Home: Renewable Energy News: Wednesday 19 August, 2009

Renewable Energy News

WEDNESDAY 19 AUGUST, 2009 |

Australia's Renewable Energy Target - Green Coal?

Fossil fuels and the Renewable Energy Target
Now that coal seam gas has been included in Australia's Renewable Energy Target (RET), it seems that other fossil fuel sectors want a piece of the action too.

Recently made RET amendments allow for coal seam methane to also be counted in the target, a move criticised by the Australian Greens who said it was purely to allow the coal sector to profit.

However, Minister Climate Change and Water Senator Penny Wong says the use of the waste gas as an energy source would be included on top of the 20% target and won't take away from real renewable energy. Senator Wong says the logic behind including coal seam methane was to consolidate and simplify legislation.

Hard on the heels of the coal industry getting their claws into the RET, Australia’s natural gas industry yesterday called on the Federal Government and the Opposition to increase their focus on natural gas in deliberations on the Renewable Energy Target legislation. The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) and the Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA) want the nation’s leaders to recognise natural gas as a low emissions fuel source and a complement to renewable energy sources.

With two fossil fuel sectors having already made a mad dash for a slice of RET green labeling goodness and associated financial incentives, some have questioned what will be next - perhaps brown coal itself - the filthiest of the filthy fossil fuels?

Greenpeace said of the inclusion of coal seam gas, "...even the Mad Hatter could never have imagined a world in which fossil fuels are actually renewable energy sources."

In other RET news, a national, uniform gross feed in tariff for Australia still looks unlikely. A related bill championed by Greens Deputy Leader Senator Christine Milne has been given a lukewarm response by Senator Wong who said, "We are not convinced that adding another layer of regulation and another layer of subsidy is sensible in the context of such a significant investment into renewable energy". Senator Milne's support of feed in tariffs is also heavily backed by a national petition co-ordinated by solar power company Energy Matters, attracting the signatures of over 18,000 Australians.

While Senator Wong's view will be disappointing to many solar power supporters; the industry is still in the process of breathing a sigh of relief that funding for the Solar Credits program looks like it will finally be made available after a positive Senate vote this week - and the feed in tariff issue will be another battle for another time.. soon.

More Aussie Solar Powered Air Conditioning Innovation

Australian solar powered air conditioning innovation
Living in a sunburnt country provides ample inspiration for more effective and efficient cooling devices. In Australia, heating, ventilation and air conditioning accounts for approximately 40% of the energy used in commercial buildings and makes up around 4% of the Australian total greenhouse gas emissions.

The Australian Government earlier this month announced funding of over $450,000 from its Climate Ready program to a local company called Air Change to build "The Green Machine", a solar desiccant air cooler expected to be up to 12 times more power efficient than traditional air conditioning systems.

The Green Machine unit is designed to drastically reduce the energy consumption required for cooling and to power the remaining electrical requirement using 100% renewable, solar powered electricity sources. The Coefficient of Performance - COP - for the Green Machine would be up to 45:1 compared with 3:1 for traditional split systems.

Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry Science and Research, recently visited the Air Change premises in Caringbah to view the technology. According to Senator Karr, Air Change will use a combination of technologies, including solar power, to significantly reduce power consumption. The system will have no need for refrigeration compressors, with the only external energy requirement being to drive the fans. Just about any kind of refrigerant will be able to be used in the system, including water.

Designed for both the domestic and the commercial market, the scalable Green Machine will cool anywhere from an individual room to large factories and office buildings.

The $75 million Climate Ready program offered grants from $50,000 to $5 million to help develop innovative solutions to climate change. Climate Ready is part of the Clean Business Australia initiative - a $240 million partnership over four years between the Rudd Government and industry to deliver energy and water-efficient projects with a focus on productivity and innovation.