is QLD missing the start on the low-carbon revolution?

The following statement by Greg Combet - Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Minister for Industry and Innovation.....

....seems somewhat remote from the actions of the Qld State Government's addictions to fossil fuels (including Coal, Crude Oil & Coal Seam Gas).

We have a head start on low-carbon revolution

Greg Combet posted Wednesday, 14 December 2011

As published in The Australian, Wednesday 14 December 2011

The decision by the UN climate change conference in Durban to pursue a new global agreement for reducing greenhouse gas emissions has profound economic significance for Australia.

For the first time, all of the world's major emitters -- including Australia's two biggest trading partners, the US and China -- have committed to take on legal obligations to reduce carbon pollution. This new agreement, which is to be negotiated by 2015 and come into effect from 2020, will create a new international legal architecture for tackling climate change.

It will replace the Kyoto Protocol's increasingly unsustainable divide between developed and developing economies by bringing all emitters into the international emissions reduction framework.

In contrast to the claims by Tony Abbott and Bob Brown that the outcome was insignificant, countries around the world -- developed and developing -- have welcomed the agreement as a major step forward. The Durban outcome leaves no doubt that all major emitters will be part of a new legal pact on climate change.

Some people have claimed that the 2020 timeframe for a new international legal agreement is too far off and that this will be a "do nothing decade". This could not be further from the truth.

All countries now have a clear signal that there will be a new legal framework to reduce global emissions. The fact that this framework will be backed by legal force cannot be underestimated. It means that all countries will be legally bound to implement measures to reduce carbon pollution.

Those countries with strong domestic climate change policies already in place -- from Europe to China -- have a head start on the low-carbon revolution that will occur this decade and beyond.

The Gillard government's carbon price ensures Australia is ready to meet our domestic and international commitments.

Just imagine if we had waited until 2020 before taking action.

Not only would we miss out on valuable opportunities this decade to build the jobs and industries of the future, we would face a significant economic shock when the new legal framework came into place and we had to achieve emissions cuts overnight. But this is exactly the approach that underpins the Coalition's climate change policies. Abbott thinks that by planting trees and offering taxpayer-funded subsidies to a few polluters, Australia will be well positioned to compete in the future low-carbon world. It is a recipe for economic decline.

The Durban outcome builds on climate action already under way including the pledges of 90 countries to reduce emissions by 2020.

This will create momentum for investments in clean energy and energy efficiency. In addition, the government is providing $1.5 billion to support innovation in Australian industry and manufacturing to seize the opportunities of a low-carbon world. Australia's transformation to a clean energy future is critical to our future competitiveness.

Implementing our clean energy reforms will be essential in the years ahead and central to my new responsibilities as Minister for Industry and Innovation and my continuing role as Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.

The outcome in Durban confirms that by moving ahead with these reforms we are moving in step with global action on climate change.

Coal, Cars and Cows

The following Media release from the Qld Premier demonstrates the Qld Government's commitment to coal, cars and cows....

Premier and Minister for Reconstruction The Honourable Anna Bligh 13/12/2011

Queensland leading Australia on recycling power station emissions

Premier Anna Bligh today inspected an Australian-first project at Tarong Power Station which uses algae to absorb carbon emissions.

Ms Bligh said the Queensland Government had committed $1 million to Phase 1 of the project, which is underway at the South Burnett power station following successful trials of the new technology at a purpose-built pilot facility at James Cook University in Townsville.

"Here we have an example of Queensland innovation and scientific expertise being put to work in an Australian-first project," Ms Bligh said.

"It uses algae to soak up the carbon dioxide emissions from the coal-fired power station, and has the potential to enable a wide range of large emitters to reduce the amount of carbon they release into the atmosphere.

Under a process called Algal Synthesis, captured flue gases from the coal-fired power station are injected into waste water contained in long plastic membranes next to the station.

Algae then grow rapidly in the water, with the captured gases providing carbon dioxide and other nutrients, doubling in quantity every one to two days.

"The algae biomass is then used to make bio fuels which can be used to create valuable products such as livestock feed or oils for transport fuels.

"The search for reliable, affordable, commercial alternatives to oil is now a global effort, and Queensland is an increasingly important player.

"Renewable energy, CSG to LNG, and Bio Fuels are all part of securing a cleaner, greener future for Queensland.

"What's more they are securing our vision for Queensland as the Asia-Pacific hub for new energy sources," the Premier said.

Energy and Water utilities Minister Stephen Robertson said when fully operational, it is anticipated that per hectare per annum, the project will capture up to 700 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking 170 cars off the road for a year.

"It is also expected to produce one tonne of algal biomass per day, 120 tonnes per annum of algal oil and 240 tonnes per annum of algal meal.

