By Alan Kohler
Updated 9 hours 52 minutes ago
As Federal Cabinet goes through the rather novel (for them) task today of debating important economic policies, including carbon pollution reduction, they should do two fundamental things: recommit Australia to an unconditional 5 per cent reduction target, and to emissions trading.
Unfortunately like immigration and refugee policy, climate change is now being discussed in the caged wrestling match of an election campaign, so anything at all is possible.
Also, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the rest of the Cabinet will no doubt remember Kevin Rudd's expletives in Copenhagen.
He famously returned from high level meetings to a room full of journalists and declared that the "Chinese f**kers are ratf**king us", as revealed eventually by David Marr in the recent Quarterly Essay.
The language, and its revelation, appears to have been a tack in his coffin, but what he said was accurate. China showed by its by behaviour in Copenhagen that it is a fair chance to undermine efforts to establish global emissions trading, even though it is pushing ahead with renewable energy.
That, plus the Coalition's decision to abandon support for emissions trading, has made the political debate around this subject complicated and difficult.
But it looks like the United States is pushing ahead. Sometime during the Australian election campaign, the US Senate will debate and possibly pass emissions trading legislation - adding carbon dioxide to the existing acid rain emissions trading scheme.
Elsewhere, New Zealand began emissions trading on July 1 and Europe is tightening its ETS caps, with the expected result that the price of carbon will rise from its current level of around 15 euros a tonne.
The value of the global market was $US144 billion last year, of which Europe turned over $US118 billion. The European market is now well established and New Zealand's move to an ETS this month gave carbon trading some much-needed credibility.
In Australia the tide seems to be swinging towards direct action. The Coalition has abandoned its support for an ETS in favour of paying big emitters to stop or cut back, and the Victorian Labor Government appears to be heading in the same direction with its request to the Federal Government to help fund the partial closure of the Hazelwood power station in Victoria - the "dirtiest" power station in Australia.
It will be tempting for the Gillard Cabinet to back something like this, and perhaps go a bit further down the direct-action path, in order to tick the climate change box before the Prime Minister drives to Yarralumla in a few days to call an election.
They would be fearful of going into a campaign with Tony Abbott's "great big new tax" soundbites hanging over them, as well as with Kevin Rudd's words about China in Copenhagen.
But to rule out emissions trading would be a big mistake. They can't design a new scheme this week, of course, and shouldn't try, but one must be designed eventually.
And by the way, "designing a scheme" basically means setting levels of compensation for trade-exposed industries. The certificates and the structure of the market to trade them must fit in with what's happening around the world; the only real flexibility available to a national government now is the extent to which local firms are let off the hook.
That's where China's behaviour comes in: the prospect that it will use other countries' emissions trading schemes to boost its own employment at their expense raises the price of compensation for trade-exposed industries in every country.
Don't forget that It remains bipartisan policy in Australia to reduce carbon emissions by 5 per cent by 2020, from the year 2000 levels. That might not seem much, but it would require a cut in emissions of 21 per cent against business-as-usual baseline emissions, because we are half-way there already and emissions are still rising rapidly. On a per capita basis, the task is even higher - 26 per cent.
The emissions reduction target is so ambitious that whatever happens it will touch every company and every household in the nation. The Coalition will claim that the target can be achieved effortlessly with direct action. That is not true, although some of its proposals make a lot of sense, and are worth doing anyway.
Eventually there must be a price on carbon, and it can't be via a carbon tax. The only viable method of achieving an ambitious carbon emissions reduction target is through a market-based trading scheme. Even China will have to eventually have to agree.
The most important thing Julia Gillard can do this week is admit that. That's probably all she needs to do at this stage.
Alan Kohler is the publisher of the Business Spectator and the Eureka Report, as well as finance presenter on ABC News and presenter of Inside Business.
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Should We Scrap Alt-Energy in Favor of Energy Efficiency?
Posted on Monday July 12th by Melissa Lafsky | 1,094
Resources — and time – for energy innovation are growing scarce. And while alternatives like solar and “cleaner” coal are gradually making more of a dent in our reliance on oil and coal, the need for a centralized push towards a solution is dire. So what should the policy be going forward? Should we be devoting more time, money, and energy to making current buildings more energy efficient? Or throwing all our resources towards coming up with more and better alternative sources of energy?
