Turning off the Oil Wells

Martin Oliver reviews how some governments are helping end the global addiction to fossil fuels, and points out that in one hour the world receives enough solar power to ‘keep everything going’ for one year.

In 2008, politician turned climate activist Al Gore called for America to tackle climate change through a spectacular transformation of its energy system from fossil fuel dependence to 100% renewable energy within the next 10 years. To this end the “We” campaign was launched.

Because of its short time frame, Gore’s plan was dismissed in many quarters as “pie in the sky”, but if this ambitious goal is only partially realised, it will make a major difference in addressing the current climate crisis. The support of governments will be needed, and where they do not pull their weight, public action may become necessary.

 

 

Countries currently aggressively developing their renewable sectors can expect to benefit from a market lead into the future, while insulating their economies against the risk of serious impacts of carbon cuts.

Options for changing from fossil fuels to renewable energy are available. With improvements constantly being made, environmentally sound choices include:

– Solar: In the form of photovoltaic (PV) collectors and hot water systems

– Concentrating solar: Involving constructions such as parabolic dishes, parabolic troughs and solar towers with mirrors that concentrate energy towards a particular focal point, creating very high temperatures

– Wind turbines: Although the traditional turbine design is unsuited to residential settings because of wind shear and noise, newer domestic designs are coming on the market

– Tidal power: Unlike the previous three, this is not yet a mature technology, and is still undergoing improvements

– Geothermal: From hot underground rocks or water

In addition to these, other forms of renewable energy sometimes raise concerns, but remain reasonably good environmental choices. They include:

Hydroelectricity: Generally speaking, the larger the hydro development, the higher the environmental impact, with the massive Three Gorges Dam in China being an extreme example. Australian GreenPower standards prohibit power generated from a hydroelectric project that involves the redirection of environmental flows

Biomass: Environmental credibility largely depends on the feedstock, with waste products such as sugar cane bagasse seen as the most environmentally sound, and native forest timber “waste” (banned under GreenPower standards) as the least.

Green collar jobs

As coal-fired power finds itself under increased political pressure as a generator of CO2 emissions, more attention is being directed to renewables. But the renewable sector isnow experiencing growing competition with speculative carbon capture and storage (CCS) proposals, and other lowercarbon energy sources including gas, and nuclear, which carry unresolved questions and concerns.

When compared to coal and nuclear plants, renewable energy sources have the advantage of yielding more jobs per unit of power generated. Since the start of the global financial crisis, the new concept of “green collar” jobs has become a buzzword, particularly in the US.

The baseload question

Critics of renewable energy are fond of pointing to the issue of baseload power. Essentially, a baseload power source is one that can be relied on to provide a steady supply night and day, and both coal and nuclear belong in this category. While wave and geothermal are renewable baseload sources, others such as wind and solar PV are not. Any plans for a mix of baseload and non-baseload power generation featuring a high percentage of renewable energy would need to be looked at carefully.

However, a mix of renewable sources does tend to even itself out. Although wind speeds vary around Australia, it is usually windy in some part of the country. Solar PV reaches its maximum output on the hottest days of the year, so baseload demand is pushed down when air conditioner use spikes.

Innovations and viability

Through innovation and economies of scale, the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for renewable sources has been slowly dropping, in some cases approaching that of coal. Recent figures from the Canadian Renewable Energy Alliance include 4-7 cents per kWh for coal, 6-9c per kWh for wind, and 20-30c per kWh for solar PV. If the associated air pollution and climate change costs of coal power were to be taken into account, it would immediately be more economically unattractive. Although nuclear plants are cheap to run, the construction, insurance and decommissioning costs are astronomical, requiring huge taxpayer subsidies.

Grid-connected solar

Whether a renewable sector flourishes or languishes is often decided by government policies. In addition to certain countries that have mandated the use of solar in some developments, another valuable tool is the feed-in tariff. When solar power is generated in a residential setting, it is common for some to be surplus to the household’s requirements. The inverters that are standard in grid-connected PV systems enable this excess to be delivered back to the grid in a monitored way.

Renewable schemes have experienced a boost from carbon taxes, such as those now operating in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Netherlands, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Emissions trading schemes such as Australia’s proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) could have the same effect, but there is scope for a range of loopholes and exemptions that could dilute their effectiveness.

At the cutting edge

Wind power has steadily been evolving. Turbines are growing taller, and their blades longer. Confronted with NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) groups objecting to onshore wind farms, particularly in the UK, there has been a trend towards turbine clusters being built offshore. Although infrastructure costs are much higher for offshore projects, planning challenges are easier to navigate and turbines are exposed to faster wind speeds.

