Australian Energy Security Board Not On Track to Deliver Affordable Energy

Greetings from the Australian National University in Canberra, where Clare Savage, Deputy Chair of the Energy Security Board is speaking on the National Energy Guarantee. Clare said that the board would not be proposing technical reliability measures, be included in energy suppliers contracts, as this would be too complex. However, financial markets have far more complex traded commodities, so I can't see why this can't be done for energy. If reliability measures are not being provided as part of the market based energy system, then I can't see how they can be provided cost-effectively. If reliability is just a requirement imposed on providers we are likely to see a similar situation as with wires and poles, where companies overbuilt the system in the name of reliability, to push up prices to the consumer and thus increase profits. The Australian Energy Security Board is going down a path which will deliver reliable power, but it will be expensive power, with high carbon emissions.

The Australian Energy Security Board has to work within the constraints set by government. However, it should still be possible to design a system which will reward innovations in new technology which can deliver reliability, along with low emissions at an afford able price.  I suggest the Board change their approach to explore those options.

Finkel Report on Australian Electricity Market No Solution

The "Blueprint for the Future: Independent Review into the Future Security of the National Electricity Market" by
Alan Finkel, Karen Moses, Chloe Munro, Terry Effeney and Mary O’Kane has been released by the Australian Government. The 212 page report includes eight pages of recommendations. The report proposes short term regulation requiring energy suppliers and distributors to provide a reserve of generating capacity (dispatchable power). However, the report doesn't address how to do this in a cost effective way. The likely result is that supplying companies will take the opportunity to use this as a reason to further increase prices.

This report is very much focused on the short term  issues of reliable electricity supply which are only an inconvenience to the community, but a major political threat to governments. The report fails to adequately address the long term issue of carbon pollution from coal and gas fired power stations which places the prosperity of the nation and the safety of its citizens at risk.

The authors of the report have met their brief, in providing a way for the Australian Government to avoid having to deal with difficult issues of human caused climate change and reliable electricity supply.  Instead the industry regulator will be required to introduce short term regulations which will increase the cost of electricity in the short and long term, as well as greatly adding to the cost decades from now, when Australia is forced to take effective action on climate change.

If the aim is to increase the reliability of the electricity supply, then there are some simple low cost ways through modern technology. Modern air-conditioners use electronically controlled motors (so called "inverters"). It would require only a small enhancement to the program controlling the inverters to have them help stabilize the power grid. Australian law could be changed to require all new domestic and industrial air-conditioners permanently connected to the grid to be programmed to help maintain it. This would cost a few dollars per unit and the user would be unlikely to notice the difference. A few times a year the air-conditioner would  switch to low power mode for a few minutes to help maintain the grid.

Dr Evan Franklin, Senior Lecturer, Research School of Engineering, ANU, presented an excellent seminar "Electrical power systems with high penetration of renewables: the physics behind the political bluster". Dr  Franklin provided a clear and credible analysis of what caused the South Australian blackout (which precipitated the Finkel Report) and options to improve the reliability of supply while also increasing the use of renewable energy and phasing out coal.

 Unfortunately it seems unlikely the Australian Government would feel able to accept Dr Franklin's advice. One hope for the future is that technology will come to the rescue. The continually dropping cost of solar and wind energy, along with options for battery and pumped hydro storage will likely have more influence on energy options than Australian Government policy. Australia will likely achieve a reliable renewable energy system despite, not because of, government policy.

On Thursday I attended a community energy session at EnergyLab hosted by University of Technology Sydney. Speakers from ClearSky, Pingala,  and Community Power Agency put the case for a different energy future for Australia,  where the community is involved in planning and implementation.

Clean Energy Innovation

Greetings from the Australian National University in Canberra, where Dr Julio Friedmann, Senior Fellow, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is speaking on The Importance of Innovation to Global Clean Energy Development, Past and Future. Dr Friedmann spoke of how there is a glut of hydrocarbon energy available, but also face climate change. He described the Kyoto Protocol as "Mutually Assured Destruction", but praised the Paris Agreement (COP21)in more positively. In the long term global emissions per person need to reduce to that of someone in Zimbabwe, while aiming to improve quality of life.  