In Australia at least, it looks like the answer, at least in the short-term, is “the former.” A new report from the Energy Efficiency Council of Australia indicates that in the next 10 years, energy efficiency will deliver twice the results of renewable energy, a switch to nuclear power, and “clean coal” efforts combined. Treehugger reports:
“The International Energy Agency estimates that energy efficiency will deliver 65 per cent of worldwide carbon cuts in the energy sector by 2020, and 54 per cent by 2030. This means that in 2020 energy efficiency could have almost twice the impact of renewable energy, nuclear power and clean coal combined.”
Such were findings of the Energy Efficiency Council (EEC) of Australia, who late last month released report entitled Energy Efficiency: Australia’s Low Carbon Opportunity, with the subhead of Boost Profits, Cut Emissions, Create Jobs. The EEC believe that increasing the uptake of energy efficiency could save more greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 than taking every Australian car off the road.
As in many industrialized nations, energy use in Australia is highly concentrated — according to the report, “just 220 companies, mainly in manufacturing, mining, and construction, use more than 40 per cent of the energy consumed” in the country. In the U.S., the numbers are slightly more even, with industries eating up around a third of the nation’s energy, while transportation (which includes a major part of industry — the transportation of goods) accounts for 28% of our total use. The commercial sector — office buildings, malls, warehouses — comes in fourth (behind residential use) at 19%.
In other words, a concerted efficiency effort in any one of these categories could have a radical impact on the nation’s energy usage as a whole. And while money has been flowing — including from Google — into green investment in the global market, given the state of the world’s economy, we may not be able to rely on long-term funding big enough to bring wind, solar, biofuels, etc. to the level of oil/coal replacements. As such, should we shift the bulk of our efforts toward a large-scale push for efficiency?
Resources — and time – for energy innovation are growing scarce. And while alternatives like solar and “cleaner” coal are gradually making more of a dent in our reliance on oil and coal, the need for a centralized push towards a solution is dire. So what should the policy be going forward? Should we be devoting more time, money, and energy to making current buildings more energy efficient? Or throwing all our resources towards coming up with more and better alternative sources of energy?
In Australia at least, it looks like the answer, at least in the short-term, is “the former.” A new report from the Energy Efficiency Council of Australia indicates that in the next 10 years, energy efficiency will deliver twice the results of renewable energy, a switch to nuclear power, and “clean coal” efforts combined. Treehugger reports:
“The International Energy Agency estimates that energy efficiency will deliver 65 per cent of worldwide carbon cuts in the energy sector by 2020, and 54 per cent by 2030. This means that in 2020 energy efficiency could have almost twice the impact of renewable energy, nuclear power and clean coal combined.”
Such were findings of the Energy Efficiency Council (EEC) of Australia, who late last month released report entitled Energy Efficiency: Australia’s Low Carbon Opportunity, with the subhead of Boost Profits, Cut Emissions, Create Jobs. The EEC believe that increasing the uptake of energy efficiency could save more greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 than taking every Australian car off the road.
As in many industrialized nations, energy use in Australia is highly concentrated — according to the report, “just 220 companies, mainly in manufacturing, mining, and construction, use more than 40 per cent of the energy consumed” in the country. In the U.S., the numbers are slightly more even, with industries eating up around a third of the nation’s energy, while transportation (which includes a major part of industry — the transportation of goods) accounts for 28% of our total use. The commercial sector — office buildings, malls, warehouses — comes in fourth (behind residential use) at 19%.
In other words, a concerted efficiency effort in any one of these categories could have a radical impact on the nation’s energy usage as a whole. And while money has been flowing — including from Google — into green investment in the global market, given the state of the world’s economy, we may not be able to rely on long-term funding big enough to bring wind, solar, biofuels, etc. to the level of oil/coal replacements. As such, should we shift the bulk of our efforts toward a large-scale push for efficiency?
A2SEA orders wind turbine installer
Fredericia, Denmark, headquartered A2SEA has signed a $139 million contract with China's COSCO Shipyard Group Co., Ltd. It covers construction of a new vessel specially designed for the purpose of installation of offshore wind turbines.
A2SEA, which says it has installed 60 percent of the world's offshore wind turbines, is currently owned by DONG Energy. On June 29th 2010 it was announced that Siemens will become a 49 percent shareholder in A2SEA. Closing of this agreement is expected in the fourth quarter 2010.
