Renewable Energy in Australia:
Wind energy:
Windfarm at Yambuk, western Victoria
Wind energy production generally consists of either small-scale individual wind turbines for individual use, or of larger-scale commercial ‘wind farms’. These wind farms are connected to the power grid. Wind power is the largest renewable energy form at present in Victoria.
Solar Thermal:
Solar thermal power plants produce energy through reflected sunlight off specially designed mirrors which is then stored as heat in insulated molten-salt storage tanks. This allows the heat to be drawn out on command to boil water and drive a steam turbine. The ability to store this heat also means that these plants can produce energy perpetually, which leads to massive potential to replace ‘base load’ power (currently generated by gas and coal).
Solar Hot Water:
These are the traditional solar panels found on a growing number of houses and other buildings. Although SHW systems do not actually produce electricity, they can be used to reduce demand for electricity if they are used to displace gas or electric hot water systems.
Solar Photovoltaic:
Photovoltaic cells (PVs) contain a semi conducting material which converts collected solar radiation into direct current electricity for energy consumption.
Hydroelectric energy:
Hydroelectric energy is generated by the kinetic motion of turbines propelled by water motion caused by a variety of natural and engineered occurrences. The most commonly used ones range from hydroelectric dams to tidal and wave forces.
In Victoria, most hydro power comes from the north east of the state. There is limited new potential for commercial scale hydro power.
Biomass:
This is energy produced from the combustion of organic matter such as plants. Biomass can be used to provide heat, electricity, transportation fuels, or as a chemical feedstock for bio-based products.
However, it must be noted that in Australia, there is substantial concern regarding the use of native forests as feedstock for bio mass operations. FoE does not endorse waste materials from native forests being used in this way.
Biofuels:
Biofuels are fuels derived from a wide range of biomass (plant and animal waste matter). The two main types of biofuels produced in Australia are bioethanol and biodiesel. Bioethanol is used as a substitute for gasoline, whilst biodiesel can replace diesel.
Other benign energy sources:
Geothermal energy:
Geothermal energy uses naturally stored heat in the Earth to generate electricity. It can be harnessed in several different ways depending on how the heat is stored. Most commonly, it is used to heat water from which the resulting steam rotates generator turbines to produce electricity. There is immense potential for this mode of energy production across Australia, particularly in Victoria.
William Pitt
June 4, 2012
what about cogeneration?
Ben Courtice
June 4, 2012
Cogeneration uses waste heat from a combustion generator such as a gas burner and then uses it for building heating. In the case of trigeneration, the waste heat also powers a coolling system. While some cogen and trigen systems claim fairly high energy efficiency, they are only as renewable as the energy source that’s being fed in.
If you’re in Sydney you may have heard of the trigeneration plan that the City of Sydney plans to roll out with great claims about how green it will be. Beyond Zero Emissions have written a critique that takes apart the Sydney claim and seems to find a cleaner, more efficient alternative. Here’s the link:
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/sydney-trigen-try-again-with-renewables-77169
solar panel
August 3, 2012
You missed Tidal power, also called tidal energy. Although not yet widely used, tidal power has potential for future electricity generation. Tides are more predictable than wind energy and solar power.