The Council thanked the government for confirming its 2007 election promise and reaffirming its commitment towards the rapid development and deployment of the nation’s renewable energy sector.

The Renewable Energy Target has the potential to unlock more than $20 billion worth of zero emission, clean energy investments and create thousands of new green job opportunities across the nation.

“This policy has been a long time coming and we’re relieved to see draft legislation tabled sooner rather than later,” said Chief Executive Matthew Warren.

“It represents an important step towards investors being able to bank new projects which deliver immediate emissions reductions ahead of the gentle ambitions of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.”

Mr Warren said the draft RET legislation had introduced a number of novel policy initiatives which have not been discussed with industry.  These pose a number of serious concerns about the effectiveness of the proposed legislation and its ability to provide the crucial development pathway and investor certainty for the industry.

“The task at hand now is to clarify these issues and find solutions to ensure that the government delivers on its election promises.”

“This draft legislation impacts on the future of the entire renewable energy industry. It is critical we get this legislation right to ensure the industry has the confidence to begin investing as soon as possible.”

The 20 per cent (45,000GWh) by 2020 renewable energy target goes beyond the existing Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) originally set at 2 per cent (9,500GWh) and which has since resulted in over 6,500 gigawatt hours of new clean energy generated this year.

The draft RET legislation is available for public download at www.climatechange.gov.au/renewabletarget

In a report released today, the Senate Committee noted strong industry, consumer and government support for feed-in tariff schemes and recommended that the federal government work as quickly as possible towards agreement on a national feed-in tariff framework.

The CEC’s solar industry spokesperson, Andrea Gaffney, said the report favoured the use of gross

feed-in tariffs which would apply to all the energy generated by these technologies, paving the way for the federal government to adopt a national approach.

“Gross feed-in tariffs will provide stability for the solar and other emerging renewable energy industries to invest in Australia’s clean energy future”, Ms Gaffney said.

“A nationally consistent gross feed-in tariff would reward investors for the savings they deliver to the electricity grid through avoided distribution losses and infrastructure costs.

“A gross feed in tariff would formally recognise these benefits and help provide stability to the solar PV industry given the prevailing uncertainty surrounding the future of the federal government’s solar rebate program.”

Five state and territory governments have already announced a range of feed-in tariff schemes.   While their support is welcome, there is wide variation in the design and operation of these schemes, creating inconsistencies for business and consumers which will increase costs and complexity, create market distortions and will ultimately not help the development of the renewable energy industry.

“The industry is keen to transition from rebates and the Council calls upon the federal government to act on the recommendations in this report and quickly adopt a nationally consistent gross feed-in tariff framework and sure up industry certainty.”

This column accompanied a survey showing that the vast majority of people who responded now support permanent water restrictions and many are already taking positive personal action towards reducing their own environmental footprint. Granted, such self-selecting surveys are likely to be biased towards those who care about such issues to begin with, but it’s encouraging nonetheless.

Now, I beg the indulgence of regular BNC readers, because much of this column is simply a reworking of ideas I’ve discussed (and harped on and belabored) in previous posts – but there are a few new ideas regarding the encouraging link between changing attitudes on water conservation in South Australia (we are currently in a deep and sustained drought) and what is possible for energy efficiency, GreenPower purchases, and support for large-scale renewables.

You’ve got to start somewhere…

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Green Power Shift

Published in The Messenger, 29 Oct 2008

THERE is no doubt that public opinion on an issue can swing quickly when evidence on the need for change stacks up.

Just think of the old truism “a week is a long time in politics”.

The current worldwide financial crisis is a good example of a situation where a huge problem seemed to suddenly hit global markets.

Yet the root causes of this crisis – poorly secured loans, risky investments and energy insecurity – were long in the making.

It also forced actions by federal governments, such as the part-nationalisation of banks, that would have seemed absurdly improbable to most people just a year or two ago.

So, too, for environmental sustainability. The recent Messenger Community News survey, which elicited 1092 responses, reveals more than four out of every five respondents now want permanent water restrictions in South Australia.

Ninety-eight per cent use some form of environmentally-friendly practice in their gardens and 75 per cent use at least four different methods, such as drip irrigation, mulching, recycled water and drought-resistant plants.

A few years ago, this sort of community consensus on water conservation would have been unthinkable.

My hope is that the same will soon be true of renewable energy and energy conservation. Australia has the potential to be powered from solar, geothermal, wind and wave power and, indeed, to export this energy and know-how to the world.

We just need the collective motivation for change that will bring about a fast transformation.

The signs from the Messenger survey, in terms of the proportion of people now voluntarily investing in green power and energy efficiency measures, are really encouraging.

But we can’t afford to stall on climate change solutions.

If we wait too long, it will be too late and there will be no second chances.

So as a community, let’s decide to be proactive and switch from 20:20 hindsight to a clear and positive vision for our future.

* Barry Brook is the director of Adelaide University’s Institute for Climate Change & Sustainability

New Report confirms energy efficiency and clean energy targets will save carbon reduction scheme $40 billion.