To be named Sea Installer, the new vessel is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2012 and will be a jack-up vessel optimized to operate in water depths of up to 45 meters. It will therefore be well-suited for the installation of upcoming offshore wind projects in the U.K. as well as in other offshore wind markets.
"An increasing number of offshore wind projects in the near future will lead to even higher demands for installation vessels than already seen today," says A2SEA CEO Jens Frederik Hansen. "With a new state of the art vessel, A2SEA will be able to meet our customers' future demands and hold on to our position as the leading supplier of installation services.
"Bringing down the installation time is an important factor in the ongoing work of industrializing the process to bring down the cost of constructing offshore wind farms," continued Mr. Hansen. "It has therefore been important to design Sea Installer to be able to carry eight to ten wind turbines at a time which is significantly more than the capacity of the vessels which are currently available in the market."
Sea Installer:
Length: 132 m
Breadth: 39 m
Draft: 5.8 m
Speed: 12 knots
Crane capacity: 900 tons
Loading area: 3200 sq.m.
Loading capacity: 5000 tons
Able to jack-up at water depths of up to 45 m
Capable of carrying eight to ten offshore wind turbines (towers, nacelles and blades)
Able to carry up 60 people (crew and installation personnel)
A2SEA, which says it has installed 60 percent of the world's offshore wind turbines, is currently owned by DONG Energy. On June 29th 2010 it was announced that Siemens will become a 49 percent shareholder in A2SEA. Closing of this agreement is expected in the fourth quarter 2010.
To be named Sea Installer, the new vessel is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2012 and will be a jack-up vessel optimized to operate in water depths of up to 45 meters. It will therefore be well-suited for the installation of upcoming offshore wind projects in the U.K. as well as in other offshore wind markets.
"An increasing number of offshore wind projects in the near future will lead to even higher demands for installation vessels than already seen today," says A2SEA CEO Jens Frederik Hansen. "With a new state of the art vessel, A2SEA will be able to meet our customers' future demands and hold on to our position as the leading supplier of installation services.
"Bringing down the installation time is an important factor in the ongoing work of industrializing the process to bring down the cost of constructing offshore wind farms," continued Mr. Hansen. "It has therefore been important to design Sea Installer to be able to carry eight to ten wind turbines at a time which is significantly more than the capacity of the vessels which are currently available in the market."
Sea Installer:
Length: 132 m
Breadth: 39 m
Draft: 5.8 m
Speed: 12 knots
Crane capacity: 900 tons
Loading area: 3200 sq.m.
Loading capacity: 5000 tons
Able to jack-up at water depths of up to 45 m
Capable of carrying eight to ten offshore wind turbines (towers, nacelles and blades)
Able to carry up 60 people (crew and installation personnel)
Climate change cuts could push up bills
By Emily Beament, Press Association
Monday, 12 July 2010
The increasing costs of energy as a result of green policies could hit the UK's manufacturing sector - just as the country needs industry to help boost the economy, a think-tank warned today.
A report from Civitas said efforts to tackle climate change through cutting greenhouse gas emissions and increasing renewable energy generation would significantly push up energy bills for business.
Extra costs are put on energy from policies including the EU's emission trading scheme, the renewables obligation to boost investment in technology such as wind power, and the climate change levy which taxes energy use in businesses and the public sector.
The Labour Government's climate change strategy added an extra 14% on homeowners' electricity bills and 21% on business bills, the report said.
And last year's renewable energy strategy could have created "surcharges" of up to 70% for businesses, and 33% for domestic customers by 2020, the report from Civitas claimed.
The study warns the new coalition Government's energy policy could be as damaging to manufacturing industry as the previous administration.
The review by economist Ruth Lea and Jeremy Nicholson, director of lobbyists the Energy Intensive Users Group, said the UK was badly placed to meet its commitments to boost renewables as it was starting from such a low base.
And even without the extra costs imposed to pay for climate change policies, Britain has high industrial electricity prices, which threaten its competitiveness.
Ms Lea said: "The economy desperately needs a competitive and thriving manufacturing sector if it is to prosper.
"Competitive energy prices are vital to the success of manufacturers, especially energy intensive users.
"Government energy policies are, however, remorselessly driving up energy costs thus risking the 'migration' of manufacturing plants to economies where the costs are lower."