Dr Friedmann pointed out the USA has a network of government laboratories working on energy. He also pointed out that Bill Gates, and other entrepreneurs, are contributing capital to long term high risk venture (Breakthrough Energy Coalition), to provide an example to the private sector. To summarize this Dr Friedmann said policy drive finance which then encourages innovation. That is certainly one possible approach, but I suggest this is not the way we got the Internet or the World Wide Web. Both were directly government funded inventions (the Internet by US DoD and the Web European pure science budgets). Only after development with government funding were the Internet and web commercialized.

However, what seems to be missing from Dr Friedman's analysis are political and social aspects. We already have technological and financial solutions to climate change. However, these solutions are politically and socially unpalatable. By offering the prospect of technological fixes in the future, researchers may delay the implementation of proven but difficult solutions. 

Hi tech solutions do not always solve real problems. Dr Friedman gave the example of the testing of aircraft using simulations. However, simulations have limitations. As an example, the launch bar on the F-35C did not lower far enough to hook up to the catapult for launch and the tailhook did not catch on the arrestor wire on the first test. What was needed was not a computer, but a large hammer.

Dr Friedman ended by talking about the need for and possibility of Carbon Dioxide to fuel conversion. This seemed to me an excellent example of what not to do. The problem is to fine an energy source which does involve the burning of carbon as this produces carbon dioxide pollution. Synthetic carbon based fuel can be used to store and transport energy in a convenient fuel, for transport, but will not reduce carbon emissions. Making synthetic fuel will require net energy input. where there are no alternatives, such as for aircraft, synthetic fuel will be an option. But for land transport, there are alternatives such as public transport to replace private cars and freight trains to replace trucks. This requires sophisticated social and political action, rather than new engineering.

Energy, Climate Change Research and Education After Paris

The Australian National University has a series of events, starting this week, on energy and climate change:

ANU Energy Change Institute Open Day 2015,

Monday, 7 December 2015, from 9:00 am. This will include a live from the UNFCCC Paris conference by Associate Professor Frank Jotzo. I will be presenting a poster on teaching ICT Sustainability on-line around the globe.

Solar PV - Changing the Energy Landscape, Monday, 7 December 2015, 5:15 pm, Dr Pierre Verlinden, Vice-President and Chief Scientist at Trina Solar

2015 ANU Energy Update, Tuesday, 9am, 8 December 2015, with Mr Ian Cronshaw, International Energy Agency (IEA) and Byron Washom, UC San Diego's Microgrid

Deciphering the Paris Climate talks: where to next?,

Wednesday, 16 December 2015, 6:00 PM, with
Associate Professor Frank Jotzo (back from the UNFCCC Paris conference)

Managing the growing energy cost of the Internet

Professor Rod Tucker, University of Melbourne will speak on "Managing the growing energy cost of the Internet" at the Australian National University in Canberra, 12.30pm 29 September 2015.

"The size and capacity of the global telecommunications infrastructure is growing as the demand for on-line data and new Internet services continuously expand.  The Internet and its associated data centres presently consume only a few percent of the global electricity supply, but this consumption is growing. In this talk, I will discuss the key contributors to energy consumption in the Internet and describe some approaches to the design of a more energy-efficient network."

Also, ANU's award winning course ICT Sustainability (COMP7310) is being offered on-line to students worldwide, commencing February 2016. The course notes are published as "ICT Sustainability: Assessment and Strategies for a Low Carbon Future" (Worthington, 2012).

Australian Electricity Demand in the Future

Greetings from the Australian National University in Canberra, where Dr Hugh Saddler is speaking on "Electricity demand and Australia’s renewable energy targets: where to?". He showed a graph which showed that the feared "peak demand" for electricity in Australia did not happen. Also he emphasized that not only is demand for electricity in Australia decreasing, but the decrease is accelerating. Dr Saddler points out that some electricity use is not measured (for example power from a roof top solar system which is used in the household). Dr Saddler pointed out this would increase as companies such as Ikea installed their own PV. Residential use of electricity is about at the same level as large industries, both of these are less than general business. All three categories of electricity use are decreasing, residential most rapidly. The largest factor in reduction in electricity use is energy efficiency, not from PV panels. Detached houses use about 50% more electricity than other forms of housing. Dr Saddler concluded that the worst case would be that electricity consumption would remain constant, not increase. Gas consumption for homes is decreasing due to efficient reverse cycle air-conditioning, but this will not significantly increase electricity consumption. There is less scope for reduction for electricity use in business. Interestingly, the Queensland coal seam gas industry is expected to cause an increase in electricity use, associated with the extraction.

