Australia with the right leadership, could run wholly on renewable energy
Renewable energy could “run Australia” Current, By Paul Brown Climate News Network, 16 Jan 13 LONDON – Australia could be self-sufficient in renewable energy in 10 years by converting to solar and wind energy if the country had the right social and political leadership, according to the Energy Research Institute of the University of Melbourne.
In a paper published before the current catastrophic heat wave, the researchers conclude that existing proven technologies could be deployed on a large scale to show an example to the world and to wean Australia off its addiction to fossil fuels.
Australia, the world’s largest coal exporter, has one of the highest per capita emissions of greenhouse gases and has, until recently, resisted tackling climate change.
The report, the Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan, says that if there were the political will Australia’s enormous renewable potential could be harnessed and within a decade both make the country carbon-neutral and create thousands of new jobs.
About 40 percent of Australian renewables would come from wind farms, but key to the success of the project is the empty landscape and the almost constant solar power of the interior.
Non-stop power
Solar power would be produced by many buildings, but most power would come from vast towers containing salt water heated with sunlight directed upon them from fields of mirrors.
The water, heated to more than 500° Celsius, would drive turbines and create 60 percent of Australia’s electricity. Surplus heat generated during the day would be stored in underground molten salt storage tanks, which would release the heat overnight to enable the turbines to run continuously.
To cover times when the sun did not shine and the wind did not blow there would be back-up plants burning biomass, mostly waste from crop production. Existing reserves of hydropower would be held back to fill any gaps.
Even assuming that electricity demand was 40 percent higher than today, in 2020 it would still be possible to achieve 100 percent renewable generation, the report says.
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of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 
Healthcare is very costly in countries like the USA and the UK.
The Delaware Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) covers the regular premiums of enrollees
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a same company if you move from one state to another you have to cancel you policy in
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