Monday, 12 July 2010
The increasing costs of energy as a result of green policies could hit the UK's manufacturing sector - just as the country needs industry to help boost the economy, a think-tank warned today.
A report from Civitas said efforts to tackle climate change through cutting greenhouse gas emissions and increasing renewable energy generation would significantly push up energy bills for business.
Extra costs are put on energy from policies including the EU's emission trading scheme, the renewables obligation to boost investment in technology such as wind power, and the climate change levy which taxes energy use in businesses and the public sector.
The Labour Government's climate change strategy added an extra 14% on homeowners' electricity bills and 21% on business bills, the report said.
And last year's renewable energy strategy could have created "surcharges" of up to 70% for businesses, and 33% for domestic customers by 2020, the report from Civitas claimed.
The study warns the new coalition Government's energy policy could be as damaging to manufacturing industry as the previous administration.
The review by economist Ruth Lea and Jeremy Nicholson, director of lobbyists the Energy Intensive Users Group, said the UK was badly placed to meet its commitments to boost renewables as it was starting from such a low base.
And even without the extra costs imposed to pay for climate change policies, Britain has high industrial electricity prices, which threaten its competitiveness.
Ms Lea said: "The economy desperately needs a competitive and thriving manufacturing sector if it is to prosper.
"Competitive energy prices are vital to the success of manufacturers, especially energy intensive users.
"Government energy policies are, however, remorselessly driving up energy costs thus risking the 'migration' of manufacturing plants to economies where the costs are lower."
Egypt plans 100MW solar power plant
Second major solar plant announced as country edges towards target of generating 20 per cent of energy from renewables by 2020
Tom Young for BusinessGreen, part of the Guardian Environment Network guardian.co.uk, Monday 12 July 2010 10.47 BST
The Egyptian Electricity Ministry has unveiled plans to build a new $700m 100MW solar power plant between 2012 and 2017 that should further establish the country as one of the leading developers of utility-scale solar plants.
According to reports in the local Al-Ahram newspaper, the solar power project at Kom Ombo, near the Aswan High Dam hydro-electric plant, will be financed by a number of international institutions, including the African Development Fund and the World Bank. Additional finance is also expected to be provided through the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) carbon offsetting scheme.
The project is part of a five-year plan running from 2012-2017 designed to establish the Egypt as one of the top generators of solar energy in North Africa, electricity ministry undersecretary Aktham Abou el-Ella told news agency Reuters.
The project will be the nation's second large scale solar power project following the country's first solar plant at El-Koraymat, south of Cairo, which is expected to be finished later this year and will produce 20MW of solar power alongside 120MW of conventional natural gas power.
The vast majority of Egypt's power is currently provided by natural gas-fired power stations, with a small percentage coming from large scale hydroelectric plants on the Nile delta.
However, the country's government has pledged to generate 20 per cent of its power from renewable sources by 2020, which it hopes to achieve largely through wind and solar expansion. It is also eyeing the potential to export solar energy to southern Europe as part of the high profile Desertec initiative.
Northern Africa has been touted as a potential hub for solar energy generation given its low levels of rain and year-round sun, but uptake of the technology has been slow, largely because of high capital costs.
Egypt will need to dramatically accelerate the rate at which it deploys solar technologies if it is to meet its ambitious renewable energy targets. Electricity
generation is currently growing at a rates of seven to eight per cent a year, due to a growing economy and increasing use of air conditioning units, and a government-sponsored report last year estimated the country will need to have at least 1GW of solar capacity alongside 7.2GW of wind capacity to meet its 2020 renewables target while satisfying the growing demand for power.
The government also has a long way to go to meet its wind energy target. There has been large scale wind farm development along Egypt's eastern Red Sea coast, but even with huge new wind farms at Zafarana and Hurghada having recently come online the country's total installed capacity currently stands at just 430 MW.
However, plenty of new projects are in the pipeline and last month the World Bank awarded Egypt a $220m loan to support the Wind Power Development Project, which aims to develop the infrastructure and business models needed to scale up wind power in the country.
The initiative will include the funding of new transmission lines to connect Egypt's largest wind farm, the 250MW Gabal el-Zait project, to the national grid.
"Some of the world's best wind power resources are in Egypt, especially in the areas of the Gulf of Suez, where at least 7.2GW could be potentially developed by 2022, with further 3GW on the west and east banks of the Nile," the World Bank said in a statement at the time.