Tristan Edis then talked on "50% Renewables: Have We Gone Mad?". He mentioned "Learning the hard way: Australia’s policies to reduce emissions". He argues that regulatory measures have been more effective and less politically contentious than measures such as a carbon price. He argues that emissions need to be reduced by 80% soon and the cost of solar panels and wind turbines have reduced with volume of production. I am not sure I believed Tristan Edis' analysis, but by considering the political palatability of emissions policy he introduced a more useful way to discuss the issues than previously at ANU.

Smart Grids

Greetings from the Australian National University in Canberra, where "Energy Conversations: Smart Grids" is being hosted with the Australian Institute of Energy (Canberra Branch).

Speakers: 

• Paul Scott – PhD Student, AI Group, Research School of Computer Science: Paul talked about how to optimize power distribution on the grid. This assumes that home have intelligent devices which can schedule power use.
• Nick Engerer – Associate Lecturer, ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society: Mich is researching how to measure the power output of solar panels. He showed graphs of the effect of fog and clouds in Canberra on solar power output. This neatly complements Paul's research, as one is about demand for power and the other is about supply.
• Hassan Hijazi – Senior Researcher, NICTA

City-wide simulations of distributed photovoltaic power production

Nicholas Engerer will speak on his thesis project "City-wide simulations of distributed photovoltaic power production", at the Australian National University in Canberra, 1pm, 2 April 2015.

"The 4GW of solar energy installations in Australia are dominated by small-scale photovoltaic arrays, with average system sizes of 1.5kW in 2011, growing to 4.5kW by the end of 2014. With the continuing rapid pace of installations nationwide, providing estimates of the current and future power output of these systems is becoming more crucial.
Nicholas’ thesis project has focused on providing a simulation system capable of producing such estimates. To accomplish this, he has developed a methodology for using a selection of monitored PV systems to produce estimates of the power output from non-monitored systems.

Using Canberra as a proof-of-concept, a city-wide simulation of its 12,500+ embedded PV generators is now possible. The seminar will place an emphasis on simulations for critical ramp events, which are situations where the local meteorology causes all of the PV generators in a region to suddenly produce much less or much more power over a short period of time."

Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol

Greetings from the ANU Energy Change Institute in Canberra, where Dr Helen Locher from Hydro Tasmania is speaking on "Greening of the Hydropower Sector?". She is an Accredited Lead Assessor for the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol. The protocol document (2010) is available in English, (as a 2.2 Mbyte PDF file od 220 pages), French Russian, Spanish, Portuguese and  Chinese.

One question is how this fits into more general envrionmental standards, such as the ISO 14000 environmental management series. The only two mentions of ISO 14001 are:

"Management: In addition, processes are in place to anticipate and respond to emerging risks and opportunities; and plans and processes are embedded within an internationally recognised environmental management system which is third party verified, such as ISO 14001." (p. 59)

"The approach of the Operations assessment tool is similar to that of ISO 14001, in that the existing condition is taken as the baseline, and risks are assessed against that condition." (p. 172)

I found there was work on a "Sustainability Assessment Protocol for Geothermal Utilization". Perhaps the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol could be generalized for any energy generating project.

Dr Locher explained that there had been limited take-up of the protocol in developing nations. But she also mentioned that the assessors had to take a week long course in London. Perhaps an on-line course would help make the process more accessible.

Electricity Storage for the Grid

Professor Donald Sadoway (MIT) will speak on "Innovation in Stationary Electricity Storage" at the Australian National University in Canberra, 11am, 22 January 2015.

