Lucy Ardern | September 28th, 2010
THE Gold Coast developer of a green energy device that has orders from around the world, has been heartened by a shift towards renewable energy in his own country.
Tidal Energy founder Aaron Davidson said he was pleased to hear the Gillard government was swinging back towards positive and proactive solutions to environmental issues.
''It has been heartening to hear the change in the government,'' he said.
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''It is looking like we will see a more honest approach to green energy.''
Mr Davidson said his company had benefited from Federal Government grants in the development of a water turbine system, which creates power with low pressure.
But it had just given he and partner Craig Hill 'a taste for the possibilities', rather than the ability to progress it into a real business.
''Companies like ours need funding to take it to a commercial stage,'' he said.
''We have managed to make it work without that money, but it has taken years.''
The Tidal Energy partners have just secured $35 million in orders from around the world and an offer of $200m investment from a Chinese company after 20 years spent developing the device and looking for support.
The Gillard government yesterday announced a parliamentary committee to pave the way for a price on carbon emissions, which the Greens will co-chair.
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Wind will power fossil fuel-free Denmark in 2050, report predicts
Danish climate commission report predicts the country could switch to renewables by the middle of the century
From BusinessGreen, part of the Guardian Environment Network guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 29 September 2010 10.46 BST
The falling cost of renewable energy and rising cost of oil and gas will allow Denmark to develop an energy network entirely free of fossil fuels by 2050, according to a report published by the government's climate commission.
The committee predicted that wind and biomass energy could meet the bulk of the country's energy requirements.
It also argued that switching to renewables would be cheaper than continuing to use fossil fuels, particularly if predictions of soaring oil and gas prices are borne out.
The report was welcomed by Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas, which said the research could help further bolster the country's position as a leading generator of onshore wind energy.
"The report will also send a very clear and important signal to other countries that wind is a sustainable source of energy for future development," said Vestas chief executive Ditlev Engel. "This is a great opportunity to solidify Denmark's reputation as a laboratory for green, CO2-free power technology solutions that are globally required."
The report recommended that the government immediately start devoting 0.5 per cent of the country's annual GDP to renewable energy investment in order to help achieve the 2050 target, resulting in a total spend of 17bn kroner (£1.9bn) by 2050.
The Danish climate and energy minister will now consider the commission's report ahead of the release of the government's official climate strategy proposal in November.
From BusinessGreen, part of the Guardian Environment Network guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 29 September 2010 10.46 BST
The falling cost of renewable energy and rising cost of oil and gas will allow Denmark to develop an energy network entirely free of fossil fuels by 2050, according to a report published by the government's climate commission.
The committee predicted that wind and biomass energy could meet the bulk of the country's energy requirements.
It also argued that switching to renewables would be cheaper than continuing to use fossil fuels, particularly if predictions of soaring oil and gas prices are borne out.
The report was welcomed by Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas, which said the research could help further bolster the country's position as a leading generator of onshore wind energy.
"The report will also send a very clear and important signal to other countries that wind is a sustainable source of energy for future development," said Vestas chief executive Ditlev Engel. "This is a great opportunity to solidify Denmark's reputation as a laboratory for green, CO2-free power technology solutions that are globally required."
The report recommended that the government immediately start devoting 0.5 per cent of the country's annual GDP to renewable energy investment in order to help achieve the 2050 target, resulting in a total spend of 17bn kroner (£1.9bn) by 2050.
The Danish climate and energy minister will now consider the commission's report ahead of the release of the government's official climate strategy proposal in November.
Salmond claims 100% green electricity in Scotland 'achievable' by 2025
First minister Alex Salmond at the Scottish Low Carbon Investment conference says that Scotland could theoretically generate all its electricity from renewable sources by 2025
Motivational speakers tend to say that if you're going to aim for anything, aim high and think big. Alex Salmond, the first minister of Scotland, has done precisely that. Again.
Over the past five days, Salmond has doubled his government's target for generating "green" electricity. Last Thursday he tore up the Scottish government's goal of making half of Scotland's electricity from renewable sources by 2020, and replaced it with a new target of 80%.
Today at an international low carbon investment conference in Edinburgh, he set a higher goal, claiming Scotland could actually generate all of its electricity – currently about 6.8GW – from green sources by 2025.
Salmond has built his career on being a motivational speaker. He told the conference the opportunity presented by offshore wind and marine energy was "a pivotal turning point in human history, on a par with the move from hunter-gathering to settled agricultural communities or the discovery of the New World in 1492".
His critics accuse him of being much better at selling than delivering. And industry anxieties about how easily and quickly these goals can be reached are intensifying: today an official study published by his own government said these ambitions "were not easy to achieve".
The Scottish government's offshore wind industry "route map" stated: "The barriers to development are considerable and the timelines are challenging." There were significant problems with existing infrastructure, the lack of grid connections and dock facilities, worries over finance and the environment, and a shortage of engineers, it warned.
But Salmond has influential supporters. Ian Marchant, the chief executive of one of the UK's largest renewables companies, Scottish and Southern Energy, told The Guardian his firm had been pressing for the 50% target to be dropped for some time.
"We think that the 50% was a slam dunk," he said. Today's onshore projects and already authorised offshore schemes sorted that. Industry and the government needed to be "deliberately stretched" by the new 80% target. "If the past record is anything to go by, we will get there," he said.
Even generating 100% from renewable sources was achievable; and it could be doubled by 2030. Over the next 20 years, Marchant added, "I calculated that Scotland's potential is roughly 200% for renewables, onshore wind, offshore wind, hydro and biomass."
