Australia leading the way on Renewable Energy

Australia is one of the leading countries in the research, development and application of alternative sources of clean and renewable energy, which has been partly driven by the governments’ commitment to implementing strong measures to meet its renewable energy targets by 2020.
In response to this ongoing financial support, plus the extra funding that will be made possible by the tax on carbon once it commences in 2012, companies are now finding it economically feasible to invest heavily in projects and research that will make it possible to significantly reduce our country’s dependence on fossil fuel produced energy.
Some on the exciting projects that are on the horizon include-

Medium – Large Scale Solar Projects
Aside from needing to urgently reduce our countries carbon emissions, we also have a pressing need in Australia to manage rising electricity costs, which are partly brought about by the huge expense involved in maintaining the 1000′s of kilometers of electricity grids we have.
Much of this cost could be reduced if we were able to decentralize this widespread and high maintenance grid, and this requirement is setting the stage to make solar power a very desirable commodity thanks to it’s ability to do just that.
Throughout the country we are seeing projects already in place for building mid to large scale solar technology; for example there are currently two major solar flagship projects that have been approved for construction to begin in 2-3 years’ time. The Moree solar farm in New South Wales will be largest of its kind capable of generating 150 MW of electricity from pure photovoltaic technology, and the Solar Dawn project in North Queensland will be an exciting hybrid of natural gas with concentrated solar power (CSP), capable of generating 250 MW of energy.
These plants won’t be up and running for a few years yet, and in the meantime mid size solar energy parks may become a more efficient way forward, as the smaller land space required means that they are able to be built much closer to areas of peak demand. This reduces costs and more crucially the wastage that occurs when electricity must be transported any distance.

Biogas
The innovative Biogas technology in Melbourne was an accidental discovery. Originally the company Melbourne Water was looking for ways to reduce the sewage smell at their plant, and it was during that process of research that they stumbled across the potential of utilising the potent smelling Biogas to actually power the company.
The process is simple; gas emitted by the sewage (mostly methane and currently still under research for biogas conversion) is collected and then burned in a biogas plant, but the results are impressive. To date it has generated enough electricity to power 95% of the site, and reduced about 330,000 tons of carbon in the past few years. Melbourne Water was also able to save nearly $2 million annually on its energy bills.
The Biogas technology is expected to soar within the next decade as the technology is refined.

Geothermal Energy
The possibility of powering state grids in the country through geothermal energy is not far-fetched at all; Melbourne researchers and consultants have identified several major geothermal energy hotspots in the country, and drilling will start soon.
Like solar, Geothermal projects are also expected to be have the advantage of being somewhat decentralised, with the ability to establish small plants on certain key areas where the heat of the earth’s core manifests the most, and so maximise the power produced per square metre of land.

Wave Energy
A Western Australia based company is already using wave energy on a small scale, and after investor funding is now geared up to build the largest wave energy plant in the world within a couple of years. The project is expected to generate around 5 MW of energy and power at least 5,000 households.
The idea of wave technology is closely related to a hydroelectric power plant; the energy comes from water currents and is then transferred to a generator. The difference between the two is the source of the water’s energy, ocean rather than river. Wave technology will also have the advantage of an auxiliary backup source (provided by a specialised pumping technology).
Eclipse Solar have been researching the above renewable energy sources with more information to be released on our involvement shortly.