Massive electricity storage would offer huge benefits to today’s grid, reducing price volatility, improving stability against loss of power, increasing utilization of generation assets by enabling us to design towards average demand instead of peak demand, and deferring the costs of upgrading existing transmission lines. When it comes to tomorrow’s grid, storage is critical to widespread integration of renewables, i.e., solar and wind, which due to their inherent intermittency present challenges for contribution to baseload. Comprising two liquid metals and a molten salt electrolyte, the liquid metal battery has been invented to offer colossal current capability and long service lifetime at very low cost, i.e., the price point of the electricity market. The round-trip efficiency of these batteries is greater than 75% with a duty cycle of 4 h discharge. Fade rates of 0.0002%/cycle have been measured which means retention of >99% of initial capacity after 10 years of daily cycling and 80% of initial capacity after 300 years of daily cycling.

ANU Energy Update 2014

Greetings from the ANU Energy Update 2014 at the Australian National University in Canberra. The event was opened by Oliver Yates, CEO of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), who pointed out Australia was over-reliant on coal for power generation, particularly brown coal and that renewable energy was a viable alternative.He said that as a banker he had never seen "An executive team driving by looking through the rear vision mirror", which was clearly a criticism of the Australian Government's energy policy.

Ian Cronshaw from the International Energy Agency presented highlights from the World Energy Outlook 2014. It is expected that by 2040, oil, coal, gas and renewables will have equal shares of energy production, without policy changes to address carbon emissions. China's energy use is expected to flatten out by 2030. US and Canadian production of oil, including "unconventional" sources will decline with, the middle east dominating by 2040. Coal for electricity generation in the USA is declining, being displaced by gas. China's use of coal is not expected to "peak" before 2040, but the growth will reduce.Use of coal will continue to increase in India, but be a relatively smaller proportion of energy use. European coal use will continue to fall, with renewables increasing. Without policy changes, the Carbon Dioxide budget for the planet to 2100 will be used up by 2040. This requires action at the Paris climate change summit.

Hans-Josef Fell, architect of the German renewable energy legislation, pointed out that the International Energy Agency's predictions in the past have underestimated the cost of fossil fuel and the success of renewable energy. His book "Global Cooling: Strategies for Climate Protection", 2012 is available.

US Government Continues Criticism of Australian Climate Change Policy

Greetings from the Australian National University where the Light, Energy and the Environment Congress plenary is being held. The US Ambassador introduced Dr. Steven Chu, Professor of Physics and Molecular & Cellular Physiology and former U.S. Secretary of Energy. Dr. Chu was the first energy secretary who was a scientist and was charged with increasing renewable energy use.

This acceptance of the need for action on climate change by the US Government contrasts with Australia, where reports indicate that the Australian Trade and Investment Minister will be sent to climate change talks in Peru, to ensure that the Foreign Minister does not agree to carbon emission reduction measures. The support for Dr. Chu's visit to Australia appears to be a continuation of the criticism of Australia's climate change policy by the US government.

Dr. Chu pointed out that there were significant oil shale deposits yet to be exploited around the world. He also criticized Russia for warning of the environmental effects of shale oil exploitation in Improper while proceeding with it in Russia. He suggested that the world should not wait for this oil to run out before changing to renewable energy sources.

Dr. Chu the drew parallels between anti-smoking campaigns and global warming. The public health problem is that there are decades between the time a person starts smoking and resulting disease. This makes it difficult to first find the cause-effect relationship, then convince the public to act and finally for health to improve. Dr. Chu pointed out that the ratio of isotopes of carbon can be used to show the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is due to human activity and is not due to natural causes. He pointed out that the effect of increased carbon dioxide levels will take hundreds or a thousand years to recover.

Dr. Chu claimed that wind and solar power will be cheaper than coal and nuclear power within ten years. He pointed out that when the environmental cost of carbon dioxide pollution is included, renewable energy is already cheaper than coal (obviously this does not apply to Nuclear power). Dr. Chu predicted a cost of 50 cents per watt for solar panels by 2020. However, Professor Loren Brandt previously pointed out vulnerability in the Chinese solar industry, which dominates the world market. Also Dr Renate Egan, has pointed out that by 2013 the cost of the PV panels for a domestic solar installation was less than the cost of the system. The installation cost is lower with large scale industrial installations. Dr. Chu mentioned that companies such as Solar City lease domestic roofs for energy production and the regulatory costs could be reduced to make this more efficient. Also he suggested that production line techniques could be sued for installation. But I suggest there is considerable scope for Australian companies to innovate in how to sell and install solar power.

