Renewable energy in Australia: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 03:31, 29 March 2007

Australia's renewable energy industries are diverse covering numerous energy sources and scales of operation. They currently make a limited contribution to Australia's total energy supply and represent about 5.9% of the total. The major area where renewable energy is set to grow is in electricity generation following the introduction of the Australian Government's Mandatory Renewable Energy Target.[1]

Major renewable energy projects

Wind power in South Australia

Wind power in Australia is clean and renewable and, at the end of 2006, Australia had an installed electricity generation capacity from wind power of 817MW. The technology is proven, fast to build and economical compared with other renewable energy technologies.[2]

Wind power in South Australia is a fast growing industry with 388MW of grid-connected wind farms installed at the end of 2006. South Australia is well suited to wind farms and more wind power is generated in South Australia than any other Australian state or territory. Major wind farms are:

Wattle Point Wind Farm (91MW)
Lake Bonney Stage 1 (80.5MW)
Mount Millar Wind Farm (70MW)
Cathedral Rocks Wind Farm (66MW)
Canunda Wind Farm (48MW)
Starfish Hill Wind Farm (34.5MW)

A further 254 MW of generating capacity (Hallett Wind Farm, 95MW, and Lake Bonney Stage 2,159MW) is under construction, and construction of another 90 MW ( Snowtown Wind Farm) is due to begin in April 2007.

Solar power station in Victoria

Many projects have demonstrated the feasibility of Solar power in Australia and a large new Solar power station in Victoria is planned.

Solar Systems (company) has announced a world-leading 154MW photovoltaic (PV) heliostat solar concentrator power station for north-western Victoria. The A$420 million project will generate 270,000 MWh per year, enough for more than 45,000 homes. It will aid in reducing salinity and create jobs during manufacture, construction and operation. It will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 400,000 tonnes per year.[3] Full commissioning is expected in 2013, with the first stage to be completed in 2010.[4]

The "CS500" dish concentrator PV unit design has 112 curved reflecting mirrors mounted on a steel frame, which tracks the sun throughout the day. The combination of mirror profile, mounting framework and solar receiver will deliver concentrated sunlight energy to each PV module. The tracking mechanism allows electricity to be produced whenever the sun is more than 5° above the horizon. Direct current electricity from the receivers is passed through an electronic inverter that produces grid-quality alternating current electricity. Transformers step up the voltage to the requirement of the local network at the point of connection. [5]

New photovoltaic technology

SLIVER Cell (TM) photovoltaic technology uses just one tenth of the costly silicon used in conventional solar panels while matching power, performance, and efficiency. [6] Professor Andrew Blakers, Director of the Australian National University Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems, invented the technology with colleague Dr Klaus Weber and developed it with funding from energy supplier Origin Energy and the Australian Research Council. Blakers and Weber won the Australian Institute of Physics' Walsh Medal for their work. [7] Origin Energy is now making pre-production SLIVER modules at its A$20M pilot plant in Regency Park, South Australia. 75W modules will be released soon with production already committed.[8]

Major renewable energy companies

BP Solar

BP has been involved in solar power since 1973 and its subsidiary, BP Solar, is now one of the world's largest solar power companies with production facilities in the United States, Spain, India and Australia.[9] BP Solar is involved in the commercialization of a long life deep cycle lead acid battery, jointly developed by the CSIRO and Battery Energy, which is ideally suited to the storage of electricity for renewable remote area power systems (RAPS).

Solar Systems

Solar Systems (company) is a world leader in high concentration solar photovoltaic applications, and the company is preparing to build the world's largest photovoltaic Solar power station in Victoria, Australia. [10] This project will use innovative concentrator dish technology.

Solar Systems has already completed construction of three concentrator dish power stations in the Northern Territory, which together generate 720kW and 1,555,000 kWh per year. This represents a saving of 420,000 litres of diesel fuel and 1550 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. [11]

Wind Prospect

Wind Prospect developed the 46MW Canunda Wind Farm in South Australia, which was commissioned in March 2005. A second South Australian wind farm, Mt Millar Wind Farm, was commissioned in January 2006 and this provides a further 70MW of generation for the company. More recently, a third wind farm has reached financial close for Wind Prospect in South Australia. This is the 95MW Hallett Wind Farm which is expected to be fully commissioned late in 2008.

In Australia, Wind Prospect has more megawatts of capacity approved by local councils than any other developer in the country. In all, nine wind farms totalling over 700 MW have planning approval.

Pacific Hydro

Pacific Hydro is an Australian company that specialises in electricity generation using renewable energy. Its focus is on hydroelectricity and windpower.

Key government policy initiatives

The Australian Greenhouse Office has responsibility for delivering a number of renewable energy programmes. The Australian Greenhouse Office has policy responsibility for the mandatory target for an additional 9,500GWh of electricity to be produced from renewable sources by the year 2010, and a number of financial incentives for the production and use of renewable energy.[12]

To implement the mandatory target for renewable energy the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 was passed by Parliament. Under the Act a Regulator has been appointed and the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator established. Roles of the Regulator include accrediting renewable energy generators and determining baselines for existing generators; ensuring that renewable energy certificates are validly issued; imposition of penalties and conducting audits.[13]

Other Australian Government support for business, including renewable energy businesses, is delivered by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources.[14]

External links

Renewable energy commercialisation in Australia
Renewable energy in Australia -- Goevernment programmes

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 ===BP Solar===
-[[BP]] has been involved in solar power since 1973 and its subsidiary, [[BP Solar]], is now one of the world's largest solar power companies with production facilities in the United States, Spain, India and Australia.[http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=7810]
+[[BP]] has been involved in solar power since 1973 and its subsidiary, [[BP Solar]], is now one of the world's largest solar power companies with production facilities in the United States, Spain, India and Australia.[http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=7810]  BP Solar is involved in the commercialization of a long life deep cycle [[lead acid]] battery, jointly developed by the [[CSIRO]] and Battery Energy, which is ideally suited to the storage of electricity for renewable remote area power systems ([[RAPS]]).
 === Solar Systems ===