NATIONAL: The Clean Energy Council, Australia’s peak body for clean energy and energy efficiency, confirmed that energy efficiency and renewable energy targets are the key to keeping costs down in Australia’s transition to a low carbon economy; inline with findings released by the Climate Institute today.
An independent study commissioned by the Climate Institute found that $40 billion in savings will become available when these essential complementary measures are included in the policy framework alongside emissions trading.
Rob Jackson, GM Policy said: “Increasing our energy efficiency and renewable energy generation will not only save the economy $40 billion, but they will also ensure at least $20 billion worth of new investment and over 50,000 jobs by 2020, primarily in regional Australia.”
“The Council has long advocated that emissions trading alone will not be enough to stimulate investment and activity in these crucial areas,” he said.
“Only a broad approach including emissions trading, targets for renewable energy and efficiency operating alongside significant R&D funding, will deliver large-scale growth and stability for Australia’s low carbon economy,” he concluded.
Complementary policies that embed energy efficiency and increase renewable energy generation have been shown internationally to lower retail energy prices; the Climate Institute study found a comparable reduction would occur in Australia.
The Council will be releasing independent modelling on the impact of emissions trading on the retail electricity price shortly.
Climate change policies are due for discussion at the upcoming Council of Australian Governments meeting in Perth on 2nd October 2008. The expanded Renewable Energy Target and nationally consistent feed-in tariff for small scale renewable energy are both on the agenda.

The Clean Energy Council (the Council) is Australia’s national clean energy industry peak body, formed in 2007 through the merger of the Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) and the Australian Wind Energy Industry Association (Auswind). With a membership of several hundred businesses, the Council covers a quarter of Australia’s total electricity production including gas, wind, hydro and bioenergy; and the spectrum of business in the low-emission energy and energy efficiency sectors including solar PV, solar hot water, biomass, geothermal and cogeneration. Clean Energy Council members are committed to tackling climate change, while developing financially viable businesses operating and a robust clean energy industry.

An accompanying letter from Clean Energy Council CEO, Rosemary Warnock, summarises:

“Measures are needed to complement the CPRS (Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme), to ensure that the abatement is achieved quickly, safely, and at least cost with minimal disruption to the economy and quality of life of everyday Australians. In order to achieve the Government’s goals it will be necessary to rapidly deploy the additional mechanisms promised by the Government including:
• significant additional Research and Development (R&D) funding of key areas including:

• renewable energy technologies;
• energy efficiency innovations; and
• other low emission energy options (including clean coal and gas technologies).

• expansion of the Renewable Energy Target to achieve 20% renewable energy production by 2020;
• nationally consistent gross metered feed-in tariffs for solar PV and other small scale renewable energy generators;
• a national energy efficiency target; and
• further regulations, demonstrations, funding and incentives to overcome non-price based barriers to energy efficiency and embedded generation.

“The Clean Energy Industry is excited about the developments that will lead to a low carbon future and is poised to lead the development of Australia’s huge clean energy potential. The Council has already identified renewable energy investments totalling over 14,000MW (around 40,000GWh pa) already under consideration and at least 53,000GWh pa of easily identified energy efficiency savings by 2030.
To realise the full potential of renewable energy and energy efficiency within Australia and to meet substantial emissions reduction goals, it is crucial a suite of complementary measures are introduced quickly and that the full environmental costs of carbon are reflected in retail energy prices.
Only a CPRS price cap set well above the expected maximum permit price will allow this transition to occur. Setting a price cap that is not sufficiently above the expected carbon price, as implied by a soft-start approach, will encourage non-compliance, risk the environmental integrity of the scheme and see no change to business-as-usual. The Council recommends that if the price cap is not set well above the maximum expected permit price then a make-good provision must apply to maintain the CPRS’s objective of reducing domestic greenhouse gas emissions.
The Council supports five key principles to guide the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme market design. These are:
• efficiency;
• effectiveness;
• equity;
• simplicity; and
• predictability.
Finally, the Australian public has demonstrated a desire to go beyond the Government imposed measures on the abatement of greenhouse gasses through voluntary mechanisms such as GreenPower and Greenhouse Friendly™ and individual, business and Government moves towards carbon neutrality. The CPRS should be designed to allow additional voluntary action to drive Australia’s emissions to even lower levels. The final design needs to
include provisions for such voluntary additional action to reduce the number of permits available to the market.”

Click here to read the Clean Energy Council’s full report

Across the world, there is a new emphasis on projects that combine climate protection and economical primary power generation. GE’s Jenbacher gas engine division is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of gas-fueled reciprocating engines, packaged generator sets and cogeneration units for power generation. It is one of the only companies in the world focusing exclusively on gas engine technology.

Jenbacher Cogeneration systems generate both heat and power by utilizing the waste heat incurred during engine operation to generate overall plant efficiencies of more than 90%.

Combining a cogeneration plant with an absorption refrigeration system allows utilization of seasonal excess heat for cooling. The hot water from the cooling circuit of the cogeneration plant serves as drive energy for the absorption chiller. The hot exhaust gas from the gas engine can also be used as an energy source for steam generation, which can then be utilized as an energy source for a highly efficient, double-effect steam chiller. Up to 80% of the thermal output of the cogeneration plant is thereby converted to chilled water. In this way, the year-round capacity utilization and the overall efficiency of the cogeneration plant can be increased significantly with an additional benefit being that utilizing the water as refrigerant, the otherwise damaging ozone substances are eliminated.

Read our article on Clarke Energy Bio Gas

Read our article on Clarke Energy Co-generation