Gav,
Note though a lot of browns reductions are for stopping rain-forest destruction and re-planting trees. While Australia has stopped most tree clearing, re-planting is not going to be considered in initial carbon trading. This is probably a serious flaw.
The balance, almost eliminating FF for transportation and electricity production will boil down to replacing FF in transport with electricity and thus generating a LOT more electricity by renewables ( and nuclear?).
I can't see much of the world automobile capacity being used for wind generators because they will be flat out building BEV and PHEV's.
Some steel from not building larger vehicles may be available for wind towers. Surplus aluminium from scrapped aircraft could be used for turbine blades and transmission lines. For Australia to replace 90% of the coal used in coal-fired electricity generation( keeping the coal fired power plants for back-up during days of poor wind, while using hydro to flatten hour by hour changes in wind power) would require us to increase our wind capacity by a similar amount to our entire existing wind capacity every year. With world wide shortages now, we would have to build up a new wind power manufacturing capacity. At least we have surplus copper, steel, aluminium. Similarly for solar PV capacity.
We certainly need to ramp up our production of alternative energy equipment.
Re-opening the closed Vestas factory in Tassie would be a good start.
Ideally an increased MRET would result (perhaps with some additional govt encouragement) in manufacturing of wind turbines, raw silicon, PV panels and CSP reflector plates (as well as EV / PHEV cars).
We are in the fortunate position of being able to use our own raw materials, our own energy and our own manufacturing capability to create a non-fossil fuel dependent future if we want to - unlike many other countries, which need to source one or more pieces of the puzzle from elsewhere.
The former Vestas factory at Wynyard is now making mining machinery. The hard rock mining industry is of course totally dependent on coking coal or electrolytic smelting paying 3c/kwh max. Also diesel and ANFO explosive made from both oil and gas. China Power and Light bought half the Roaring 40s windpower subsidiary off Tas Hydro. I presume their turbine factory in China uses European designs. Australia will earn fees (whoopee!) even if no new wind farms are built locally.
Some kind of energy storage breakthrough will be needed if windpower is ever to make the aluminium for new towers. Perhaps we should set aside x% of remaining fossil energy for such purposes.
Boof,
"Some kind of energy storage breakthrough will be needed if windpower is ever to make the aluminium for new towers"
We don't need an energy storage breakthrough, aluminium is being produced in Australia using NG and coal generated electricity. Wind-power generated on Australian S-East Coast and West Coast of Tasmania can be backed-up by the relatively large hydro capacity and thus save most of the coal used now, with additional NG for residential daily peak power. On the few days each year when there is very little wind along the east coast,and NG powerplants are at capacity,and hydro is in danger of being depleted, idle coal fired plants could be started. This takes 12-24 hr but would have lots of warning that hydro was starting to run down. Another alternative would be to have all coal fired plants capable of duel coal/NG as is done in WA, and only use them as wind back-up. Whats missing now is;1) additional wind capacity 2) additional pumps for pump storage 3) an improved grid from Hunter valley to Brisbane, and probably increased capacity of Bass Straight connection, allowing Gladstone to be linked to Tasmania.
This definitely needs study. The driest autumn since 1974 dealt a heavy blow to Tas Hydro who evidently are not interested in pumped storage. Could be why they imported over $100m in coal power via the cable. Some sites on the Tas west coast lend themselves to pumped hydro storage of windpower, though the platypus might not like brackish water pumped up from lower down. I guess the bean counters are asking why dedicate the wind output to water pumping when they could get double revenue from separate electricity sales.
Aluminium and zinc anode smelters could be told to redesign their plant so it can be turned down on short notice.
Gav,
Note though a lot of browns reductions are for stopping rain-forest destruction and re-planting trees. While Australia has stopped most tree clearing, re-planting is not going to be considered in initial carbon trading. This is probably a serious flaw.
The balance, almost eliminating FF for transportation and electricity production will boil down to replacing FF in transport with electricity and thus generating a LOT more electricity by renewables ( and nuclear?).
I can't see much of the world automobile capacity being used for wind generators because they will be flat out building BEV and PHEV's.
Some steel from not building larger vehicles may be available for wind towers. Surplus aluminium from scrapped aircraft could be used for turbine blades and transmission lines. For Australia to replace 90% of the coal used in coal-fired electricity generation( keeping the coal fired power plants for back-up during days of poor wind, while using hydro to flatten hour by hour changes in wind power) would require us to increase our wind capacity by a similar amount to our entire existing wind capacity every year. With world wide shortages now, we would have to build up a new wind power manufacturing capacity. At least we have surplus copper, steel, aluminium. Similarly for solar PV capacity.
Wind Turbine Blades made out of Aluminium? ("Congealed Electricity")
Oh dear. I was kind of hoping they'd be sequestering some (ahem) Carbon Fibre....
;-)
We certainly need to ramp up our production of alternative energy equipment.
Re-opening the closed Vestas factory in Tassie would be a good start.
Ideally an increased MRET would result (perhaps with some additional govt encouragement) in manufacturing of wind turbines, raw silicon, PV panels and CSP reflector plates (as well as EV / PHEV cars).
We are in the fortunate position of being able to use our own raw materials, our own energy and our own manufacturing capability to create a non-fossil fuel dependent future if we want to - unlike many other countries, which need to source one or more pieces of the puzzle from elsewhere.
The former Vestas factory at Wynyard is now making mining machinery. The hard rock mining industry is of course totally dependent on coking coal or electrolytic smelting paying 3c/kwh max. Also diesel and ANFO explosive made from both oil and gas. China Power and Light bought half the Roaring 40s windpower subsidiary off Tas Hydro. I presume their turbine factory in China uses European designs. Australia will earn fees (whoopee!) even if no new wind farms are built locally.
Some kind of energy storage breakthrough will be needed if windpower is ever to make the aluminium for new towers. Perhaps we should set aside x% of remaining fossil energy for such purposes.
Boof,
"Some kind of energy storage breakthrough will be needed if windpower is ever to make the aluminium for new towers"
We don't need an energy storage breakthrough, aluminium is being produced in Australia using NG and coal generated electricity. Wind-power generated on Australian S-East Coast and West Coast of Tasmania can be backed-up by the relatively large hydro capacity and thus save most of the coal used now, with additional NG for residential daily peak power. On the few days each year when there is very little wind along the east coast,and NG powerplants are at capacity,and hydro is in danger of being depleted, idle coal fired plants could be started. This takes 12-24 hr but would have lots of warning that hydro was starting to run down. Another alternative would be to have all coal fired plants capable of duel coal/NG as is done in WA, and only use them as wind back-up. Whats missing now is;1) additional wind capacity 2) additional pumps for pump storage 3) an improved grid from Hunter valley to Brisbane, and probably increased capacity of Bass Straight connection, allowing Gladstone to be linked to Tasmania.
This definitely needs study. The driest autumn since 1974 dealt a heavy blow to Tas Hydro who evidently are not interested in pumped storage. Could be why they imported over $100m in coal power via the cable. Some sites on the Tas west coast lend themselves to pumped hydro storage of windpower, though the platypus might not like brackish water pumped up from lower down. I guess the bean counters are asking why dedicate the wind output to water pumping when they could get double revenue from separate electricity sales.
Aluminium and zinc anode smelters could be told to redesign their plant so it can be turned down on short notice.