Australia is well placed to harness solar thermal energy. Solar thermal energy is used in three main ways: solar hot water heating, production of steam for electricity generation and space heating through building design.
85% of electricity in Australia is generated by coal-fired power stations. They produce 42% of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. The IPCC has recommended that developed nations such as Australia cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40% by 2020 and 80 to 95% by 2050. [1] The Garnaut Climate Change Review found that Australia is highly vulnerable to global warming caused by climate change because of the effects of global warming on Australia. [2] The Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu and Murray Darling Basin are all threatened by climate change. Sea level rise threatens much of the highly populated Australian coast line, including the Gold Coast. The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and Mandatory Renewable Energy Target are intended to reduce Australia's emissions and the further development of techniques to harness solar thermal energy are critical to that effort.
Of all the continents, Australia has the highest average amount of solar radiation per square metre per annum. The amount is from 1500 to 1900 kWh/m2/yr, mainly depending on location. Australia’s total current primary energy consumption of approximately 5500 PJ/a could be met by an area of 4000 km2 of solar collectors with an average of 20% conversion efficiency. If this were built as a power station with land coverage of 20% it would be 138 × 138 km. The collector area has been described as being approximately the same as the area of domestic house roofs available nationally. [3]
The CSIRO conducts research into solar thermal energy. [4] [5] The newly established UNSW Centre for Energy Research and Policy Analysis also conducts research into solar thermal energy and associated topics. [6]
The ANU Solar Thermal Group at Australian National University in Canberra works on solar thermal energy, with emphasis on high-temperature concentrators, solar air conditioning, and thermochemical energy storage. [7]
The Australian Government, under the Clean Energy Initiative and the Solar Flagships Program, will invest $1.5 billion in up to 4 large-scale solar power generation projects. The Program will aim to create an additional 1000 megawatts of solar power generation capacity in Australia. The largest solar energy project currently operating anywhere in the world is only one third of that size. [8] [9]
Australia has a small but long established solar hot water industry.
Liddell Power Station, New South Wales has a concentrating solar thermal adjunct to the coal-fired power station. It was designed by Solar Heat & Power Pty Ltd, now part of AUSRA [10]
Cloncurry, Queensland is to be the site of a 10 MW power station using 8,000 mirrors to reflect sunlight onto graphite blocks. Water pumped through the blocks will be turned into steam to power a conventional steam turbine connected to a generator. The estimated cost is AUD30M of which the Queensland government has committed AUD7M. [11] On 24 May 2012 the recently elected Newman government announced the withdrawal of state funds for the project. In a statement the Minister for Energy Mark McArdle described the reason for the scrapping as 'saving the taxpayer's money'.
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to Australia.‹See TfM›
Renewable energy plays an important and growing role in the energy system of the European Union. The Europe 2020 strategy included a target of reaching 20% of gross final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020, and at least 32% by 2030. The EU27 reached 22% in 2020, up from 9.6% in 2004. These figures are based on energy use in all its forms across all three main sectors, the heating and cooling sector, the electricity sector, and the transport sector.
Wind power is one of the main renewable energy sources in the world. In Australia alone wind power contributed 10% of Australia's total electricity supply in 2020, and made up to 37.5% of its renewable energy supply. Wind resource testing conditions in Australia are optimum, as abundant wind resources are located close to residential areas in the southern parts of the country and on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range in the east.
Solar power is a fast growing industry in Australia. As of September 2022, Australia's over 3.27 million solar PV installations had a combined capacity of 28,177 MW photovoltaic (PV) solar power, of which at least 4,258 MW were installed in the preceding 12 months. In 2019, 59 solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 2,881 MW were either under construction, constructed or due to start construction having reached financial closure. Solar accounted for 9.9% of Australia's total electrical energy production in 2020.
The energy policy of Australia is subject to the regulatory and fiscal influence of all three levels of government in Australia, although only the State and Federal levels determine policy for primary industries such as coal. Federal policies for energy in Australia continue to support the coal mining and natural gas industries through subsidies for fossil fuel use and production. Australia is the 10th most coal-dependent country in the world. Coal and natural gas, along with oil-based products, are currently the primary sources of Australian energy usage and the coal industry produces over 30% of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions. In 2018 Australia was the 8th highest emitter of greenhouse gases per capita in the world.
