In ‘Climate Change’ Category
Bushfire zone windows and doors
A recent community workshop helped demystify window requirements in bushfire prone areas, writes Anna Cumming. Listen to the full workshop at www.ata.org.au/bushfire.
Its communities hit by Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, the Strathewen & St Andrews Sustainable Rebuilding Project recently held the first in a series of workshops designed to help those rebuilding homes and businesses to do it as energy efficiently as possible.
READ MORE »On the topic of windows and glazed doors, the workshop covered design considerations that can have a big impact on the passive thermal performance and energy efficiency of the house, including size, orientation, frame and glazing type and shading. It also addressed the extra issues that need to be considered when building in a bushfire prone area and looked at some windows, frames and shutters rated for use in the higher Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) zones.
Here’s an overview of the workshop’s main points on glazing in high BAL zones below. Listen to the full, highly informative presentations on the ATA website at www.ata.org.au/bushfire.
BAL zones
A home site’s Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) is determined by a number of factors including the area’s Fire Danger Index (a measure of the probability of a fire starting), the type of vegetation and its distance from the house, and the slope of the land. The recently introduced new building regulations impose more stringent requirements on design and materials as the site’s BAL increases; for the top two levels, BAL-40 and BAL-FZ (Flame Zone), these are aimed at protecting the house from ember attack, a fairly to very high likelihood of direct flame contact and radiant heat up to 40 kilowatts per square metre (for BAL-40) or even hotter.
Requirements for windows in high BAL zones
The requirements for lower BAL zones specify various combinations of frame material, toughened glass or double glazing, and steel or bronze mesh screens to openable windows to prevent ember attack. In BAL-40 and BAL-FZ zones, however, the requirements are stricter.
The path to energy efficiency
In ReNew 117 we profile the new Australian Greenhouse Calculator developed by Alan Pears. His journey promoting energy efficiency has been a long one, and here he shares his experiences, and challenges, along the way.
Alan Pears, supported by a range of other specialists, has developed a series of greenhouse calculators for EPA Victoria and other organisations. Alan developed Australia’s first personal computer-based home energy auditing software in 1983. This was used for over 90,000 home assessments carried out by the Victorian Government’s Home Energy Advisory Service from 1983 to 1993, when it was shut down by the incoming Kennett government.
READ MORE »In the mid-1980s he developed a simplified home audit using a mark-sense sheet (like a bigger version of the Tattslotto tickets you mark with a pencil). People simply chose the options for each activity and fed it through the reading machine. An Apple 2e computer processed their data and prepared a personalised report.
In the early 1990s Alan adapted his earlier approach to run on a computer, before the advent of the graphical user interface. In 1996, with funding from EPA Victoria, he, with leading edge programmer Mike Hogan, developed a new graphics-based calculator that operated on an early version of the Windows platform. This was sold to schools but, unfortunately, did not make Alan his first million dollars.
By the late 1990s Alan was ready to take advantage of the advances of dial-up internet and CDs. And the pain of the previous projects had dulled with time. EPA Victoria again stepped forward to fund it. This time, the package included animations, extensive educational resources and two modes of operation. The simpler mode ran on the EPA’s website for many years. The full version released in 2000 was too big to work with dial-up internet, so it was sold through CSIRO Publishing. The team that produced all these resources was project managed by the Curriculum Corporation (now Education Services Australia). A spin-off of the detailed version of the transport component of the calculator was adapted for RACV, and ran on their website for many years; it still runs on the EPA Victoria website, too.
Alan then focused on developing a number of smaller calculators. He worked with the programmers and web designers who had worked on the latest greenhouse calculator, Nectarine, to produce GreenFleet’s TreeTotaller calculator, which estimated emissions from car and air travel as well as household emissions from energy bills. This still operates. He also adapted the household energy component of the EPA calculator to produce the predecessor to the NABERS Home Energy Explorer for the NSW Government.
He also worked on the infamous ABC Science on-line PlanetSlayer calculator, again with Nectarine, and with ABC personality Bernie Hobbs. The PlanetSlayer website included games (see how easily you can destroy the Earth), animations, and a calculator, developed by Alan using data from the University of Sydney’s Institute for Sustainability Assessment. After answering 12 questions, users would get feedback on how long they could live their lifestyle and not exceed the lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of an average human. This meant many Australians found they had short lives in the calculation. On the other hand, if you cut your emissions below net zero (by storing carbon and investing your money in activities that cut other people’s emissions) you could ‘live forever’ and you became a cute little piglet with wings that flew off to a wonderful future!