Polysilicon, the key resource used in most solar cells, has recently been facing supply issues, exacerbated by the solar industry being in direct competition with silicon chip makers. In the short term, this could put a brake on expansion plans, but fortunately some big polysilicon plants are expected to come on stream in 2010.

A number of breakthroughs are slowly transforming solar power. Conversion efficiency records from sunlight into usable energy continue to rise, standing at 41% for solar cells and 21% for thin film that requires vastly less silicon. However, some thin film technologies are associated with the use of nanotechnology, and toxic heavy metals that require specialised waste disposal.

Cheaper than installing a PV system on a completed roof is the placement of solar roof shingles during construction. Another option is the combined heat and power solar (CHAPS) unit, a type of hybrid system incorporating electricity and heat production that is being manufactured in Europe.

Europe moves forward

Some commentators with ties to the fossil fuel industry have attempted to portray wind and solar power as small-scale, boutique power sources, hoping to give the impression they are irrelevant. Spain, Germany and Denmark are proving them wrong and are moving forward with new regulations.

In the south of Europe, Spain receives more sun than any other European country, and its solar industry has received a boost through the introduction of generous feed-in tariffs. Regulation has also played a role, with laws now mandating solar hot water systems on new and renovated residential properties, and solar PV systems on new and renovated commercial buildings.

Spain is now home to many of the world’s largest solar thermal and PV power stations. In 2007, an 11-megawatt solar power tower known as PS10 became the first of its kind in Europe, with 624 mirrors that focus rays at the top of a massive tower equivalent in height to a 40-storey building. This year, PS20, a larger 20-megawatt plant was built alongside it.

Despite not being a particularly sunny country, Germany became a solar frontrunner during the 1990s, when it introduced a large feed-in tariff. Raising the status of PV installations to profitable investments caused many panels to be fitted on houses and commercial buildings. Today, Germany’s renewable energy sector employs 170,000 people, and the western city of Freiberg has a thriving solar power industry.

Denmark’s wind power

In the 1970s, Denmark was the world’s pioneer in wind power, an industry whose early growth was driven by communityscale wind cooperatives. During that decade, wind was transformed from a cottage industry into a major global business dominated by the Danish turbine-maker, Vestas. About 20% of the power generated in Denmark now comes from wind and some of it is exported to other nearby countries. Spain, which has been aggressively developing its wind power sector in recent years, saw wind energy account for a temporary peak of 43% of total generation in November last year.

To put the energy issue into some perspective, all of the world’s electricity could be supplied via solar radiation using only 0.1% of the land area. In one hour, the world receives all the solar power that it needs to keep everything going for a year. Influenced by such statistics, Europe has proposed sourcing its energy from large-scale solar generating plants in North Africa via DC cables, which lose a lot less in transmission over long distances than their AC counterparts.

During the past few years, global wind power capacity has been growing by about 30% annually, while solar PV has been surging ahead with annual growth of about 50% with the help of government programs running in Germany, Japan and California. In particular, concentrating solar is tipped for future runaway growth, overtaking everything in its path and becoming cheaper to generate than coal power by 2015.

Australia lags behind

Australian development of renewable sources, particularly solar, has been lagging behind the rest of the world for the past decade and a half. Companies in the industry have been drawn to China and the US. It appears that government policies of looking after the coal industry have dampened enthusiasm for renewable energy sources.

A recent report commissioned by the Climate Institute and the European environment group E3G, warns that {quotes}among major industrialised countries, Australia is the least equipped for a post-carbon world{/quotes} in which greenhouse gas emissions are limited. Three factors identified in G20 Low Carbon Competitiveness were Australia’s coal powered electricity, energy-intensive exports such as aluminium, and a high level of car ownership.

However, some progress is being made. Most Australian states and territories have recently introduced feed-in tariffs for renewable energy, with amounts varying between 20-60c per kWh, and the remainder all have schemes in the pipeline. Those tariffs that operate on a “gross” basis pay for all renewable generation, while “net” tariffs only cover the surplus not used by a household.

Recently, legislation to generate 20% of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020 passed through parliament, and although Christine Milne of the Greens slated it for including coal seam gas, Australia’s renewable energy peak body, the Clean Energy Council, gave it the thumbs up.

The Federal Government’s much-discussed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) is now stalled in the Senate. It has come under fire for its exemptions granted to big business, and because its current structure negates household energy savings. Spare permits would remain in the hands of power companies, and would be sold on to polluting industries.

Furthermore, the GreenPower renewable energy program would become irrelevant if the scheme was passed as it stands. If that were to happen, the most effective way for individuals to make a difference would be to purchase and then “retire” CPRS pollution permits, thereby pushing up Australia’s carbon price and providing an economic incentive for emissions reduction measures.