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Challenges and Benefits for the Transition to Renewable Energy in Australia

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Challenges and Benefits for the Transition to Renewable Energy in Australia CHALLENGES AND BENEFITS FOR THE TRANSITION TO RENEWABLE ENERGY IN AUSTRALIA TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................... 2 2. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 2 3. FINDINGS ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 3.1. ACCESSIBILITY AND POTENTIAL FOR THE USE OF RENEWABLES IN AUSTRALIA ................................................................. 2 3.2. HYDROPOWER USE IN AUSTRALIA ...................................................................................................................... 3 3.3. BARRIERS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER PLANTS ............................................................... 3 3.4. THE INCLUSION OF INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS IN THE RENEWABLE ENERGY WORKFORCE ................................................. 4 4. DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................................................. 4 5. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................ 5 6. REFERENCE LIST ............................................................................................................................................ 5 1. ABSTRACT The aim of this report is to identify what are the main benefits and challenges for the transition to renewable energy in Australia. Library database research showed the enormous potential Australia has to develop this type of technology as well as some key limitations. Overall, the findings revealed the abundance of solar and wind power access within the Australian territory and how pumped hydro could play a key role to help smooth the transition to renewable energy by providing a stable and reliable high voltage transmission network. In addition, the inclusion of aboriginal communities by providing them with employment opportunities would be an exceptional benefit. However, a study found limitations to implement concentrated solar power plants in the industrial sector, especially to perform high temperature processes such as in the mining industry. The report concludes that despite all the benefits, it is essential that the government takes the lead by implementing energy policies and providing stimulus to develop new renewable technologies. 2. INTRODUCTION Many scientists coincide we are currently living in a worldwide climate crisis. Continuous rising average global temperatures led to several international conventions where world leaders tried to find strategies to reduce the impact of global warming. The Paris Agreement signed in 2016 by 197 countries affirms the commitment many nations adopted to limit the increase of global temperature to 1.5-2ºC above pre-industrial levels. In order to reach this goal, it is urgent to reduce greenhouse emissions and adjust the current energy system that is predominantly based in fossil fuels. Australia is in the greatest position to develop sustainable energy production, especially the use of solar and wind power. However, its huge potential seems to be underutilised due to some social, economic and political factors. This report aims to investigate the challenges as well as the benefits for the transition to renewable energy in Australia. 3. FINDINGS 3.1. ACCESSIBILITY AND POTENTIAL FOR THE USE OF RENEWABLES IN AUSTRALIA Blakers (2020) examines in detail the facts in which Australia can rely on for the successful development of renewable energy. He states that sun and wind energy are very accessible in Australian territories due to the abundance of open spaces and optimal sun radiation. It would require only one wind turbine every 2,000 people and 60 square meters of solar panels per person to stop our energy reliance on fossil fuels. In addition, wind and solar farms are currently more cost effective when compared to new gas or coal plants and adopting renewables sources of energy would significantly reduce the risk of environmental disasters such as oil spills. Moreover, he suggests that new projects that focus on making reliable energy connections in between rural and urban territories paired with the use of pumped hydro can improve the current high voltage transmission network. In Figure 1 Aboumahboub et al. (2020) shows how Australia could meet the Paris agreement target by completely decarbonizing the energy sector by 2035. 2 FIGURE 1 - DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION FUEL MIX OVER TIME, AGGREGATED RESULTS FOR TOTAL AUSTRALIA, REQUIRED TO MEET 1.5ºC PARIS AGREEMENT (ABOUMAHBOUB ET AL. 2020). 3.2. HYDROPOWER USE IN AUSTRALIA According to Chu (2018), traditional hydropower could be of help when solar and wind resources are low and could provide stable distribution of energy, specifically during peak demands. Moreover, she maintains that pump hydro could be used as a natural battery by using the excess of solar and wind energy to push water uphill to a designated extensive reservoir. This would allow to release water for energy as required, with the capacity to provide good quality of electricity and for long periods of time. However, the appropriate selection of new suitable sites, the design of a business model around them and a higher qualified and professional workforce are fundamental for the success of hydropower in the near future. 3.3. BARRIERS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER PLANTS Farjana et al. (2018) asserts that the development of solar energy in the industrial sector could significantly reduce carbon emissions, and that Australia is in the greatest position to make use of this type of technology due to its enormous access to sun radiation. However, some of the barriers Australia faces are the easy and cheap access to coal fuel, the big investments required for the installation of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants and the limited access to solar energy that performs high temperature processes, such as in the mining industry. It was found there is no enough research on how to incorporate solar thermal technologies to the energy intense operations that are essential in the industrial sector. 3 3.4. THE INCLUSION OF INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS IN THE RENEWABLE ENERGY WORKFORCE Pittock (2011) claims that the deployment of renewable projects in remote areas of Australia has the ability to provide direct or indirect employment opportunities to local residents, in particular in isolated Aboriginal communities. Government or private companies could provide training and apprenticeships for community members to help them execute skilled jobs of maintenance and construction. Furthermore, he suggests that a high voltage direct current cabling could be installed in remote areas that would benefit and help develop energy projects for the success of local communities, especially if the project is held on their land. The inclusion of indigenous people into the workforce of the Centre for Appropriate Technology and Bushlight is an example of what can be achieved at a greater scale. 4. DISCUSSION Numerous benefits have been identified for the development of renewable energy in Australia. Firstly, there is an enormous potential to promote this type of technologies in the Australian territory as it is the country with the highest sun radiation and wind is very accessible within large areas of land (Blakers 2020; Farjana et al. 2018). In addition, Pittock (2011) maintains that the capture of solar energy throughout various inland locations can benefit from having a three-hour time difference between easter and western Australia, as well as from the seasonal changes that take place between northern and southern areas. This would help provide effective baseload power and energy stability, and at the same time decrease the reliance of gas usage for those purposes. Furthermore, the use of solar thermal storage and pumped hydro are fundamental for the stable transition to renewable energy, especially to satisfy daily peak demands and to create a reliable energy network in between rural and urban areas (Blakers 2020; Chu 2018). Another remarkable potential benefit outlined by Pittock (2011) is the inclusion of aboriginal communities towards the development of large-scale renewable energy projects in their traditional lands. With their consent, this can positively encourage a needed economic development amongst indigenous people and help them decrease their reliance on government funding. Moreover, Pittock (2011) promotes the idea that the government should establish partnerships with aboriginal groups such as the Indigenous Land Corporation and assist them with subsidies and stimulus, providing a link in between them and the private sector. However, some challenges and limitations were found in this research. The lack of government support and funding towards the renewable energy sector (Blakers 2020), the easy and cheap access to coal fuel, the absence of industrial solar technologies and the big investments required for the installation of CSP plants are some relevant examples (Farjana et al. 2018). In contrast, Blakers (2020) argues that obtaining energy from renewable sources is currently more cost effective than from fossil fuels and emphasizes the urgency
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