After running very successfully on the ABC Science website for some years, it was discovered by a conservative parliamentarian, who accused the ABC of encouraging young children to commit suicide. The publicity led to an enormous increase in the numbers visiting the calculator. By then, the calculator was somewhat dated, and with the tight budgets of the Howard government era, funding for an update could not be found. So the PlanetSlayer was slain.
In 2007, Alan was approached to develop an updated version of the Greenhouse Calculator, to run on-line and take onboard the many developments in household activities. He was convinced it was time to create ‘the mother of all calculators’! Little did he realise the agony this naive goal would lead to for him, and just about everyone who worked on the project: they all contributed far more than they were paid. EPA Victoria again led with funding, which was topped up by Sustainability Victoria and Education Services Australia, who also project managed the team. And here it is! A bit late but, through the serendipity of life, launched just at the right time to help people respond constructively to the introduction of a carbon price!
Click here to download the full version of this article, which includes details on how the Australian Greenhouse Calculator works.A shortened version of this article originally appeared in ReNew 117.
Going solar big time and fast
The shift to 100% renewable energy by 2020 could be a reality according to a new report, writes Fiona Armstrong.
If the politicians are to be believed, switching to clean and renewable energy in Australia is something that will take decades. We currently don’t have any major incentives for industries to make a transition away from fossil fuels, and only minor policies are so far in place to encourage fuel switching.
READ MORE »But is it all as hard as the coal and oil lobbyists and parliamentarians would have us believe? What about our abundant solar and wind resources in Australia? How fast can they be developed?
Pretty quickly, according to a new report from Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) and Melbourne University’s Energy Institute. In fact, it is possible for Australia to make a transition to 100% renewable energy in Australia in just ten years.
Launched in August the Zero Carbon Australia 2020 Plan (ZCA2020) has attracted some serious attention. Endorsements range from the International Energy Agency to former Chief Scientist Robin Batterham and Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty.
Beyond Zero Emissions Director Matthew Wright says the endorsements reveal the unique nature of the report and the failure of governments to undertake vital planning on Australia’s inevitable transition to a renewable energy supply system.
“The overwhelming support for this plan from industry and experts is due to its science-based approach and the fact that it is not about half measures. It is about directly addressing the problem which is that a rapid transition to a zero carbon economy is needed if we are to avoid further and even more dangerous climate change,” said Mr Wright.
Read the full article in ReNew 113
A smart grid is coming
With a smart grid demonstration project planned for Newcastle, Miguel Brandao explains how smart grids work and what they mean for consumers.
Smart grid is a term that is becoming more and more en vogue in the power industry circle. Not only are utilities attracted to this new concept but governments see smart grids as a way to increase both energy efficiency and energy security, as well as reduce carbon emissions.
READ MORE »The Federal Government recently announced Newcastle as home to the Smart Grid, Smart City demonstration project, with a consortium led by Energy Australia securing the tender. Up to $100 million has been committed to the project which will deploy a live, integrated, smart grid of commercial size and scope in the Newcastle area, with parts of the trial also conducted in Newington, Sydney’s CBD, Ku-ring-gai and Scone.
According to the Federal Government, spreading the demonstration project across urban, suburban and rural areas helps represent the wider grid so that the results can inform future smart grids in Australia.
Smart grids explained
So, what exactly is a smart grid? Definitions and interpretations abound, but it basically means linking telecommunications and IT to the energy world to automate the network in a way that better balances the demand and supply of energy. One can be tempted to compare the coming of Smart Grids to advances in the telecommunications sector in the last 25 years.
A Smart Grid collects real-time data from existing power infrastructure components as well as sensors and meters to better understand what is happening in the electricity grid. From this information energy demand and supply can be adjusted according to criteria such as efficiency, carbon reduction and power quality maximisation.
Real-time processing of this data allows the grid to make faster and better informed decisions. Further, smart grids allow new services such as sending real time consumption information to users and demand response, and enable the seamless integration of renewable energy, electric vehicles and other novel energy resources.
Power co advantages
For electricity utilities, smart grids allow better monitoring and control of all parts of the grid such as increased automation, faster decision-making and actions for restoration of energy supply during an outage, as well as faster isolation of faults and dispatch of repair crews. This in turn will help lower down time for customers.
Another conceptual advantage of smart grids is their ability to match electricity demand to supply and improve the efficiency of energy production, which is important with more renewable energy contributed to the electricity grid, which can sometimes be subject to variable supply. Thus, a smart grid may allow for matching demand to supply using load shifting devices such as energy storage systems and consumer behaviour strategies such as demand response programs and time of use tariffs.