"The first stage of the one-hectare Tarong Power Station facility is complete, with earthworks finalised, most services connected and vertical growth columns for the algae installed. The project is scheduled to be fully commissioned in 2012."

Mr Robertson said the project was a joint initiative between MBD Energy Limited and Queensland Government-owned Stanwell Corporation Limited, the state's largest power generator.

"As Queensland is one of the biggest coal and gas mining and export regions of the world, the Bligh Government has a keen interest in ensuring that combustion of energy resources produce the lowest levels of atmospheric emissions possible," Mr Robertson said.

"I congratulate Stanwell and MBD Energy for working together on this pioneering project which is about testing and finding real solutions for the global challenge of excess industrial carbon emissions.

"As Water Utilities are part of my Ministerial portfolio responsibilities, I'm also very interested in the fact that this process developed by MBD Energy and its R&D team at James Cook University has the capacity to recycle waste water.

"MBD Energy expects to use the Tarong Power Station display plant as a blueprint for one or more potentially much larger projects that seek to recycle waste flue gases into algae biomass on a commercial scale.

"In order to protect local biodiversity, only strains of micro-algae local to Tarong Power Station have been selected for growing."

Stanwell Chief Executive Officer Helen Gluer said Tarong Power Station was proud to be the first coal-fired power station in Australia to test the technology as part of the MBD Energy trial.

"As an energy company, we are acutely aware of our environmental responsibilities and the need to manage emissions from coal-fired generation while meeting a growing demand for electricity," Ms Gluer said.

"Our partnership with MBD Energy to trial the use of algae to sequester carbon dioxide will yield valuable results to inform an ever-growing body of knowledge in this new and exciting sphere."

MBD Managing Director Andrew Lawson updated the Premier on construction progress during the visit and outlined plans for commissioning the facility and commencing extensive trials beginning next year.

"We will evaluate the system's efficiency in reducing CO₂ emissions and its potential to produce valuable products from the algae, such as livestock feed and oils for making transport fuels," Mr Lawson said.

"Our immediate focus is completion of construction, quickly bringing up production to design capacity and then running feed trials for cattle."

Andrew Fraser on the Price on Pollution

A press release from Andrew Fraser, discussing the Queensland State Government's vested interests.....

Treasurer and Minister for State Development and Trade

The Honourable Andrew Fraser

10/07/2011 Statement from Treasurer Andrew Fraser

The Bligh Government has always supported action on climate change.

We believe that putting a price on carbon is the most economically responsible way to do that. But we have always made it very clear to the Federal Government that we won't support reforms that aren't in the long-term interests of Queensland.

The Prime Minister's announcement today is a strong step forward in the fight against climate change.

It puts a price on the pollution emitted by the country's biggest polluters, and compensates the vast bulk of households for any costs passed on.In particular, the compensation buffer for low income earners and the reforms to the tax free threshold will help millions of Australians.

The Queensland Government lobbied hard to see households compensated, and also to ensure things like agriculture and fuel were excluded and special arrangements are put in place to foster the development of the LNG industry.

We support the coal industry being given assistance, particularly to develop new technology.

We will also continue discussions with the Federal Government around the impact on the value of the taxpayer owned electricity generators. Initial estimates show that the asset value of the generators is likely to decrease by around $1.7 billion.

This is a complex, major economic and environmental reform that requires in-depth analysis. The Government will assess the reforms in detail and identify its impacts on Queensland.

Our economy may be reliant on the coal and LNG sectors, but we are also a state that includes natural wonders like the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.

A clean energy future will be of particular benefit to Queensland, which is why we must act now.

It is disappointing that our political opponents will not take the time to assess these reforms in detail.

They will choose a scare campaign over a policy debate every day of the week.

Swanning around a Clean Energy Future

Clean Energy Future?

Wayne Swan thinks that putting a price on pollution will drive innovation to find better, less polluting ways of producing power, goods and services.

The question remains concerning how (&why) the Government will compensate the so-called trade exposed industries.

Wayne Swan says that under a Carbon Price: "Dirty energy will become more expensive and clean energy cheaper, tilting the balance towards investment in renewable energy and forms of power generation that produce lower emissions."

I wonder if anyone has told Martin Ferguson??!!

Swanny says: the Government will also help accelerate this transition by directly investing in clean energy projects.

Julia Gillard yesterday announced funding to help build two of the largest solar power plants in the world - one near the Queensland town of Chinchilla (which has been announced before), and another in Moree, NSW. Together, the projects are expected to generate enough power to support the annual electricity needs of more than 115,000 Australian homes.

Unfortunately, these power stations are NOT actually the largest and aren't actually going to be built for a few years.

According to Dan Cass

Moree Solar Farm is a joint venture between BP Solar, Fotowatio and Pacific Hydro. It will be a 150MW solar power plant using BP Solar’s polycrystalline photovoltaic panels mounted on a single axis tracking system. It is near Moree in northern New South Wales.

