Australia’s slow drive to carbon abatement
by Ray Block
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) consisting of the federal, state and territory governments have agreed to the extension of mandatory renewable energy targets (MRET) to 2030. The original scheme commenced in 2001 and expires in 2010, when the renewable energy target rises to 10 per cent.
The extension to 2030 is designed to increase the renewable energy target to 20 per cent by 2030. The disappointment is that they cut out at 20 per cent, which is reached in 2020. From 2020 to 2030, the MRET marks time staying at 20 per cent, and then in 2030, the whole scheme collapses and the MRET is no more.
The premature ending of the scheme makes no sense. The Obama Administration in United States is mandating a 25 per cent renewable energy target by 2025. And while the 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020 was agreed by the European Union, a number of the individual European countries have already reached renewable energy levels well in excess of 30 per cent.
Year Annual Target
in gigawatt hours
2010 12,500
2011 14,400
2012 16,300
2013 18,200
2014 20,100
2015 22,000
2016 26,600
2017 31,200
2018 35,800
2019 40,400
2020 45,000#
# 2021-2030 45,000
In the 2009-2010 Federal Budget, A$4.5 billion is committed to the clean energy sector. The funding includes $2.4 billion in low-emissions coal technologies, as well as $1.6 billion to position Australia as a world leader in solar energy technologies. $465 million is provided to establish the Renewable Australia body, to support research into renewable energies.
The Clean Energy Council representing the renewable energy sector in Australia says the government’s 20 per cent renewable energy target will “unleash” $20 billion of new investment in the sector.
Giles Parkinson in the “Australian” May 4 2009 said that Pacific Hydro has 660 MW of wind power facilities ready to be built at a cost of more than $2 billion. Spanish wind energy company Union Fenosa has plans for 850 MW at a cost of $1.9 billion. AGL which is a gas and electricity supplier in Australia, Roaring 40s group, and Spanish wind company Acciona also have extensive plans to grow their wind energy farms.
The last year a break down of renewable energy projects already installed in Australia was in 2006-07, when bagasse, the by-product of sugar processing for use in biomass represented 34 per cent of the total supply. Wood and wood waste added another 31 per cent swelling the biomass total to 65 per cent. The balance was in wind and solar.
In coming years, possibly around a third of renewable energy will be from wind power, which currently has about 2 GW installed , with a further seven fold increase in installations by 2020. It is to be hoped that by 2020, the large geothermal resources in Australia will have been opened up for commercialisation.
With relation to the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, which was set previously to commence July 1 2010, it made both political and economic sense to delay the scheme by 12 months, given the continuing global financial crisis and the international recession.
The new scheme commences July 1 2011, if the legislation is passed by the two Houses of Parliament and is enacted into law. However, there is widespread opposition both within the Parliament and in some industries to any emission trading scheme. There is doubt whether the scheme will pass into law in coming weeks, which would severely embarrass the Rudd Government.
The revised scheme provides for a permanent reduction of 5 per cent in carbon pollution below 2000 levels by 2020, which would ratchet up to a 25 per cent reduction, if “the world agrees to an ambitious global deal to stabilise levels of CO2 equivalent at 450 parts per million or lower by mid century.”
Ray Block
Posted under Carbon Abatement Scheme, Climate Change, Global Warming, Low Carbon Economy, Renewable Energies
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