For consumers, more and more is said about consumer empowerment and active participation in the power system. Basic empowerment is giving real time energy usage feedback such as which appliance is using how much and allowing the consumer to make changes in the way energy is used at home. Further, the consumer can respond to grid needs or market conditions. Householders can respond to different hourly power tariffs or demand response programs, where consumers are encouraged by their utility to shift or curtail their loads during high demand times such as hot summer days, and benefit financially for that.
Additionally, the consumer can also become a power producer, such as when they install grid-connected solar panels at home.
Potential problems
There are immediate advantages associated with smart grids, however, the mass adoption of renewable energy and electric vehicles will definitely put pressure on power systems. The electricity grid is still a centralised structure, where large central generators dispatch power to captive and immobile consumers along the distribution grids. Further, transmission and distribution grid devices were not designed for dual power flows, resulting from customer power supply. Therefore, mass adoption of these technologies may have consequences for the grid in terms of power stability and protection, and these risks will need to be managed.
Electric vehicles will also put a lot of pressure on utility systems. If a large number of EVs are allowed to charge at any time, then there’s likely to be higher peak demands and the need to reinforce the grid with more (and expensive) peaking generators and upgrade the transmission/distribution devices for greater peak power flows. However, if recharging is ‘smartened’ then EVs may charge at the time most suitable to the grid. Furthermore, if EVs are touted as an enabler of the decarbonisation of the transportation sector, then their mass adoption will be followed by the mass adoption of renewable energy. If solar and wind are major contributors, then their variable supply requires the grid to react quickly to match supply and demand and maintain grid reliability and stability.
‘Smartening’ the grid can happen in the areas of generation, transmission, distribution and on the consumer side. Utilities already have energy management systems in place to manage generation and transmission, so the distribution and consumer side will be given the most attention in order to reach a fully ‘smart’ power system.
Large investment in the deployment of new sensors, new communications and IT platforms to facilitate the flow of information, and new control and management platforms to process the gathered data and take necessary management decisions will be needed to smarten the grid. These renovations will enable further interaction between utilities and their customers, including the deployment of new services such as demand response. However, this investment will need to be significant.
There are other complicating factors. Vertically integrated utilities can make the investments and collect the benefits. But in very fractioned markets (where retailers, transmission and distribution companies, generating companies work individually), accruing the costs and benefits of smart grid investments across stakeholders will be challenging.
Further, some benefits such as carbon reduction are difficult to capture without adequate regulatory measures. Current regulatory regimes in general are not designed to get the most energy efficiency, despite market competition (where it exists) or include an increasing number of consumers/producers. Yet, in a resource constrained world, and where carbon is important and consumers are looking for lower power costs and more energy security, regulators and utilities will have to work together, with consumers, to design innovative power regulations that enable these goals.
As well as the smart grid trial in Newcastle, the United States has committed $3.4 billion for Smart Grid trials, and Europe, China, Korea and Japan are also have similar projects. Thus, smart grids are becoming a reality. Let’s trial smart grids so that the technology is tested, consumers participate and the cost benefits of different business models are assessed.
How to start a wind farm
There’s a lot to consider when planning a community wind farm. Dominic Eales guides us through a few of the vital stages.
More co-operatives around Australia are looking towards community wind farms for a local and sustainable solution for their energy needs. Taking this path certainly has rewarding benefits including reinforcing community unity, although it can be a maze of challenges, both technical and regulatory. In this article we’ll investigate some of these challenges and those who have sailed through them.
READ MORE »Best wind farm location
When looking for the right site for your community wind farm a number of different criteria need to be taken into account. For starters, you don’t need a perfectly placed X on the map, but rather an area to be investigated. Although the site should be relatively windy, this is not the only thing to look out for so let’s have a look at a few other factors.
Being a community project, the visual impact and proximity to homes in relation to noise and shadow flicker should be seriously considered. It is best for everyone if the location of the wind farm has the minimum negative impact possible for the people of the community, thereby maximising the benefits of your positive, community-building project.
Another important aspect is how much it will cost to connect the wind farm to the grid. Although it may seem that setting up the wind farm on the windiest hill is the best idea, if that hill is far away from the 3-phase, high-voltage power line then the cost of getting your renewable energy to an appropriate grid connection point may significantly increase the costs of the wind farm. Even if there is a power line nearby that has the right voltage and phase, it should also be checked for connection capacity before deciding it is up for the job.
Also, how easy is it to get to the site? Is there a road nearby? Large trucks carrying the wind turbine blades, tower sections and the crane will need to get to the site easily and most often an access road will need to be built. Basically, that very windy hilltop you’ve got in mind may just be too difficult to get to, so it might be better to have a site with lower wind speeds but easier access.
