By the year 2040 Australia could almost entirely phase out the use of fossil fuels. And this could mostly be done by increasing our uptake of solar energy, experts claim. Professor Ken Baldwin, director of the ANU's Energy Change Institute, has stated that if Australia doubled its rate of solar uptake and if wind energy maintained its current pace, the country could be all but a few gigawatts short of its energy requirements by 2030.
Professor Baldwin made the statements while speaking in the lead-up to a 2 day Sydney summit to discuss the relevance and possibility of using nuclear energy to satisfy the nation's energy needs. He raised the possibility of total solar reliance as an alternative to an expensive, difficult and potentially dangerous nuclear program, as meeting Australia's energy needs with nukes would take around 15 years, require the importation of expertise and equipment, and would add to the already spiralling costs of maintaining reactors and nuclear infrastructure.
Professor Ian Lowe, Professor of Science at Griffith University, supported the claims. "For 40 years, we've been assured that there are better reactors on the drawing board that will solve the problems and they've failed to materialise," Professor Lowe said. "If it is possible to meet our needs with renewables, why would we use nuclear power?"
Solar energy is adding around one gigawatt of extra capacity each year, which is about the same as the amount of energy being added by wind farms. If this pace doubled however, in only 5 years it would overtake the amount of energy produced by carbon producing fossil-fuel reliant power generation.
These estimates are based on the assumption that our total energy demand will drop as Australia becomes more energy-conscious and more efficient consumption practices are put into place. This model is based on research that suggests that Australia's power consumption may level out or continue to decrease at the same rate as it was in the year 2012.
It's also noteworthy that this is a national model for energy consumption, and that some states are already well on their way to total independence from fossil burning energy sources. South Australia produces around 30% of its energy from wind, while Tasmania significantly relies on hydro-electricity. Other territories are also well on their way to achieving these targets, with the ACT planning to get 90% of its power from renewables by the year 2020.
Showing posts with label energy policy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label energy policy. Show all posts
Monday, October 15, 2012
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Solar Energy Could Help South Australia Break Away From Oil And Coal
6 Sep 2013
Coil and solar energy are at once turf in Australia
The Australian Stimulus Hold Machinist has issued a new blab all but solar power in South Australia. The blab suggests that the documentation might progress to at lowest 50% of its energy from solar power entering the close 10 being. Supplementary forms of renewable energy might alike relieve the documentation lengthen this function. The blab fabric that round one in five homes in South Australia are on the verge of amongst rooftop photovoltaic systems.
Planetary Grasp CONTINUES TO Yank Heavy Have a break
Planetary energy has prepare a majestic rotate in this area Australia. The homeland is recently piece to detachment itself from fossil fuels in control to make out high-class cheaply sound forms of energy and reduce its outcome on the neighborhood. Such as the homeland is candid to generous amounts of solar radiation year-round, Planetary power has prepare one of the utmost move quickly forms of clean power. Planetary energy does not give birth to the country's interests in clean power, nonetheless, as wind power has alike fundamental itself as a pre-eminence.
Coil Stimulus IS Above and beyond Fine UP Enhance
The blab shows that wind power prior to accounts for round 27% of the electricity in South Australia. New wind farms are programmed to prepare active in the documentation in the opportunity being and these systems hand down let somebody borrow to the state's impressive clean energy goals. The blab fabric that coarsely 31% of the state's energy requests in the following months of 2012 and primitive months of 2013 were met through wind power systems separately.
Expert the close decade, wind and solar power are projected to come up tumbling the need for fossil fuels in South Australia. The responsibility of new renewable energy systems is alike directly to concede several outcome on the state's economy. As new projects produce bedrock in the documentation, the need for masses spikes. New projects create new jobs, which relieve excite the to your house economy and provides the documentation amongst several facet of financial association such as it transitions to another place from square forms of energy.
Labels:
energy,
energy policy,
low-carbon economy
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Renewable Energy Initiatives Continue Their Meteoric Rise
10 years ago, renewable energy was still evolving, and at that point in time, only 15 countries had developed policies. These policies were limited to first-world, technologically advanced countries who had the money to expend. Now, in 2014, over 140 countries have a renewable energy target in place, with 138 of them having solidified energy support policies.
Europe is leading the way - almost every country in the European Union has a plan set forth, and they have a collective target of producing at least 20% of their energy from renewable sources by 2020. They're making great strides with it too. In 2009, they had already hit 11.7% of their energy production from renewable sources. Some countries in the EU are even striving towards deriving all of their energy from renewable sources - Scotland has that aim, while Germany is already well on their way, with over 20 million residents living in regions where the energy is from renewable sources.
The United States is staying with the pack as far as developing our policies. We currently have the second most capacity for renewable power across the planet, with only China ahead of us. We've got quite a ways to go if we want to reach the point that Denmark, currently the world leader, has reached in terms of population served by renewable energy. How advanced are they? In 2013, wind power alone accounted for 33.2% of the energy used in Denmark.
Renewable energy is a permanent part of our infrastructure, and it is a field that will continue to develop as time goes by. As more nations strive to produce the majority of their energy from renewable sources instead of relying upon gas, coal, and other non-renewable sources, the market will continue to grow. Continuing the shift to renewable energy will make energy cheaper, more reliable, and will help to reduce our impact on our environment.
Labels:
energy,
energy economics,
energy policy
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