Peter Verwer |
Saturday, 1 October 2011 9:06 AM |
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Imagine green grids of buildings and precincts that power themselves … renewably.
At first, these green grids will complement the traditional, centralised coal-fired brown grid. In time, they will evolve into localised, self-sufficient clean energy power stations.
Co- and tri-generation technologies offer a critical step toward this goal.
The Property Council, in league with ClimateWorks and Seed Advisory, have released a report – Unlocking the Barriers to Cogeneration – that identifies the benefits of tested cogeneration technology.
The report also explores barriers to wider take-up, based on the hard evidence of multiple case studies.
Finally, the report offers an action plan for realising green grid dividends.
Unlocking the Barriers to Cogeneration shows this readily available technology is 80 percent more energy efficient than conventional energy sources – it also yields 60 percent less carbon emissions.
The CSIRO has previously reported that green grid technologies can abate up to 18 megatons of carbon emissions by 2020 and 40 megatons by 2030.
They found the cost savings of these technologies could be $130 billion (in today’s dollars) by 2050.
In addition, the Prime Minister’s Task Group on Energy Efficiency identifies these precinct-based technologies as critical complements to a carbon price.
As the Federal Government’s proposed carbon price scheme currently relies on the purchase of billions of dollars of offshore carbon credits to meet its emissions reduction targets, it makes more sense to invest in proven technologies, such as cogeneration plants, in Australia.
The main barriers to mainstream adoption of cogeneration are:
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An inefficient connection process that is costly and time-consuming, due to outmoded case-by-case assessments characterised by unclear rules and standards
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The absence of clear guidelines about the roles and responsibilities of distribution network service providers
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A bias against multi-site, precinct-level cogeneration plant and systems.
At present, property owners who wish to install and share the benefits of cogeneration are hugely frustrated by approval processes and regulatory regimes that block them at every turn.
Unlocking the Barriers to Cogeneration proposes a suite of practical solutions to these problems, including:
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A national, standardised connection process
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Automatic connection rights
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Practical, district-level licensing frameworks.
In addition, the Property Council calls for rational feed-in tariffs.
Such tariffs reimburse building owners for the increasingly renewable energy they feed back to the brown grid.
Overseas experience shows that feed-in schemes increase the use of renewable energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and relieve pressure on the traditional electricity grid. They can also create green jobs and increase public awareness of green technology.
It’s important to set tariffs at the right rate.
Too low and there’s not enough incentive for owners to install and share renewable energy.
Too high and the scheme can become expensive for government.
It’s also important that feed-in schemes are big enough in scope, which is why they should include both domestic households and all commercial property types.
Feed-in schemes must also run long enough to provide property owners with the confidence that they’ll receive a return on their investment.
Finally, feed-in schemes should be flexible enough to accommodate tested and emerging technologies in addition to cogeneration.
The Property Council is actively advocating the massive benefits of moving to a green grid approach and fostering the widespread adoption of cogeneration technologies in particular. We’re:
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Working with stakeholders to advocate sensible reforms to Australia’s national energy markets
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Submitting our views on connection charge guidelines to the Australian Energy Regulator
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Developing a toolkit for developers and property owners that will guide them through current and emerging regulatory processes
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Drafting a standard connection manual and cogeneration technical guide, in close cooperation with industry participants, including energy providers.
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Cogen and trigen in 60 seconds
Cogeneration is the simultaneous production of electricity and heat from the same fuel source.
Trigeneration adds cooling to the mix.
These systems are typically fuelled by gas and, increasingly, by renewables.
Generating multiple forms of energy from a single fuel source can be highly efficient.
Conventional power plants convert raw materials (such as coal) into customer-ready energy at less than half the efficiency of co/trigen systems. Even more energy is lost in transmitting electricity over long distances from power stations to customers.
Co/trigeneration occurs in the vicinity of the energy user – a huge efficiency advantage.
Plus, the thermal efficiency of co/trigen reduces CO2e emissions – a double efficiency dividend.
Given the billions of dollars required to expand and maintain the traditional brown grid, which inevitably translates into higher energy bills, co/trigen can also alleviate the financial burden of households and businesses.
Finally, an effective grid of self-sufficient, local power generators can also improve the resilience of Australia’s critical energy infrastructure.
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Peter Verwer |
Saturday, 1 October 2011 9:06 AM |
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