Stationary energy

By Mark Ogge

SOUTH Australia has a new Premier. Now it's a good time to talk about a different type of power - the power that turns your lights on.

The Playford B coal power plant in Port Augusta has been operating since the early 1960s. Having been a key part of the state's electricity system for decades, its retirement is imminent.

Playford B's owner Alinta is seeking federal funding to shut it down, finally putting an end to a major source of climate-changing carbon emissions and the pollution that afflicts the local community.

By Matthew Wright

Climate Spectator reports:Comparing China’s wind and nuclear power sectors reveal much about the fortunes of new and old energy technologies.

Wind power in China is growing at a blinding pace. China commenced construction of its first wind turbines in 2005 and in just six years has installed 58GW worth of wind power, which now contributes 128TWh to its grid. This is enough renewable electricity to power Australia’s most populous states – NSW and Victoria combined. 

What’s remarkable about China’s wind sector is the speed and scale of its expansion. Wind generators are up and operating within nine months of breaking ground. This has resulted in the dramatic upward revision of the country’s wind deployment targets. Three years ago China’s 2020 target was set at 30GW, today it’s a massive 200GW.

Last month, the National Development Reform Commission Energy Research Institute released China’s first wind development plan to 2050. A whopping 1000GW – enough to provide 17 per cent of China’s electricity needs – will be built and operating by mid Century.

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

Sophie McCallum of The Transcontinental reports, November 16:

Alinta Energy is seriously exploring the idea of converting its Port Augusta power stations into solar thermal facilities.

Solar thermal was first proposed by renewable energy advocates, Beyond Zero Emissions and has already gained strong support by Port Augusta locals and leaders.

The idea has now been embraced by Alinta Energy, who is exploring replacement options if Playford is closed as part of the federal government’s buyout of dirty power stations, in which the company put up its hand to participate in.

So far, gas has dominated discussions as an alternative power source, but in an interview with The Transcontinental, Alinta Energy chief executive officer Jeff Dimery, said solar thermal had been identified as the most practical solution.

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 Western Times report:

WESTERN Queensland has been touted as one of the best locations in the country for the expansion of Australia’s solar industry.  A report by climate change group, Beyond Zero Emissions, found Charleville, along with Roma and Longreach, was an ideal site to establish a solar thermal power plant.

The Zero Carbon Australia 2020 Stationary Energy Plan outlines a technically feasible and economically attractive way for Australia to transition to 100% renewable energy within 10 years.

The proposed sites were chosen based on three criteria: their relatively high solar incidence and daily sunlight hours, low winter to summer solar resource ratios and proximity to load centres to connect the solar plants to existing population centres.

Charleville scored equal highest for its high level of solar incidence. Beyond Zero Emissions strategic director Mark Ogge said solar could be a hugely successful industry for western Queensland. “We balanced the quality of the solar resource against the existing grid and demand for electricity,” he said. “Charleville measured up in terms of having a great solar resource.” Mr Ogge said a solar thermal power plant would provide a real economic boom for the region. “These plants employ about 750 permanent workers with ongoing fulltime maintenance jobs,” he said.

THE federal government and the power industry have massively overestimated the cost of renewable energy, according to new University of Melbourne research, commissioned by the the government's own Garnaut climate change review.

Forecasts prepared last year for the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism as it helped plan the future electricity network suggest solar and wind power are far more costly than they actually are.

In some cases, rooftop solar panels are already cheaper than the prices they were predicted to fall to in the year 2030.

''If you make the international comparisons to the US Department of Energy and the IEA [International Energy Agency], Australia is really relying on information that's very out of date,'' said Patrick Hearps, a University of Melbourne research fellow and technical director at the group Beyond Zero Emissions.

A NATIONAL team of engineers say they have worked out how to power NSW purely from wind and solar energy within 10 years.

Speaking ahead of a talk at the Ashfield Aquatic Centre this Thursday, the team says that within 10 years they can provide the 8000 mW currently used in NSW every day without resorting to highly-polluting fossil fuels.

Wollongong University Science and Technology lecturer Dr Adam Lucas said the plan revolved around the revolutionary technology of concentrated solar thermal power plants.

“This technology can store energy in big molten-salt tanks like a huge thermos flask,” the Dulwich Hill resident said.

“It is basically a field of mirrors organised on concentric circles around the tower, and they focus the rays of the sun at the top of the tower.