Antinuclear

Australia’s clean, nuclear free, energy future

Siemens, a company with extensive involvement in the energy sector, has also mapped out an energy plan for Australia in which the contribution of fossil fuels to electricity generation falls from 93 per cent to around 10 per cent by mid-century, with the remainder generated by a mix of renewables consisting mainly of solar (35 per cent), wind (18 per cent), and geothermal (17 per cent)..

Clean And Green Doesn’t Have To Be Nuclear | newmatilda.com, Dr Jim Green, 9 Dec 10, “If nuclear power is the answer, it must havebeen a pretty stupid question.” So says Ian Lowe, Griffith University professor and president of the Australian Conservation Foundation. ………..University of NSW academic Mark Diesendorf argues (pdf) that the cheapest renewable energy sources — including landfill gas, onshore wind, conventional geothermal and hydro — are already cost-competitive with nuclear power.

Of course it’s important to consider the cost and immediate availability of low carbon, baseload electricity sources. But even if we agree with the conclusion that nuclear is the cheapest option, that’s not the end of the debate. The question that needs to be asked is this: what’s the best mix of electricity supply sources for Australia in the context of growing scientific and public concern about climate change?.

Energy efficiency and conservation provide the first part of the answer — they can provide large, quick, cheap greenhouse emissions reductions. Numerous studies envisage energy efficiency and conservation doing much of the “heavy lifting” to reduce greenhouse emissions. For example a 2007 Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics study (pdf) estimated that energy efficiency would account for 55 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse emissions reductions, and 58 per cent of global emissions reductions, by 2050.

We can curb the growth in electricity demand through energy efficiency and conservation, but we also need a major restructure of the electricity sector. Too much of the literature on clean energy options pays too little attention to cost and the need for reliable electricity supply.

Can we meet these challenges — and can we do so without nuclear power?

One relevant study, the Clean Energy Future for Australia report, was undertaken by Hugh Saddler, Richard Denniss and Mark Diesendorf in 2004. They map a restructure of the Australian electricity sector to the year 2040. It makes virtually no allowance for technical innovation — although there has been innovation in the six years since the report was written and there will be much more by the year 2040.

The report makes no allowance for cost reductions for renewable energy sources, either through innovation or mass production — the main practical consequence is that the role of solar electricity is limited because of its cost.

Even with those constraints, the report presents a credible plan which would reduce greenhouse emissions from the electricity sector by 78 per cent by 2040 compared to 2001. The electricity supply plan comprises solar 5 per cent, hydro 7 per cent, coal and petroleum 10 per cent, wind 20 per cent, bioenergy 28 per cent, and natural gas 30 per cent………..

CSIRO scientist John Wright has proposed a plan in which renewables generate over three-quarters of Australia’s electricity by 2050: wind and geothermal both produce 19 per cent of electricity demand, solar thermal 18 per cent, solar photovoltaics 13 per cent, bioenergy 5 per cent, with hydro continuing to provide a small percentage.

Siemens, a company with extensive involvement in the energy sector, has also mapped out an energy plan for Australia in which the contribution of fossil fuels to electricity generation falls from 93 per cent to around 10 per cent by mid-century, with the remainder generated by a mix of renewables consisting mainly of solar (35 per cent), wind (18 per cent), and geothermal (17 per cent)……… If this isn’t enough, there are plenty of other clean energy plans for Australia in circulation — see those by Diesendorf (pdf), Greenpeace and Beyond Zero Emissions.

Clean And Green Doesn’t Have To Be Nuclear | newmatilda.com

December 9, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy