My favourite things are pointing fingers and Renewable Energy
The state of renewable energy in Australia
The Australian energy sector is facing heightened political scrutiny with a multitude of fingers being pointed from politicians, energy companies and mining companies alike, as well as input from the odd American billionaire. After well publicized blackouts, in the state of South Australia through 2016, the reaction of federal government was to blame the state government for having 41% of their energy coming from renewables, with limited storage capacity. The state government blamed the federal government for a lack of investment. This story has continued through state and federal governments, without much clarity coming through. The final, official incident report documenting the cause of the blackouts found that extreme weather had downed electricity lines, which caused the wind farms to activate a protection mechanism, resulting in a huge drop in power and so causing the blackout. Not the result of having a high percentage of electricity sourced by renewable means.
To provide an insight on the matter and perhaps lighten this darkened mood, not for the first time in this blog series, I'll inject a small amount of comedy, from the tremendous Clarke and Dawe, of the ABC.
The primary means of electricity generation through Australia are Coal (both black and brown) and Gas, with substantial contributions from Wind, Solar and Hydro (Fig. 1). In my previous post, I have mentioned that Australia has been classified as a 'low performer' when it comes to renewable energy, when compared to their COP21, Paris agreement pledges. As the prediction of renewable energy uptake shown in Fig.1, this rating should be of no surprise, with the predicted uptake of renewables to be dismal, for a comparison, Sweden was aimed to be entirely run by renewables by 2040. In Sweden through 2015, 57% of the nations energy was provided by renewable means. On the surface of things, this seems outrageous, Australia is a developed country with a GDP of $49,927.8 USD, with a young, educated population. Australia also boasts an abundance of renewable resources at it's fingertips, such as having the highest solar radiation per m2 of any country in the world. However, Australia also has a huge abundance of natural resources including Coal, Oil and Gas, it would seem until these resources have been exhausted and the companies, which produce them have stopped funding political parties, then they will continue to inhibit the timely push needed to develop significant renewable energy.
Studies have shown that if we use all of the known fossil fuel reserves currently, then we will exceed the 2oC pledge from the Paris agreement (which Australia has agreed to), this should have Australia striving to go as renewable as possible. However, this isn't the case, at least not from Government (Fig.1), levels of uptake of renewables are predicted to stay at a similar ratio to fossil fuels until 2030. The main arguments tilted against renewable energies are that they will increase the cost of energy for the end user, the reliability has also been criticized. Until recently, industrial scale battery installations were not feasible and so when energy from wind and solar was not being generated, no power was accessible. Recent developments with industrial batteries have changed, with Lithium-ion batteries now becoming more efficient and more affordable.
A now well documented Twitter exchange occurred between Australian Tech mogul, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Telsa CEO Elon Musk in 2017 (Fig. 2), in which Musk was challenged to fix South Australia's energy problems. Musk responded by promising to build a 100-megawatt battery within 100 days, or it would be free. Tesla competed the project within 60 days of signing the contract, producing the largest grid connected Lithium-ion battery installation in the world.
The Tesla battery installation is connected to the nearby Hornsdale Wind Farm and can provide enough energy for 30,000 homes for up to an hour in the event of a blackout, however the primary function is to regulate and redistribute energy during peak times. This battery installation is by no means fixing Australia's energy industry and reliable power supply problems, but it is a step in the right direction.
This installation and the audacious means by which it came about, shines a very positive light on both the renewable energy sector and South Australia, showing that a green future is attainable and South Australia at least, wants to be at the forefront. The accessibility of battery installations is not only an industrial scale energy fix, numerous companies are now producing home scaled battery systems, 7000 systems were installed within the first half of 2017 alone in Australia. These systems allow users to charge them from PV solar panels, for either their own use or to sell back to the grid and stabilise the main system.
Another particularly exciting development is developing in Western Australia currently, focusing on tidal energy. The CETO project run by Carnegie produces clean energy via an interconnected array submersed buoys anchored to the sea floor. The program, not only produces zero-emission electricity but also, zero-emission desalinated water. This technology could be a huge advancement for both island and coastal communities presently and as a way to transition into a world with rising sea level.