Dr. Chu is also be speaking at the ANU ECI Energy Update, next Tuesday, 9 December 2014.

Global Community Has Decided on Renewable Energy

Greetings from the Australian National University where Danny Kennedy founder of Sungevity is speaking on "Rooftop Revolution: The latest trends in solar and wind energy" (video available). He expects 50% solar power and 80% renewable energy by 2050. He described coal fired electricity generation as "stupid and dangerous", criticized the Prime Minister for supporting coal and claimed that they could provide electricity for 17 cents per kWh. Danny used Zeetings for his presentation, which I had not seen before (ihave now set up a Tomw Zeetings).

This was very much a pep talk preaching to the converted (the audience being made up of members of the ANU Energy Change Institute). But we were in need of a pep talk. Being a member of the ANU who teaches how to combat global warming, it is disheartening to be criticized by the Prime Minister, federal cabinet, The Australian newspaper, the Australian Financial Review and some of Australian industry for suggesting investment in fossil fuels is not a good idea.

Dr Renate Egan, Chair of the Australia PV Institute, then provided a more scholarly presentation on trends in solar power. and argued that the PV industry needs to work with utilities She pointed out that in 2013 the cost of the PV panels for a domestic solar installation was less than the cost of the system. As the cells become cheaper, householders are likely to want panels which look better, rather than just generate more power.

Professor Andrew Blakers, Foundation Director of the ANU Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems in his "Renewable Energy Systems" then made the remarkable claim that the cheapest form of solar water heating now is to use a PV panel and a resistive electric water heater. Up to now conventional wisdom has been that hot water is efficiently produced from sunlight by direct absorption (turning sunlight into heat). However, solar hot water systems require a complex systems of pipes, with water (or another fluid) circulated through the roof-top collector. With low cost PV panels, the installation is much simpler, just requiring an electrical cable from the roof, to a tank on the ground.

Australian Government Energy Green Paper

Greetings from the Australian National University ANU Energy Green Paper Forum. An Energy White Paper was released in December 2013 and the Green paper is due out "soon". The emphasis in the white paper was reliability, energy security and cost and this is expected to be reflected in the green paper. The current Australian Government is not as committed to renewable energy or carbon emission reduction as was the previous Labour government. The government is sensitive to energy price rises and adverse public reaction. One current issue is that with liquefied gas export facilities being developed on Australia’s eastern coast, the domestic gas price will increase to international levels. Curiously while there is an oversupply of electricity generation in Australia and the wholesale cost has dropped, retail process have increase. Also curiously the Australian Government and the electricity industry seemed surprised that electricity use is reducing, even though the government funded numerous schemes designed to reduce energy use.

One speaker at the conference referred to "grid defection",  where householders use solar power for their own supply, rather than use it to supply the grid. Investment in battery research is now going into longer battery life, rather than just capacity. Households can also use the grid to supplement their own solar power, which has implications for how the grid is funded.


One of the interesting scenarios later in the day was that Australia’s new LHD warships  will be dependent on imported specialised aviation fuel for its operations. So the warship will not be able to leave port until a commercial tanker from Singapore arrives with fuel. At the same time the Chinese Navy may exercise its right to escort Chinese bulk fuel ships from just outside Australian territorial waters to China. This could be justified if Australia is unable to secure its own trade routes.

Program

12.00   Lunch
12.30   Energy Generation
Speakers: Ken Baldwin (ANU ECI) and Clare Savage (Energy Australia)
13.30   National Energy Markets (electricity and gas)
Speakers: Tony Wood (Grattan Institute) and Iain McGill (UNSW)
14.30   Afternoon Tea
15.00   Energy Productivity
Speakers: Jonathan Jutsen (Energetics) and Michael Smith (ANU ECI)
16.00   Transport Energy
Speakers: John Blackburn (NRMA) and Neil Greet (Engineers Australia)
17.00   Wrap-up discussion
17.30   Close

Australia's Climate Change Targets and Progress

Greetings from the Australian National University in Canberra, where the ANU Climate Change Institute is holding its "First Climate Change Colloquium to Discuss Australia's Targets and Progress". The first speaker is Anthea Harris, CEO of the Australian Government's Climate Change Authority (CCA).