Read the full article in ReNew 113
Eureka! From coal to solar
One clever Latrobe Valley enterprise is helping workers switch to low carbon employment, writes Sasha Shtargot.
Drive east out of smog-bound Melbourne along the Princes Highway and before long you are in the haze that perpetually sits in the Latrobe Valley.
Pitted with brown coal mines, the valley has long been in the firing line as the dirty heart of Victoria’s power generation system. It is home to Hazelwood, the most polluting power station in Australia, pumping out over 16 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year.
Yet the area that has long depended on jobs from brown coal has started heading in the opposite direction—towards a manufacturing base in clean technology. More precisely, the making of solar hot water units.
Eureka’s Future, a co-operatively run factory, is set to start operating next year with 50 workers in Morwell. With the support of Dandenong manufacturer Everlast and Douglas Solar, it will produce stainless steel tanks with Solar Mio flatplate collectors, Grundfos pumps and Bosch boosters. By the end of 2011, it is expected to be making 500 solar hot water units a month. With rebates and including installation, a Eureka’s Future gas-boosted tank will cost country homeowners $2655 and city dwellers $2755. And it will come with a 10-year guarantee.
Climate Change White Paper Positions Victoria as a Strong Leader On Climate Change
Monday, July 26
READ MORE »The Alternative Technology Association (ATA) applauded the Victorian Government’s release of its Climate Change White Paper today.
“This White Paper sets a new climate change policy and action benchmark for Governments in this country,” said the ATA’s Chief Executive Officer Ian Porter.
“The combination of a broad coverage of all emitting sectors, the depth of the regulatory and fiscal tools used, and the strength of the emissions target, make this announcement stand out amongst climate change policies in Australia.”
The ATA was particularly pleased to see a firm and legislated target for emissions.
“Given that we’ve had trouble getting a commitment to a 5% target federally, the Victorian Government’s commitment to a 20% reduction by 2020 is a very pleasing step.”
“Coupled to measures in the White Paper such as the strong energy efficiency target through the doubled Victorian Energy Efficiency Target (VEET) program and the 5% solar target beyond the national Renewable Energy Target (RET), we’ve got some very serious emissions reductions being locked in.”
“The White Paper sets a target which would be 34 Megatonnes below business as usual by 2020, supported by a strong Climate Change Bill,” Mr Porter added.
Policies on renewable energy and energy efficiency were also particularly pleasing.
“Energy efficiency remains a crucial policy direction often underutilised by governments, but the Victorian Government is exploring some very strong commitments here such as the retrofitting of existing homes to an average five star standard.
If done effectively this will deliver substantial social outcomes, such as reduced electricity bills and better standard of housing, as well as reducing emissions. And this need not be expensive, as ATA members have demonstrated for thirty years.”
Taking a national perspective, the ATA sees the Victorian Government’s approach as one which should be followed and hopefully exceeded by other states and territories.
“We would love to see other Governments emulating this approach – strong emissions reduction targets, a feed-in tariff for large scale solar, mandated energy efficiency targets and an aggressive program of building retrofits,” said ATA’s CEO Ian Porter.
“With a lack of action from the Australian Parliament it is time again for the states and territories to lead.”
“Above all, we need Governments to work with communities to help people make change.There is consensus around the need for climate action, and people need to see a strong direction, firm targets and serious commitment from Governments – as we’ve seen today from the Victorian Government.”
“In the long run we will need to make even deeper cuts, but this is a huge step towards that future.”
A plan for a green future
The Alternative Technology Association has produced a comprehensive list of recommendations on how to address climate change. Here’s to a low carbon future.
Most ReNew readers would probably welcome more government assistance to do their bit for the environment. Rebates are always a good incentive, as are feed-in tariffs for grid-connected solar households. From working with its active member base, the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) has made a list of what can be done to address climate change at a government level, with a strong focus on empowering households.
READ MORE »The recommendations were initially prepared for the Victorian Government Climate Change Green Paper, however, a copy has been sent to all state and territory leaders.
The Green Paper outlines the state’s role in complementing a national Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, describes how Victoria can take advantage of a low carbon economy and also proposes ways to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The next step will be the Climate Change White Paper, a result of all the information and ideas put forward during the public consultation process. This charts the way forward for the next decade and beyond.
The ATA’s submission made 16 recommendations based on research, consultation with other NGOs and, most importantly, the experience of members and supporters in working towards sustainability.
The main message is that individuals and communities need help to achieve sustainability and respond to the climate emergency. This conclusion rests on the following three themes, which are explored in separate sections of the submission.
Read the full article in ReNew 110.