Neither man pretends the warnings in the "route map" paper are wrong. But the question neither can yet answer is how readily the gap between rhetoric and delivery will be closed. The investment conference should help address that, but the challenges are significant and sobering, even without factoring in the justifiable anxieties about protecting the marine environment, landscapes and industrialisation of coastal cities.
Estimates about the capital cost of building the vast offshore windfarms needed around the UK vary: the main working figure at present is that £200bn will be needed by 2020, with 40% of that spent in Scotland. And senior investment experts are clear about this: after the worst global recession of modern times most of that will have to be funded, at first, by the taxpayer.
The investment agency Scottish Enterprise said recently at least £222m would be needed immediately to upgrade 11 ports and fabrication yards, such as Dundee, Leith and Aberdeen, to make them capable of supporting offshore wind farms. And that figure excludes cash for new wave and tidal energy infrastructure around Orkney and the Pentland Firth.
Salmond remains publicly optimistic. He is hoping to launch a new green energy investment bank with at least £360m to spend later this year; he predicts worldwide energy costs will continue to rise with demand and oil scarcity increasing, and believes wind power plant costs will fall (a view born out by a report yesterday that said offshore farms could be nearly 25% cheaper to make by 2025).
But his own advisers seem much less gung-ho, at least for now. Raymond Flanagan, Scottish Enterprise's low carbon investment manager, warns that the energy giants, such as Marchant's company, will have to find much of the money.
But at present, offshore power remains a risky investment. Installing one gigawatt offshore currently costs around £2.6bn. Until those costs "dramatically" decrease, most power companies will be put off. "The appetite for risk over the last couple of years has diminished, so life has become more difficult," he said.
"Financial solutions must be found to go beyond the limitations of the utilities' balance sheets," he said. In other words, Salmond and David Cameron, the UK prime minister, have their work cut out installing the 30GW of offshore wind capacity they seek by 2020.
Motivational speakers tend to say that if you're going to aim for anything, aim high and think big. Alex Salmond, the first minister of Scotland, has done precisely that. Again.
Over the past five days, Salmond has doubled his government's target for generating "green" electricity. Last Thursday he tore up the Scottish government's goal of making half of Scotland's electricity from renewable sources by 2020, and replaced it with a new target of 80%.
Today at an international low carbon investment conference in Edinburgh, he set a higher goal, claiming Scotland could actually generate all of its electricity – currently about 6.8GW – from green sources by 2025.
Salmond has built his career on being a motivational speaker. He told the conference the opportunity presented by offshore wind and marine energy was "a pivotal turning point in human history, on a par with the move from hunter-gathering to settled agricultural communities or the discovery of the New World in 1492".
His critics accuse him of being much better at selling than delivering. And industry anxieties about how easily and quickly these goals can be reached are intensifying: today an official study published by his own government said these ambitions "were not easy to achieve".
The Scottish government's offshore wind industry "route map" stated: "The barriers to development are considerable and the timelines are challenging." There were significant problems with existing infrastructure, the lack of grid connections and dock facilities, worries over finance and the environment, and a shortage of engineers, it warned.
But Salmond has influential supporters. Ian Marchant, the chief executive of one of the UK's largest renewables companies, Scottish and Southern Energy, told The Guardian his firm had been pressing for the 50% target to be dropped for some time.
"We think that the 50% was a slam dunk," he said. Today's onshore projects and already authorised offshore schemes sorted that. Industry and the government needed to be "deliberately stretched" by the new 80% target. "If the past record is anything to go by, we will get there," he said.
Even generating 100% from renewable sources was achievable; and it could be doubled by 2030. Over the next 20 years, Marchant added, "I calculated that Scotland's potential is roughly 200% for renewables, onshore wind, offshore wind, hydro and biomass."
Neither man pretends the warnings in the "route map" paper are wrong. But the question neither can yet answer is how readily the gap between rhetoric and delivery will be closed. The investment conference should help address that, but the challenges are significant and sobering, even without factoring in the justifiable anxieties about protecting the marine environment, landscapes and industrialisation of coastal cities.
Estimates about the capital cost of building the vast offshore windfarms needed around the UK vary: the main working figure at present is that £200bn will be needed by 2020, with 40% of that spent in Scotland. And senior investment experts are clear about this: after the worst global recession of modern times most of that will have to be funded, at first, by the taxpayer.
The investment agency Scottish Enterprise said recently at least £222m would be needed immediately to upgrade 11 ports and fabrication yards, such as Dundee, Leith and Aberdeen, to make them capable of supporting offshore wind farms. And that figure excludes cash for new wave and tidal energy infrastructure around Orkney and the Pentland Firth.
Salmond remains publicly optimistic. He is hoping to launch a new green energy investment bank with at least £360m to spend later this year; he predicts worldwide energy costs will continue to rise with demand and oil scarcity increasing, and believes wind power plant costs will fall (a view born out by a report yesterday that said offshore farms could be nearly 25% cheaper to make by 2025).
But his own advisers seem much less gung-ho, at least for now. Raymond Flanagan, Scottish Enterprise's low carbon investment manager, warns that the energy giants, such as Marchant's company, will have to find much of the money.
But at present, offshore power remains a risky investment. Installing one gigawatt offshore currently costs around £2.6bn. Until those costs "dramatically" decrease, most power companies will be put off. "The appetite for risk over the last couple of years has diminished, so life has become more difficult," he said.
"Financial solutions must be found to go beyond the limitations of the utilities' balance sheets," he said. In other words, Salmond and David Cameron, the UK prime minister, have their work cut out installing the 30GW of offshore wind capacity they seek by 2020.