Since the Climate Change Authority was established, the Australian Government has changed. The Australian Department of Environment issued a "Emissions Reduction Fund White Paper",  which expresses the new government's "direct action" approach, which differs from the previous cap-and-trade system. Under the new approach the government will pay organizations to reduce emissions, with a price set through a limited auction, rather than organizations trading permits on a market.

Ms. Harris pointed out that reductions beyond the Government's -5% target for 2020 would be relatively inexpensive. Some measures which could be carried out are to purchase international carbon permits. However, I doubt this would be welcomed in the current political climate with an emphasis on budget savings. Sending money off shore, boosting other countries economies, is unlikely to be adopted by government.

In my view the academic community in Australia is not serving the public interest well on the issue of climate change. There is a prevailing attitude that if scientists simply present the evidence governments will act. The evidence shows this is not the case. Presenting more climate science  evidence is unlikely to help and may well lower the credibility of the scientific community with government and the general public. This is a matter which needs to be addressed by economists, social and political science, it is not a problem of hard science, but of perception.

The current discussion of climate change reminds me of a conversation between a patient and doctor I overheard while in hospital. The doctor explained to the patient that they were seriously ill with liver failure due to excess alcohol consumption. The patent asked when they would be able to have a drink. The doctor explained that if the patient gave up alcoholic completely immediately they may live long enough to get a liver transplant. The patent again asked when they would be able to have a drink. No matter how many times the doctor explained the seriousness of the situation, the patient could not accept they must give up alcohol. Similarly the world needs to give up its addiction to fossil fuel to reduce the extreme harm resulting. However patiently scientists explain this, the addict will not understand and not act. This situation can be changed, but will take the sort of measures used to treat addiction.

I am a member of the ANU Energy Change Institute and teach ICT Sustainability to masters students. They spend some time estimating energy and emissions from ICT, which is relatively easy, them more time on the harder problem of reducing them and then the really hard task of convincing their boss to actually make the required changes.

At the beginning of the year I had to revise my course notes to take into account the new government's approach. This proved to be much easier than I expected. As my students focus on how to estimate energy and emissions, then how to reduce them, the government policy dictating that this should be done does not much matter. While the pricing mechanism will change, it does not appear how emissions are estimated will not.

Bulk Energy Storage for Renewable Energy

Greetings from the Australian National University Energy Change Institute, where Peter Rood from General Compression is speaking on Bulk Energy Storage. He discussed two types of bulk storage: Pumped-storage hydroelectricity and Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES). Pumped hydro has a low capital cost where an existing hydro-electric system is used, such as Snowy Hydro's Tumut 3. Natural Gas Fired CAES is added to natural gas turbine power station. At times of surplus power, compressed air is pumped into a reservoir, usually an underground chamber. At times of energy need the compressed air is used to drive the turbine, without the need for natural gas fuel. More advanced systems extract heat from the compressed air and stores it separately in a liquid. The heat is then added back into the air during decompression.

Peter pointed out that as well as supplementing a conventional power station, energy storage can be used to allow a renewable intermittent energy source (such as wind and solar) to be used as a base-load supply.

General Compression uses a electric motor/generator connected to water cooled two stage pistons to compress the air. Interestingly the system uses a hydraulic motor/pump between the electric and air systems. Their pilot system is 2MW, but the system can be expanded.

Peter commented that the engineer technology used is based on that of automotive engines (whereas to me it is reminiscent of steam engines). Perhaps the Australian Government would be interested in a grant to investigate having former automotive workers manufacture this equipment in Australia using surplus capacity at car plants. This would provide Australian jobs as well as lowering Australia's carbon emissions.

