Home: Renewable Energy News: Monday 21 April, 2008

Renewable Energy News

MONDAY 21 APRIL, 2008 |

Australian Coal Association proposes environment alliance

An alliance between industry, union and environment organisations has called on the Federal Government to establish a National Carbon Capture and Storage Taskforce to combat climate change.

The new taskforce, proposed by the Australian Coal Association, the CFMEU, The Climate Institute and WWF, would be charged with developing and implementing a nationally coordinated plan to oversee rapid demonstration and commercialisation of carbon capture and storage so that by 2020 at least 10,000 GWh of electricity would be from this technology.

ACA executive director Ralph Hillman says the proposed CCS taskforce will play a vital role in ensuring that Australia is carbon dioxide storage-ready before 2020. “The black coal industry is now funding a number of demonstration projects through its billion dollar Coal21 Fund with the aim of deploying commercial scale low emission coal technology in the power sector by 2020,” says Hillman.

CFMEU National President Tony Maher says that rapid demonstration of CCS in Australia is essential to securing employment prospects in regional Australia and jobs in coal mining and jobs in new high-tech CCS power plants.

“Mineworkers know that their industry and their jobs only have a future if coal use – and gas use – becomes a low emission industry here and overseas. And with coal being Australia’s largest export industry, we need to lead the way in the development of that technology,” says Maher.

The Climate Institute chief executive officer John Connor says that ensuring all new electricity load is met by clean energy sources will position Australia at the forefront of the global boom in these technologies – and cut the long term cost of reducing emissions.

“Australia’s leadership in the development of CCS can also contribute to emissions reduction in emerging economies such as China and India,” Connor says. WWF chief executive officer Greg Bourne says rapid deployment of low and zero emission technologies, including CCS, is needed if Australia is to avoid dangerous climate change.

“Unfortunately market forces and emissions trading alone will be insufficient to overcome barriers to commercial scale deployment of CCS,” he says. “We need to build demonstration plants now if we expect commercialisation before 2020. The only way we can ensure this will happen is through a coordinated effort by Commonwealth and State Governments and by industry,” he adds.

Climate change predicted to cause more extreme weather

A review of emergency planning and response to this month’s wind storms will further improve the ability of government, industry and the community to deal with such incidents, according to the Victorian Government. More than 420,000 residents across Victoria were left without power at the height of the storms on 2 April 2008, according to Energy Minister Peter Batchelor. The Government has announced a wide-ranging review that will examine the response to the wind storm by electricity distributors and retailers, emergency services and government departments and agencies. “The review will be conducted by the Emergency Services Commissioner Bruce Esplin and will ensure that we can learn from the recent storms and identify ways to improve our emergency response procedures,” says Batchelor. Better communication with the Bureau of Meteorology and the media will be among the topics identified for the review, which will report jointly to Batchelor and Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron by mid-August 2008. Batchelor says the review is in addition to the work to be carried out by the Essential Services Commission. “The Essential Services Commission will be reviewing the performance of the energy distributors as a matter of course. The Esplin review will look at the broader community preparation and response to extreme weather events,” he says. Extreme weather events are predicted to become more frequent as climate change impacts occur, so the review will also identify opportunities to build greater community resilience for such events, says Batchelor.

AEMO Selection Panel recruiting board members

The Ministerial Council on Energy has started the process to recruit the Australian Energy Market Operator board of directors. The AEMO Selection Panel is advertising to recruit the chair, eight non-executive directors and the chief executive officer of AEMO, as part of the Council of Australian Governments initiative to strengthen the governance arrangements in the energy market. Applications for the position of chair and non-executive directors close on 28 April 2008 and the closing date for chief executive officer is 12 May 2008.

WA, Carnegie wave energy feasibility study approved

The City of Albany in southern Western Australia has approved an exclusive option for diversified clean technology developer Carnegie to carry out a feasibility study into the area’s potential as a CETO Wave Energy Project site, subject to community consultation, the company says. When the feasibility study is finalised, Carnegie will be allowed to enter into a lease for the required onshore land footprint for the life of a CETO project with the City of Albany. Several international locations where excellent wave resources and favourable pricing structures co-exist have been identified by Carnegie’s site investigations. Carnegie says that discussions with industry and governments have drawn positive responses and the company is currently conducting advanced assessments at several coastal locations, particularly in South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. Carnegie says its technology is on track to begin commercial project roll-out in 2009.

Bush lines up new climate goal ahead of G8 summit

United States President George W Bush has announced a new national goal his Administration says will stop the growth in US greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. In a speech at the White House, Bush called for the US to “more rapidly slow the growth of power sector greenhouse gas emissions so that they peak within 10 to 15 years, and decline thereafter”. “The growth in emissions will slow over the next decade, stop by 2025, and begin to reverse thereafter, so long as technology continues to advance. Taken together, these landmark actions will prevent billions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere,” says a Whitehouse press statement. Alongside Bush’s announcement, comes the Major Economies Meeting in Paris to lay the groundwork for the world leaders’ climate meeting to be held in conjunction with the G-8 summit in July. The Whitehouse says this will inform the debate the US Congress will soon be having on legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Bush is “urging decisions on regulating greenhouse gases to be debated openly and made by the elected representatives of the people they affect, rather than unelected regulators and judges”, says the Whitehouse. “The Administration is urging each country to develop its own national goals and plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Like many other countries, America’s national plan will be a comprehensive blend of market incentives and regulations to reduce emissions by encouraging clean and efficient energy technologies,” the statement says. “The Administration is willing to include this plan in an international agreement, so long as all major economies are prepared to include their plans in such an agreement. We recognise that different nations will design different strategies, with goals and policies that reflect their unique energy resources and economic circumstances,” it adds. At the Major Economies leaders’ meeting in July 2008, the US Administration says it will seek agreement on a long term global goal for emissions reductions, as well as agreement on how national plans will be part of the post-2012 approach. The next step in the Major Economies Process is a meeting in Paris, where representatives of all participating nations will lay the groundwork for a leaders’ meeting in conjunction with the G-8 summit in July. “This approach must be environmentally effective and economically sustainable. To be effective, this approach will require commitments by all major economies to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gas emissions,” says the Whitehouse. “To be economically sustainable, this approach must foster the economic growth necessary to pay for investments in new technology and to raise living standards. The US must help countries in the developing world gain access to the technologies and financing that will enable them to take a lower carbon path to economic growth,” the Whitehouse statement says.

