South Australia Boosts Solar Power Goals And Support

 

South Australian Premier Mike Rann yesterday announced solar panels will be mandatory for all new and substantially refurbished government and government-operated residential buildings from July 1 next year.
 
Speaking from Copenhagen where an important climate change conference is under way, the Premier also pointed out the South Australian government has increased the state's target for renewable energy generation to 33% by 2020. 
 
This revised target is much higher than Australia's national RET (Renewable Energy Target) of 20% and "puts us in a world leading position on renewable energy targets along with California", said Mr Rann.
 
Under the new scheme, government owned and operated residential buildings will have a minimum of 1.5kW of solar panels installed while all other new government buildings will have a minimum of 5kW.
 
Also announced by Premier Rann was another initiative to stimulate investment in the state's solar sector. Investors will benefit from payroll tax rebates of up to $5 million for large solar farms and up to $1 million for wind power projects. This program will also commence in July 2010.
 
Australian states have been in fierce competition with each other on the solar front during 2009, likely triggered when early in the year the A.C.T Government implemented what was at the time the nation's most generous feed in tariff for solar power. 
 
More recently, Victoria's feed in tariff; originally labeled somewhat of a failure, has gained momentum not so much due to government policy, but thanks to market forces 
 
New South Wales has also stepped into the solar spotlight with its Solar Bonus Scheme which pays 60 cents per kilowatt hour to owners of home solar power systems and other forms of renewable energy based micro-generation for all electricity produced 
 
While South Australia's announcement will be welcomed by solar power supporters in the state, it's still unknown if the Rann government will follow the lead of other states and also switch its feed in tariff from a net system to a gross model. 
 
Currently, owners of home solar power systems in South Australia receive 44c per kilowatt hour for surplus electricity exported to the mains grid. Under a gross model such as in the A.C.T and New South Wales, all power generated would be eligible for the premium rate and therefore make investing in home solar power systems an even more attractive proposition.
 
Gross feed in tariffs have been demonstrated time and again one of the best ways to stimulate solar power uptake and formed the basis of Germany becoming one of the world's leaders in residential solar power based electricity generation.
 

Survey: Australians Favour Renewable Energy Over Nuclear

 

While Australia has remained steadfast in forgoing nuclear power generated electricity, the option continues to be floated as a possibility to help Australia head towards a low-carbon future. However, a recent poll shows that the majority of Australians would still prefer to see renewable energy being the focus.
 
A recent survey commissioned by the Clean Energy Council (CEC) has shown huge support for renewable energy technologies such as solar power and wind energy compared to nuclear power in Australia.

The Newspoll survey was conducted nationally among 1205 respondents aged 18 years and over by telephone over the period of 4 to 6 December.

93 per cent of those polled favoured the Federal Government supporting the development of renewable energy and 49 per cent also showed support for the development of nuclear sources.
 
However, in regard to which approach should receive the greater attention, 80% of respondents said that the government should give priority to renewable energy while only 15 per cent favoured priority being given to developing nuclear energy sources.
 
The survey also found males and those over 50 were significantly more likely to believe greater priority should be given to nuclear energy.
 
CEC chief executive Matthew Warren said the results show Australians want the Government to exhaust every other alternative before talking about nuclear energy as a climate change solution for Australia.

The CEC is an industry association representing the clean energy and energy efficiency sectors.  It has more than 300 member companies involved in the development or deployment of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies including wind, hydro, wave and ocean, solar photovoltaic and thermal, bioenergy, solar hot water, geothermal and cogeneration.
 
Related: 
 
Solar and Wind vs. Nuclear Power - The Nuclear Illusion
 
Solar Power, Wind Cheaper Than Coal And Nuclear Energy
 

World's Largest Solar Powered Commercial Building Opened

 

While China may have a reputation for generating huge quantities of carbon emissions, it's also a world leader in renewable energy technology and has constructed some truly impressive green buildings.
 
One such building recently opened in Dezhou, Shangdong Province in northwest China and will be the main venue for the 4th World Solar City Congress. 
 
The building has a total area of 75,000 square meters and features exhibition centers, scientific research facilities, meeting and training facilities and a hotel.
 
To remind of the urgency for developing renewable energy technology to replace fossil fuels, the building has a sun-dial design and features the Chinese characters for the sun and moon. 
 
The building will source 95% of its energy needs from renewable energy and features a 5000m2 solar panel array, solar hot water, a solar desalination plant and a solar energy theme park. Advanced roof and wall insulation will generate energy savings 30 percent higher than the national energy saving standard.
 
Dezhou boasts far more than just this awe-inspiring building in terms of renewable energy - it's a solar city. There are some 5.5 million people living in Dezhou and just about all the residents of the city have solar hot water systems. Solar energy powers everything from street lighting to tourist cars.
 
According to Greenpeace, in 2007, 800,000 people in  Dezhou had jobs in the solar panel industry and that figure is expected to grow to 1,500,000 by 2020.

Statistic: By 2010 the number of solar hot water systems installed in China will equal the thermal equivalent of electrical capacity of 40 large nuclear power plants. 
 
Sources: Greenpeace, China Solar City, China.org, Miller-McCune 

Related:

More wind and solar power statistics and trivia 

News for Tuesday 15 December, 2009

 

• Low Emissions Distributed Energy Could Save Australia $130 Billion
  


• Australia Kicks In And Gets Kicked At Copenhagen Climate Conference
  

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