Bulk energy storage projects offer unique benefits over smaller distributed storage technologies. Primarily driven by the significantly lower relative costs achieved though economies of scale and the ability to store energy for tens of hours, bulk energy storage projects allow for energy storage to be deployed at the megawatt scale on transmission and distribution networks. Core bulk storage applications include firm renewable energy projects, network level integration of distributed PV generation, and no or low-carbon supply of ancillary services.

Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is one of two primary types of bulk energy storage , the other being pumped hydro, and store energy as compressed air in under or above ground vessels. General Compression is a Boston, USA based technology development company that has developed a near-isothermal compressed air energy storage system. Traditionally CAES projects have used natural gas to add heat to the generation portion of the process, General Compression's technology captures heat generated as electricity is converted to compressed air and reintroduces that heat during the generation process eliminating the need to burn natural gas making the technology fuel & emissions free.

More information, please see http://cecs.anu.edu.au/seminars/more/SID/3429

World Energy Outlook 2013

Mr Ian Cronshaw, of the International Energy Agency, will speak on the "World Energy Outlook 2013 at the ANU Energy Update, 5 December 2013. The event is free and is hosted by the Australian National University in Canberra.

The ANU Energy Change Institute (ECI) is pleased to host Mr Ian Cronshaw from the International Energy Agency (IEA) to present the latest insights from the 2013 World Energy Outlook. This year the IEA published the WEO on November 12th, providing a snapshot of international energy trends.

The Energy Update will provide Australian researchers, policymakers, industry and members of the public with the latest state of play in the world’s energy markets.

The inaugural Energy Update has a particular focus on Asia, where energy demand is growing faster than anywhere in the world. In addition to the rapid growth in China and India, Southeast Asia as a region is rising fast as a global energy player. The region’s booming economy is expected to drive this trend in years to come. Efforts to close the development gaps and sustain economic growth using fossil fuels could result in a significant rise in greenhouse gas emissions, while efforts to secure energy supplies could potentially redraw the global map of energy security and geopolitics.

The full day event features national and international presenters from government, universities and the private sector to discuss a range of issues such as global and regional energy outlook, sustainable energy technologies, energy security and energy poverty. The speakers participating are at the cutting edge of politics, economics and trade, and each session will focus on opportunities and challenges in these fields. ...

The ANU Energy Update is organised in by The ANU Energy Change Institute in conjunction with the ANU College of Asia and The Pacific.

Presenters include (in alphabetical order):

• Dr Marwansyah Lobo Balia, National Energy Council of the Republic of Indonesia, Special Advisor to the Energy Minister of the Republic of Indonesia
• Professor Ken Baldwin, Director of The ANU Energy Change Institute
• Professor Andrew Blakers, Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems, ANU
• Dr Paul Burke, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU
• Mr Allaster Cox, First Assistant Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Mr Ian Cronshaw, International Energy Agency
• Dr Matthew Dornan, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU
• Professor Peter Drahos, Regulatory Institutions Network, ANU
• Mr Bruce Godfrey, Board member of ARENA
• Professor Quentin Grafton, The Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU
• Professor Chris Greig, UQ Energy Initiative, University of Queensland
• Dr Edward Halawa, Centre for Renewable Energy, Research Institute for the Environment
• Professor Andrew MacIntyre, Dean of the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
• Professor Hugh Outhred, School of Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications, UNSW
• and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University
• Dr Michael H. Smith, Fenner School of Environment and Society, ANU Mr Bruce Wilson, Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics
• Professor David Stern, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU
• Dr Ivor Frischknecht, Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

Registration is required at: anuenergyupdate.eventbrite.com
E adhityani.putri@anu.edu.au T 02 6125 6599
This event is free and open to the public

 

Renewable Energy Technologies for Economic Development

Greetings from the ANU Energy Change Institute, where Richard Adams, Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC),  US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is speaking on "Innovation and Commercialisation of Renewable Energy Technologies". He commented that the NREL wasted time talking about environmental benefits of renewable energy technology, when economic benefits and jobs would better get attention. Richard said he was "stunned" that electricity demand had dropped in Australia, whereas it is still increasing in the USA. I found that comment surprising, as he should be aware that Australia has a policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and had implemented this party through an increase in electricity prices, which has reduced demand. In contrast the USA doesn't have an effective greenhouse gas emissions policy.

