the beneficiaries of business-as-usual will no doubt present the decline of coal as a threat.

The truth of the matter is that the rise of renewable energy is an economic opportunity the likes of which we’d be foolish to miss. The Pew Charitable Trust values the economic opportunity at up to $2.3 trillion over the next decade.

New investment, new jobs, and new export industries are all there for the taking. But securing these benefits for Newcastle and Australia will require political leadership today.  

Carrie-Anne Greenbank of Channel 9 News Gold Coast reports on our visionary plan for a renewable powered Australia:

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW, November 9, 2011:

A proposed restructure of the peak body representing the clean energy industry has revealed a split, and provoked claims it is now biased towards large power companies.

The split comes ahead of the Clean Energy Council's annual general meeting today, at which members will elect board members and change the body's governing constitution.

THE CONVERSATION report: Last week the Coalition announced it would scrap the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) if it forms government.

As the main renewable energy investment measure included in the Clean Energy Future package, the CEFC is intended to fill a gap in Australia’s climate change and energy policy. Scrapping the CEFC would be a substantial setback to the emerging renewable industry.

By itself, Australia’s carbon price legislation will do little to deliver new renewable energy capacity. Instead, the carbon price is expected to shift the electricity sector from coal to gas generation.

As my Melbourne Energy Institute colleague Patrick Hearps explains:

“Analyses from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and Melbourne Energy Institute numbers show that if carbon costs around $25-70/tonne the electricity sector will switch from coal to gas-fired power, and would not drive any extra investment in renewables beyond the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target”.

By Matthew Wright

CLIMATE SPECTATOR reports: Feed-in tariffs were always set to be controversial – they turn the electricity market on its head by opening it for true competition. But they got more controversy than they deserved thanks to the mistake of green groups who only lobbied for feed-in tariffs for small-scale generators, and the incompetence of state government energy departments for managing to draft legislation that didn’t learn from the spectacular success of the German feed-in tariff legislation, the Renewable Energy Sources Act – legislation that has undergone 10 years of tweaking, overhaul and improvement.

There are two ways that a feed-in tariff will turn the market on its head. The first is through guaranteeing to any private investor/generator (be it big or small, private, bank or equity backed) that they can have a connection to the electricity grid and  a guaranteed buyer of their electricity.

Independent power producers are already allowed, in theory, to participate in the “deregulated” Australian Energy market. Some commentators even claim that our market is one of the most liberal markets in the world, but is that really the case?

CLIMATE SPECTATOR reports: About 1000 experts from the emerging solar thermal energy industry have gathered in Grenada, Spain, for the IEA-sponsored SolarPACES conference, with several dozen Australians also in attendance. Groups from the Australian Solar Institute, the ANU solar thermal research centre, the CSIRO, the ACT government and technology developers such as Transfield Novasol and Wizard are also in attendance.

Matthew Wright, the head of Beyond Zero Emissions, says two major themes seem to be emerging from discussions – one is a concession that solar PV has won the day in terms of costs of electricity generated, and the other is that the future of solar thermal lies in storage. These themes are being played out in the US, where non-storage thermal projects funded by government loan guarantees are being substituted by solar PV because of costs, but projects with storage are going ahead.

THE STAWELL TIMES NEWS reports: Stawell Climate Action Group has handed over the results of a survey about renewable energy to Federal Member for Mallee, John Forrest.

Group spokesperson, Julie Andrew said of the 105 Stawell households that were surveyed, 91 percent wanted strong policies to support new jobs and investment in renewable energy.

She said a remarkable 90 percent of those surveyed wanted Australia to develop a plan to move to 100 percent renewable energy.

"We found when we talked with people and shared information, people in our region overwhelmingly want to talk about solutions," Ms Andrew said.

"They want to get behind a positive vision. They are tired of the negativity and bickering by politicians and just want our elected representatives to get on and do something."

Scientists and engineers have drawn up plans to convert Port Augusta's two coal-fired powered stations to solar thermal plants.

Non-government organisation Beyond Zero Emissions will meet South Australia's Energy Minister Michael O'Brien this week to discuss the two stations' potential for conversion to solar.

Mark Ogge from the organisation says most equipment and staff would be kept under the plan.

"In a sense a solar thermal power plant is exactly the same as a thermal coal plant, the only difference is to produce the heat you use mirrors to concentrate the sun's energy rather than burning coal," he said.

Mr Ogge says converting the power stations from coal to gas would be too costly.