The project is exciting because of its scale. The total cost is slated to be $923 million, including $306 million funding from the flagships program and $120 million from the state government.

This plant will be much larger than the biggest current Australian PV installation, which is a 1.2MW array at University of Queensland. But Moree will probably not even be in the top 10 plants in the world when it is completed:

• The US currently has 7 plants in the 150MW+ range under consutrution or in planning stage.


• Greece has the 200MW Kozani PV Park due to start in a few months.


• China is planing a 4 stage 2000MW venture, the Ordos Solar Project

Dan goes on to say:

Solar Dawn has been announced already (at least once). It is a joint venture between AREVA Solar, CS Energy and Wind Prospect CWP. It is a solar thermal power project using AREVA Solar’s Compact Linear Fresnel (CLFR) technology with backup gas boilers. It is located at CS Energy’s existing Kogan Creek Power Station, near Chinchilla in Queensland.

So will Solar Dawn be the biggest in the world? No chance. There are already 3 plants in the 100-150MW range in Spain and the US has a facility of 9 plants totaling 354MW in the Mojave Desert (which the biggest solar station in the world.)

Plants due to open include:
* 370MW Ivanpah in the US is the biggest under construction.
* The US has announced almost 20 plants in the 200-1000MW range
* Ashalim in Israel will be 250MW
* Andasol 4-7 in Spain will be 200MW

Swanny says: Projects like this will help kick-start the clean-energy jobs of the future. In the mean time the QLD Government is bending over backwards to lay out a red carpet for the coal seam gas industry.

Swanny (& I) encourage you to take a look at some of the interesting fact sheets put out last week by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency that show a big increase in investment in clean energy around the world.

Productivity Commission’s Report on Carbon Schemes

The Commission’s report: Carbon Emission Policies in Key Economies is a thorough review of carbon abatement methods used around the world. The interesting issue is the number and high cost of non-market based mechanisms used by many governments, which pick favorite technologies or are propping up expensive methods. Key issues include:

• More than 1,000 carbon policy measures were identified in the nine countries studied, ranging from (limited) emissions trading schemes to policies that support particular types of abatement technology.

• As a proportion of GDP, Germany was found to have allocated more resources than other countries to abatement policies in the electricity generation sector — over $10b, followed by the UK ~$2b, with Australia ~$0.5b, China ~$2b and the US ~$3b mid-range.

• Estimates of abatement relative to counter factual emissions in the electricity generation sector followed a similar ordering, with Germany significantly ahead, followed by the UK, then Australia, the US and China.

There is much good information in this report which provides strong support for a market based mechanism. The report generally found that the fewer government schemes the

more cost efficient was the outcome.

In 2009 alone, large-scale investment in the clean-energy sector included US$34.6 billion in China, US$18.6 billion in the United States, and US$1 billion in Australia.

New Zealand scored very well, but the USA which had many schemes was a poor performer. Australia performed very poorly on photo voltaic installations.

Selling Queensland (apologies to the Boom Town Rats)

The power switch inside her head
Gets tripped on overload
And nobody’s gonna hear the truth today
She’s been convinced about clean coal
The unions don’t understand it
They always said she was from the fold
And they can see no logic
'Cos there is no logic
There is no such thing as clean coal-o-o-o-oal?

Tell me why?
I’m Selling Queensland
Tell me why?
I’m selling Queensland
Tell me why?
I’m selling Queensland
I wanna sell-ell-ell-ell-ell-ell the whole State off

The Twitter machine it starts to stream
And it tweets out to cyber space
And Beattie is so shocked
Goss’s world is rocked
And their thoughts turn to their own little State
Sweet 49, botox smoothes the lines
Now that’s a bit too old, to believe in clean coal
They can see no logic
'Cos there is no logic
What reasons do you need?
Oh Oh Oh Oh

Tell me why?
I’m Selling Queensland
Tell me why?
I’m Selling Queensland
Tell me why?
I’m Selling Queensland
I wanna sell-ell-ell-ell-ell-ell
The whole State off, off, off, sell it all off

And the mass debating's stopped in the parliament now
When there is no opposing side!
And caucus is out early and soon they'll be learning
And the lesson today is how to sell
And then the botox injections
suggest there’ll be an election
(So the Premier can keep a straight face)
And she can see no reasons
'Cos there are no reasons
What reason do you need to sell, sell?
bloody hell

Tell me why
I’m Selling Queensland
Tell me why
I’m Selling Queensland
Tell me why
I’m Selling
I’m Selling (Tell me why)
I’m Selling Queensland
Tell me why
I’m Selling
I’m Selling (Tell me why)
I’m Selling Queensland
Tell me why
I’m Selling Queensland
I wanna sell-ell-ell-ell-ell-ell the whole State off