Mark Diesendorf is an Australian academic and environmentalist, known for his work in sustainable development and renewable energy. He currently teaches environmental studies at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He was formerly professor of environmental science and founding director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology, Sydney and before that a principal research scientist with CSIRO, where he was involved in early research on integrating wind power into electricity grids. His most recent book is Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change.
Renewable energy in Australia includes wind power, hydroelectricity, solar photovoltaics, heat pumps, geothermal, wave and solar thermal energy.
The Kogan Creek Power Station is a 750 megawatt coal fired power station owned by CS Energy on the Darling Downs in Queensland. The $1.2 billion plant is situated at Brigalow, in the Surat Basin between Dalby and Chinchilla.
Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy is a 2007 book by Australian academic Mark Diesendorf. The book puts forward a set of policies and strategies for implementing the most promising clean energy technologies by all spheres of government, business and community organisations. Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy suggests that a mix of efficient energy use, renewable energy sources and natural gas offers a clean and feasible energy future for Australia.
A solar thermal power station was to be built in Cloncurry, in north-west Queensland. The solar thermal power station was planned to have a nameplate capacity of 10 MW and deliver about 30 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to power the whole town.
Climate change in Australia has been a critical issue since the beginning of the 21st century. Australia is becoming hotter and more prone to extreme heat, bushfires, droughts, floods, and longer fire seasons because of climate change. Climate issues include wildfires, heatwaves, cyclones, rising sea-levels, and erosion.
Ross Gregory Garnaut is an Australian economist, currently serving as a vice-chancellor's fellow and professorial fellow of economics at the University of Melbourne. He is the author of numerous publications in scholarly journals on international economics, public finance and economic development, particularly in relation to East Asia and the Southwest Pacific.
Professor Ross Garnaut led two climate change reviews, the first commencing in 2007 and the second in 2010.
Solar hot water is water heated using only energy from the Sun. Solar energy heats up large panels called thermal collectors commonly known as solar panels. The energy is transferred through a fluid to a reservoir tank for storage and subsequent use. It is then used to heat water for commercial or domestic use and also as an energy input for heating and cooling devices and for industrial 'process heat' applications. In domestic solar hot water applications, the thermal collectors can either be coupled together with the hot water storage tank on a rooftop, or separated from the storage tank, in a "split system" configuration.
Concentrated solar power systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated when the concentrated light is converted to heat, which drives a heat engine connected to an electrical power generator or powers a thermochemical reaction.
Wizard Power Pty Ltd was an Australian company focused on solar technology research, development, and commercialization. The company was headquartered in Canberra, Australia. It was wound up in September 2013, owing 8 million dollars to creditors and employees.
Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia totalled 533 million tonnes CO2-equivalent based on greenhouse gas national inventory report data for 2019; representing per capita CO2e emissions of 21 tons, three times the global average. Coal was responsible for 30% of emissions. The national Greenhouse Gas Inventory estimates for the year to March 2021 were 494.2 million tonnes, which is 27.8 million tonnes, or 5.3%, lower than the previous year. It is 20.8% lower than in 2005. According to the government, the result reflects the decrease in transport emissions due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, reduced fugitive emissions, and reductions in emissions from electricity; however, there were increased greenhouse gas emissions from the land and agriculture sectors.
Energy in Australia is the production in Australia of energy and electricity, for consumption or export. Energy policy of Australia describes the politics of Australia as it relates to energy.
Areva Solar was part of the renewable energies portfolio of the French nuclear group Areva, headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in the United States and Australia. It designed, manufactured and installed solar steam generators for electric power production and industrial steam uses. Before 2010, the company existed as Ausra Inc. In August 2014, AREVA announced it was shuttering AREVA Solar.
A carbon pricing scheme in Australia was introduced by the Gillard Labor minority government in 2011 as the Clean Energy Act 2011 which came into effect on 1 July 2012. Emissions from companies subject to the scheme dropped 7% upon its introduction. As a result of being in place for such a short time, and because the then Opposition leader Tony Abbott indicated he intended to repeal "the carbon tax", regulated organizations responded rather weakly, with very few investments in emissions reductions being made. The scheme was repealed on 17 July 2014, backdated to 1 July 2014. In its place the Abbott Government set up the Emission Reduction Fund in December 2014. Emissions thereafter resumed their growth evident before the tax.
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