Tom Young for BusinessGreen, part of the Guardian Environment Network guardian.co.uk, Monday 12 July 2010 10.47 BST
The Egyptian Electricity Ministry has unveiled plans to build a new $700m 100MW solar power plant between 2012 and 2017 that should further establish the country as one of the leading developers of utility-scale solar plants.
According to reports in the local Al-Ahram newspaper, the solar power project at Kom Ombo, near the Aswan High Dam hydro-electric plant, will be financed by a number of international institutions, including the African Development Fund and the World Bank. Additional finance is also expected to be provided through the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) carbon offsetting scheme.
The project is part of a five-year plan running from 2012-2017 designed to establish the Egypt as one of the top generators of solar energy in North Africa, electricity ministry undersecretary Aktham Abou el-Ella told news agency Reuters.
The project will be the nation's second large scale solar power project following the country's first solar plant at El-Koraymat, south of Cairo, which is expected to be finished later this year and will produce 20MW of solar power alongside 120MW of conventional natural gas power.
The vast majority of Egypt's power is currently provided by natural gas-fired power stations, with a small percentage coming from large scale hydroelectric plants on the Nile delta.
However, the country's government has pledged to generate 20 per cent of its power from renewable sources by 2020, which it hopes to achieve largely through wind and solar expansion. It is also eyeing the potential to export solar energy to southern Europe as part of the high profile Desertec initiative.
Northern Africa has been touted as a potential hub for solar energy generation given its low levels of rain and year-round sun, but uptake of the technology has been slow, largely because of high capital costs.
Egypt will need to dramatically accelerate the rate at which it deploys solar technologies if it is to meet its ambitious renewable energy targets. Electricity
generation is currently growing at a rates of seven to eight per cent a year, due to a growing economy and increasing use of air conditioning units, and a government-sponsored report last year estimated the country will need to have at least 1GW of solar capacity alongside 7.2GW of wind capacity to meet its 2020 renewables target while satisfying the growing demand for power.
The government also has a long way to go to meet its wind energy target. There has been large scale wind farm development along Egypt's eastern Red Sea coast, but even with huge new wind farms at Zafarana and Hurghada having recently come online the country's total installed capacity currently stands at just 430 MW.
However, plenty of new projects are in the pipeline and last month the World Bank awarded Egypt a $220m loan to support the Wind Power Development Project, which aims to develop the infrastructure and business models needed to scale up wind power in the country.
The initiative will include the funding of new transmission lines to connect Egypt's largest wind farm, the 250MW Gabal el-Zait project, to the national grid.
"Some of the world's best wind power resources are in Egypt, especially in the areas of the Gulf of Suez, where at least 7.2GW could be potentially developed by 2022, with further 3GW on the west and east banks of the Nile," the World Bank said in a statement at the time.
You ask, they answer: Centre for Alternative Technology
Post your questions for the sustainability charity that believes Britain could be zero carbon by 2030
In 2030, cars will be electric, and instead of owning them many drivers will borrow from car clubs or lease them. Airlines will no longer fly short distances, and long-haul trips will be a rare treat. Such is the vision of a zero carbon Britain by 2030, as seen by the Centre for Alternative Technology (Cat).
Cat joins us from Monday to Friday this week on You ask, they answer to discuss its ideas for a greener Britain. Just post your questions on green living, clean energy and sustainability below.
Want to know more about Cat's awareness-raising work or visitor centre in Wales? Got a question about green energy at home, such as how and when to fit solar panels? Or are you interested in its 2030 zero-carbon Britain report and its ideas of turning mango and bananas into a luxury by halving food imports?
Post below, and Cat will do its best to answer.
In 2030, cars will be electric, and instead of owning them many drivers will borrow from car clubs or lease them. Airlines will no longer fly short distances, and long-haul trips will be a rare treat. Such is the vision of a zero carbon Britain by 2030, as seen by the Centre for Alternative Technology (Cat).
Cat joins us from Monday to Friday this week on You ask, they answer to discuss its ideas for a greener Britain. Just post your questions on green living, clean energy and sustainability below.
Want to know more about Cat's awareness-raising work or visitor centre in Wales? Got a question about green energy at home, such as how and when to fit solar panels? Or are you interested in its 2030 zero-carbon Britain report and its ideas of turning mango and bananas into a luxury by halving food imports?
Post below, and Cat will do its best to answer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
