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Australian industry embraces green energy while government fights emissions cuts Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com December 1, 2005 Despite Australia's resistance to limiting carbon dioxide emissions through the Kyoto Protocol, Australian industry and entrepreneurs are working on novel ways to reduce dependence on traditional fossil fuels. Australia's vast uninhabited and sun-drenched interior is could be an ideal site for the industrial-scale development of solar technology which could then sold or licensed to other countries. A similar landscape in the desert of California is already being eyed for such purposes with two large solar projects planned. While these projects call for the use of pricey solar dishes, there may be other solar-based technology options. EnviroMission, a public company in Australia, is building a 50MW power station on the Sunraysia site in Buronga, New South Wales, that is based on a "solar chimney" concept whereby solar energy is harnessed by the convection of heated air. EnviroMission's technology, which it calls a Solar Tower power station, uses the sun's heat to warm a large body of air which then rises through a vertical wind tunnel causing large turbines to spin and generate electricity. The amount of energy generated is directly proportional to the height of the tower. The proposed Buronga tower will be over 3300 feet (1000 meters) tall. EnviroMission says a single 200MW Solar Tower power station will provide enough electricity to power around 200,000 households, but at a savings of more than 900,000 tons of carbon dioxide, an important greenhouse gas. The answer's blowing in the wind Meanwhile, wind energy may gaining strength in Australia after a period of stalled investment in renewable energy projects says the Australian Wind Energy Association.
Further, argues the association, "while renweable energy technologies like wind power are currently more expensive than coal [Australia's largest source of energy], the cost of wind energy would be cost-competitive with fossil fuel generation today if environmental and health pollution costs were factored into the price of electricity." Converting sewage into energy Cy d'Oliveira, an inventor from Queensland, Australia, has another idea for helping Australia meet its energy needs in "cleaner" fashion. D'Oliveira has devised a system that purportedly converts sewage and paper pulp into methane and other raw energy sources. He calls the system the d'Oliveira Natural Gas Refinery (dNGR) and claims the technology could produce up to 4.71 Kwh (17 MJ) of electricity per 1Kg of sewage sludge. Mr. d'Oliveira views his dNGR as a potential way for reducing greenhouse gas emissions produced by the combustion of fossil fuels. The concept of using biofuels -- any fuel that derives from biomass -- has gained ground in recent years. Biofuels are appealing since they are a renewable energy source and their combustion doesn't result in a net increase of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere (their carbon was already extracted from the atmosphere by growing plants). Currently around 15% of the world's energy consumption comes from bioenergy, mostly in developing countries where fuelwood, animal waste, and charcoal is burned for heating and cooking purposes. Whether or not Mr. d'Oliveira process is commercially viable is still to be determined -- his plan would require significant changes in how waste is handled. For now Mr. d'Oliveira aims to raise funds to develop a pilot plant to test his concepts. Impetus to fight climate change
Despite its hesitance to reduce emissions, Australia is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Research suggests that the corals of Great Barrier Reef, the country's largest tourist which brings more 1.8 million tourists and generates AU$4.3 billion, could be mostly dead by 2050 if even conservative climate projections prove accurate. Further, the desert-like interior and dry northern parts of the country are expected to become even drier as the climate warms, worsening the risk of forest fires which have burned large areas over the past five years. Rising temperatures will also likely impact the country's unique biodiversity while threatening the health of Australians. In September, the Australian Medical Association and the Australian Conservation Foundation warned that climate change could expand the range of tropical diseases well into the country. For these reasons it seems imperative that Australia begin to address carbon emissions and climate change issues. Renewable energy could play an important part in facing these challenges. Related article Harvesting tornadoes as power plants; renewable wind vortex energy Engineers are working to use artificial tornadoes as a renewable energy source according to an article in last week's issue of The Economist. Storms release a tremendous amount of energy. Hurricane Katrina, a category 4 hurricane, released enough energy to supply the world's power needs for a year, while the typical tornado produces as much power as a large power station. Engineers are looking a ways to harness this energy for human use. Renewable energy in China, a strategic future? With a host of environmental and domestic social concerns -- and potential future international conflict -- China could be well suited to pursue renewable energy sources. While China has been actively investing in exploration and development operations in Africa, South America, and other parts of Asia over the past five years, China has also significantly expanded its interests in renewable energy sources including wind, solar, biofuels, tidal, and small hydroelectric dams. News index | RSS | Add to MyYahoo! Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
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