Antinuclear

Smart Grids, Broadband, and Renewable Energy for Australia

Smart grids and the national broadband network
Australia is in a unique position to benefit from two infrastructure projects that are being developed simultaneously…..no matter how one looks at this issue, the overriding solution is to move away from fossil fuels to renewables as quickly as possible.

Australia – Smart Grid Market in 2011 Market Report, Industry Analysis and Market Trends – Companies and markets, 08 December 2010 This annual report offers a wealth of information on the emerging smart grid market in Australia. The report includes analyses, statistics, forecasts and trends. It provides a comprehensive insight into the progress of the developments and examines the key issues in the market and the business opportunities arising from these new developments. Smart Grids Transforming the Energy Industry Market overview

For numerous reasons the electricity industry is one of the last industries that has to undergo a major transformation in order to enter the digital economy. An emphasis on keeping electricity prices as low as possible led to severe under-investment in the grid and this resulted in the side-lining of issues such as energy efficiency, the integration of renewable energy sources and consumer tools aimed at managing home energy use more efficiently……
The Smart Grid/Smart City project will have a significant effect but, perhaps even more importantly, the government initiative has clearly been a wake-up call to all electricity companies to become more serious about their smart grid plans. Procrastination is no longer a viable option and all the electricity companies have now embarked on their own industry transformation plans – they will all be starting to implement the first elements of their smart grids.

Smart grids are a concept, not a technology, and there are different ways to carry out the process of change. This in itself will be interesting and the industry will learn from the different approaches taken by the various projects. The initial results of this process will become evident in several projects being carried out in Victoria. They took leadership in smart meters and this encouraged many other utilities to also focus on their underlying infrastructure…………..
The aim of the Smart Grid/Smart City project was to link possibly as many as 15,000 homes to a smart grid during the period 2010-2013.

Smart grids and the national broadband network
Australia is in a unique position to benefit from two infrastructure projects that are being developed simultaneously. NBN Co is currently rolling out the government-initiated National Broadband Network (NBN) and a clear policy has been introduced, known as ‘digital productivity’ – where the government is taking a leadership role in ensuring that other government sectors use this infrastructure for the delivery of trans-sector services (e-health, e-education, smart grids, etc.)……………..
Smart communities cannot be developed according to the current silo structure that dominates our thinking; they require a holistic approach, which includes environmental factors such as self sufficient energy buildings, energy exchanges for renewable energy and e-cars, delivery of e-health, e-education and e-government services, as well as digital media and Internet services…………..Environmental policy continues to be one of the key global problems being faced around the world. While the climate change issue has dropped out of the headlines it is still very high on the agenda of most countries. With fossil fuel energy being the single largest culprit to the problem, no matter how one looks at this issue, the overriding solution is to move away from fossil fuels to renewables as quickly as possible.

A significantly large part of the population is interested in lowering their CO2 footprint. Furthermore, there is evidence that moving to renewable energy, plus other energy-saving measures, can lead to an overall reduction in energy usage of around 30% . This could largely offset the increased electricity prices….

Australia – Smart Grid Market in 2011 Market Report, Industry Analysis and Market Trends – 08 December 2010

December 9, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | energy, technology, Victoria