Australia's Future in Energy
There are many options of renewable energy for Australia to use in the near future. The Program, Beyond Zero Emissions is aiming to create and emission free Australia by 2020. They have come up with new technology for renewable sources, which is already being used and constructed in other countries.
Solar Thermal Energy
Scientists have developed a new strategy to maximize the efficiency, and the basis of this new technology will be the Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) towers that will use a range of new and old technology combined to store and process solar thermal energy. The process works by using mirrors to concentrate the sunlight onto a receiver, and stores the heat in molten salt, which will be kept at a temperature of around 600 degrees Celsius. The salt will be used to boil water, the steam used to power a turbine, which makes electricity both day and night, making it a very reliable source of energy. When the turbine is not working as well as it should be, heat is taken from the “cold” storage tank, which allows fast starting, one of the qualities we appreciate most about our best non-renewable power plants in Australia.
The units would consist of about 20 of the towers, with enough mirror field to create enough energy to power all through the day, and up to 17 hours stored power, if the station is working at full capacity. Each station will consist of the “molten salt idea” I mentioned earlier, which will allow for each site to have a capacity of 3500 MWe (Mega Watts electrical), making a total of 42 GWe (Giga Watts electrical). Around Australia 12 sites have been chosen as possible locations for mentioned stations. 20% of these sites will have been constructed over a time frame of four years (2011-2014), equating to storing about 55TWh/year. The remaining plants will be constructed from 2015-2020, which has and will continue to create plenty of job option for Australians. It is estimated that Solar energy will cost around the same or less as coal in the near future. |
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Wind Farms
There are currently 24 farms powering Australia, with a further 4 being constructed. Australia’s wind technology is quite old, and is expanding globally and nationally. It is expected to become Australia’s largest source of renewable energy before the Solar Project Is finished. Wind works by hitting the turbines, which then spin due to their shape and create electricity.
Australia’s world class wind power stations are one of Australia’s greatest advances in renewable sources, so when coupled with the solar thermal electricity plan it is no surprise that everyone is hoping that it will lift Australia higher in leading the world in the challenge of finding better renewable sources. Coupling wind with CST will also create a more reliable, dispatchable, lowest-cost, and emissions-free plan.
Today, the cost of wind is a lot dearer than coal, with coal sitting at a mere 3.8 cents per kilowatt hour, whether wind is 1 dollar per kilowatt hour. It is hoped that the figure for wind will drop within the next decade, because of coupling it with the solar plan. AS I mentioned earlier, coupling the wind with solar will create a low-cost alternative, which will in the future most likely become our main source of energy.
Australia’s world class wind power stations are one of Australia’s greatest advances in renewable sources, so when coupled with the solar thermal electricity plan it is no surprise that everyone is hoping that it will lift Australia higher in leading the world in the challenge of finding better renewable sources. Coupling wind with CST will also create a more reliable, dispatchable, lowest-cost, and emissions-free plan.
Today, the cost of wind is a lot dearer than coal, with coal sitting at a mere 3.8 cents per kilowatt hour, whether wind is 1 dollar per kilowatt hour. It is hoped that the figure for wind will drop within the next decade, because of coupling it with the solar plan. AS I mentioned earlier, coupling the wind with solar will create a low-cost alternative, which will in the future most likely become our main source of energy.
Hydro-Power
Hydro-Power is probably one of the less reliable forms of Energy in Australia; we have highly random rain falls, and such a dry climate.
Nevertheless, Australia currently has over 100 working hydro-electric power stations, with the installed capacity being about 7800 MW. Majority of these stations are located in NSW and TAS where we get the highest rainfall. The most renowned energy company that harvest hydro-energy is the Snowy Hydro-electric scheme is one of the most complex hydro-electric systems in the world, with a capacity of 3800MW.
I earlier mentioned Snowy Hydro, so I won't go into any more detail, as you probably have already read it.
Focusing now on a national scale, the government is planning to create new smaller stations all over Australia, and refurbishing older stations with new technology being developed. Scientists are developing ways of making Hydro-electricity more efficient and how we can harness the power more efficiently globally.
Hydro-Power again is substantially more expensive than coal, at $1.10, most likely due to the fact that it is such a huge scheme. But in the future Australia hopes to couple Hydro-power with Wind and Solar thermal energy, to create a more affordable price, and a more reliable plan for Australia.
Nevertheless, Australia currently has over 100 working hydro-electric power stations, with the installed capacity being about 7800 MW. Majority of these stations are located in NSW and TAS where we get the highest rainfall. The most renowned energy company that harvest hydro-energy is the Snowy Hydro-electric scheme is one of the most complex hydro-electric systems in the world, with a capacity of 3800MW.
I earlier mentioned Snowy Hydro, so I won't go into any more detail, as you probably have already read it.
Focusing now on a national scale, the government is planning to create new smaller stations all over Australia, and refurbishing older stations with new technology being developed. Scientists are developing ways of making Hydro-electricity more efficient and how we can harness the power more efficiently globally.
Hydro-Power again is substantially more expensive than coal, at $1.10, most likely due to the fact that it is such a huge scheme. But in the future Australia hopes to couple Hydro-power with Wind and Solar thermal energy, to create a more affordable price, and a more reliable plan for Australia.
Sumarry |
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Overall, I think Australia's future in Energy is quite bright, if we stick to the plans suggested by Beyond Zero Emissions.
Of course we will still depend on coal and fossil fuels as a backup, but hopefully the main sources will be completely re-newable.
Of course we will still depend on coal and fossil fuels as a backup, but hopefully the main sources will be completely re-newable.