Richard commented that much of the solar panel industry had moved to China and NREL needed to consider how new technologies could be implemented by industries in the USA for local jobs. This seemed to me a short sighted and infeasible goal. If the aim is to create wealth and provide energy in the USA, this might be better done by licensing the technology to where it can be best manufactured.

Richard gave Tesla Motors as a model of low investment US manufacturing start-up. However, Tesla's first electric car was the Tesla Roadster, which is largely built in the UK as a modified version of the the Lotus Elise, with components from throughout Europe. The car is assembled in the UK and USA with imported batteries. This is a valid form of international manufacturing, but does not provide many US jobs.

Richard is the Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) at the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as well as the Director of the Center for Renewable Energy and Economic Development (CREED). NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. It is a global leader in developing creative answers to today's energy challenges. From fundamental science and energy analysis to validating new products for the commercial market, NREL researchers are dedicated to transforming the way the world uses energy. Drawing on his deep expertise and experience in supporting innovation and commercialisation of renewable energy technologies as well as his understanding of the Australian and US renewable energy sectors, Richard will introduce NREL and discuss, among others, possible areas of Australia - US collaboration, NREL’s experience in commercialisation of energy technologies, US policies encouraging innovation in renewable energy as well as major obstacles to broader uptake of renewables in US.

Innovation and Commercialisation of Renewable Energy Technologies

Richard Adams, Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC),  US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will speak on "Innovation and Commercialisation of Renewable Energy Technologies", at the ANU Energy Change Institute, Australian National University, Canberra, 2:30pm 18 July 2013

Richard is the Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) at the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as well as the Director of the Center for Renewable Energy and Economic Development (CREED). NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. It is a global leader in developing creative answers to today's energy challenges. From fundamental science and energy analysis to validating new products for the commercial market, NREL researchers are dedicated to transforming the way the world uses energy. Drawing on his deep expertise and experience in supporting innovation and commercialisation of renewable energy technologies as well as his understanding of the Australian and US renewable energy sectors, Richard will introduce NREL and discuss, among others, possible areas of Australia - US collaboration, NREL’s experience in commercialisation of energy technologies, US policies encouraging innovation in renewable energy as well as major obstacles to broader uptake of renewables in US.

Lessons from Renewable Energy in Spain

Greetings from the Australian National University, in Canberra, where Professor Cayetano López, Director General of CIEMAT, is speaking on "Renewable Energy in Spain: Technology and Politics". He started by saying how Spain's 75% dependency on fossil fuels, while better than the world average (85%) is not sustainable. He said this needs to change in one or two generations. The problem is to reduce the carbon content of energy sources. The demand for energy is increasing and any reduction in supply will harm the poorest people in developing nations the most. So what is needed is sources of cleaner energy. This will require nuclear power will need to be at least retained, if not increased, despite the potential for accidents. Clean coal is one possibility, but sequestration of CO2is problematic. As a result Professor  López concentrates on forms of renewable energy, which are increasing. The proportion of hydro electricity in Spain is reducing, whereas wind energy and solar energy are increasing. Spain was aiming for 20% renewable energy by 2020, which is achievable, whereas Germany is aiming for 18%, but is only at about 10%. Spain is third in the world in terms of the proportion of electricity generated by wind power (16%). Denmark has the highest proportion at 27%, but as Professor López pointed out, Denmark can send any excess to the German grid. Spain has a health wind power equipment industry. The third largest company ACCIONA has a wind farm in Gunning NSW. Most other major wind power companies are Chinese. Professor López described a "PV Bubble" in Spain due to government incentives, which caused a sudden increase in installations, which has now ended (due to end of government subsidy). Most of the Spanish PV installations are ground mounted, not on buildings as in Australia. 

The recent savings measure by the Spanish government have removed subsidies and incentives for renewable energy.  However, the rising price of electricity and lower cost of solar and wind equipment is resulting in new investment based on market prices. This allowed Professor Lópezto finish on a positive note.

The presentation appeared to be an update of "CSP in Spain" presented by Professor  Lópezin 2011.