Contact Energy signs 200 MW peaking plant contract

New Zealand-based electricity generator and retailer Contact Energy has executed contracts to purchase two fast-start gas turbine peaking units to support increasing levels of renewable electricity generation. Contact Energy chief executive David Baldwin has signed an agreement with General Electric to purchase two 100 MW LMS100 gas-fired peaking units. The units will be installed on the site of Contact’s currently disused Stratford power station and are expected to be in service before mid-2010. Contact also signed a contract with United Group (NZ) Limited to project manage, engineer, and install the two peaking units, and procure and install the balance of plant required to complete the NZ$250 million project. “These peakers will play an important role in providing New Zealand with a secure supply of electricity, while also enabling the country to increase the level of electricity generated from renewable sources,” says Baldwin. “The role of thermal generation is changing and, as recognised in the New Zealand Energy Strategy, the strategic use of efficient, fast-start peaking plants will be needed to support increasing volumes of weather-dependent renewables, such as wind generation,” he says. “These peaking units will ensure efficient use of New Zealand’s natural gas resources and underpin development of New Zealand’s renewable resources,” adds Baldwin. The peaking units will be developed in parallel with an underground gas storage facility in the depleted Ahuroa gas field at Taranaki, according to Baldwin. The facility will enable Contact to store natural gas underground during off-peak periods, such as during the summer, and use it during times when it is most needed, such as during winter peaks. “The gas storage facility is an important part of a renewable future for New Zealand. It is hoped to be operational at the time our new peaking plants enter service and will enable us to use these plants with maximum flexibility and efficiency to the benefit of the country’s electricity supply,” says Baldwin.

European energy commissioner backs nuclear

European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has reiterated his view on the important role nuclear energy can play in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. In a speech at a European Nuclear Assembly conference in Brussels, Piebalgs says nuclear energy makes an important contribution “to our fight against climate change and our security of energy supply, but we need to strengthen the cooperation between EU Member states on the issues related to the safety and security of nuclear installations and the treatment of nuclear waste ", he says. The EU needs substantial investments in order to replace its ageing power plants. A large number of currently operating nuclear power plants will reach the end of their lifespan before 2030. In order to make the necessary investments possible, the Commission is examining ways to address the difficulties related to licensing, financing and different nuclear liability regimes. While highlighting the important role of nuclear in the overall energy mix, Piebalgs also pointed out the need to address nuclear safety concerns, nuclear waste management and transparency, which are all important elements for public acceptance of nuclear energy. He outlined recent Commission initiatives such as the High Level Group on Nuclear Safety and Waste Management, the European Nuclear Energy Forum and the Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform (SNE-TP).

Germany debates future energy supply

Leading German politicians continue to debate the future of the country’s power supply, according to various press reports. Head of the conservative CDU party Chancellor Angela Merkel was quoted in the Sunday newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung that the lives of nuclear units should be extended and new coal units should be built to secure power supply in Germany. However, Merkel has repeatedly said she would commit to the decommissioning agreement of the previous social democrat (SPD) and Green Party Government. Germany’s previous government passed a nuclear phaseout law in 2002, forbidding the construction of new nuclear plants and limiting existing ones to an average life-span of 32 years, based on remaining allocated capacity. The majority of conservative party senior members, such as Economy Minister Michael Glos are in favour of extending nuclear life spans. Glos says he intends to address this issue during the election campaign for the 2009 general elections. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also warned of supply shortage as a consequence of the lack of investment in energy infrastructure. “New pipelines have to be built, new transmission lines have to be constructed and efficient coal units have to be connected,” he told Der Spiegel. All that had to happen now, “if we want to avoid the return to nuclear power and meet our climate targets,” says Steinmeier.

Energy Matters to attend 31st ATRAA conference

Appropriate Technology Retailers Association of Australia (ATRAA) will be holding its 31st conference at the Sebel and Citigate Albert Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 31st July to 2nd August 2008. This event represents the only forum where Australian installers, distributors and suppliers of solar energy products and services come together to discuss business.

In addition to the formal business discussions, **ATRAA 2008** provides an opportunity to network with others in the industry, including representatives of the newly established Clean Energy Council (formerly BCSE and Auswind). Since the Council's formation much effort has been placed on securing positive government policy and legislative initiatives to advance the interests of the Australian PV sector including representations on Feed In Tariffs, Rebate Schemes the future of MRET and Emissions Trading in Australia. **ATRAA 2008** presents a timely opportunity to discuss some of the work that has been undertaken by the Council and future directions.

News for Thursday 17 April, 2008