The Australian energy sector is facing heightened political scrutiny with a multitude of fingers being pointed from politicians, energy companies and mining companies alike, as well as input from the odd American billionaire. After well publicized blackouts, in the state of South Australia through 2016, the reaction of federal government was to blame the state government for having 41% of their energy coming from renewables, with limited storage capacity. The state government blamed the federal government for a lack of investment. This story has continued through state and federal governments, without much clarity coming through. The final, official incident report documenting the cause of the blackouts found that extreme weather had downed electricity lines, which caused the wind farms to activate a protection mechanism, resulting in a huge drop in power and so causing the blackout. Not the result of having a high percentage of electricity sourced by renewable means.
To provide an insight on the matter and perhaps lighten this darkened mood, not for the first time in this blog series, I'll inject a small amount of comedy, from the tremendous Clarke and Dawe, of the ABC.
The primary means of electricity generation through Australia are Coal (both black and brown) and Gas, with substantial contributions from Wind, Solar and Hydro (Fig. 1). In my previous post, I have mentioned that Australia has been classified as a 'low performer' when it comes to renewable energy, when compared to their COP21, Paris agreement pledges. As the prediction of renewable energy uptake shown in Fig.1, this rating should be of no surprise, with the predicted uptake of renewables to be dismal, for a comparison, Sweden was aimed to be entirely run by renewables by 2040. In Sweden through 2015, 57% of the nations energy was provided by renewable means. On the surface of things, this seems outrageous, Australia is a developed country with a GDP of $49,927.8 USD, with a young, educated population. Australia also boasts an abundance of renewable resources at it's fingertips, such as having the highest solar radiation per m2 of any country in the world. However, Australia also has a huge abundance of natural resources including Coal, Oil and Gas, it would seem until these resources have been exhausted and the companies, which produce them have stopped funding political parties, then they will continue to inhibit the timely push needed to develop significant renewable energy.
 |
| Figure 1. Showing the current and predicted electricity production type until 2030. From the Australian Department of Energy and Environment |
Studies have shown that if we use all of the known fossil fuel reserves currently, then we will exceed the 2oC pledge from the Paris agreement (which Australia has agreed to), this should have Australia striving to go as renewable as possible. However, this isn't the case, at least not from Government (Fig.1), levels of uptake of renewables are predicted to stay at a similar ratio to fossil fuels until 2030. The main arguments tilted against renewable energies are that they will increase the cost of energy for the end user, the reliability has also been criticized. Until recently, industrial scale battery installations were not feasible and so when energy from wind and solar was not being generated, no power was accessible. Recent developments with industrial batteries have changed, with Lithium-ion batteries now becoming more efficient and more affordable.
A now well documented Twitter exchange occurred between Australian Tech mogul, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Telsa CEO Elon Musk in 2017 (Fig. 2), in which Musk was challenged to fix South Australia's energy problems. Musk responded by promising to build a 100-megawatt battery within 100 days, or it would be free. Tesla competed the project within 60 days of signing the contract, producing the largest grid connected Lithium-ion battery installation in the world.
 |
| Figure 2. Twitter exchange between Elon Musk and Mike Cannon-Brookes |
The Tesla battery installation is connected to the nearby Hornsdale Wind Farm and can provide enough energy for 30,000 homes for up to an hour in the event of a blackout, however the primary function is to regulate and redistribute energy during peak times. This battery installation is by no means fixing Australia's energy industry and reliable power supply problems, but it is a step in the right direction.
This installation and the audacious means by which it came about, shines a very positive light on both the renewable energy sector and South Australia, showing that a green future is attainable and South Australia at least, wants to be at the forefront. The accessibility of battery installations is not only an industrial scale energy fix, numerous companies are now producing home scaled battery systems, 7000 systems were installed within the first half of 2017 alone in Australia. These systems allow users to charge them from PV solar panels, for either their own use or to sell back to the grid and stabilise the main system.
Another particularly exciting development is developing in Western Australia currently, focusing on tidal energy. The CETO project run by Carnegie produces clean energy via an interconnected array submersed buoys anchored to the sea floor. The program, not only produces zero-emission electricity but also, zero-emission desalinated water. This technology could be a huge advancement for both island and coastal communities presently and as a way to transition into a world with rising sea level.
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