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Sat, 27 Jun 2009 06:20:00 -0700

Green building of the week from Inhabitat is this tower planned for Rotterdam - Monolab’s Soaring Solar Rotterdam Tower.

Monolab is aiming to take solar power to extreme heights by designing their sky-high Rotterdam Tower with a skin of photovoltaic panels. At 450 meters, the Rotterdam Tower design is intended to connect Europe’s largest port to the city by reaching into the vertical landscape. The tower, which has been designated as a mixed-use building, will incorporate public, commercial, and residential spaces. An intricate series of gondolas, which move up, down, and diagonally across the tower will leave passengers with a bit of vertigo while affording them an amazing view of the city.

Rotterdam Tower is planned to be an extension of the port, and a new manmade connection back to land, thanks to the use of giant arms of steel. An integrated pedestrian boulevard will provide ample accessibility for those on foot. Those interested in getting to higher ground may view the city from the tower’s multiple sky lounges. A large parking structure with the capacity to hold 1000 cars is planned in hopes of liberating the downtown traffic zone and swapping asphalt for park grass.

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Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:54:55 -0700

[In partnership with VEI] Interest in the use of renewable energy sources for the local generation of electrical energy is increasing on a worldwide scale. This trend is also noticeable in Flanders. The total electrical energy generated by renewable sources in Flanders in 2000 was 170.4 GWh, and this rose to 1429.3 GWh in 2006. Photovoltaic panels comprise a fast-growing market.

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Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:23:00 -0700

Hobart Mercury
Friday 19/6/2009 Page: 7

A PROPOSAL to erect wind turbines on two Hobart buildings has been greeted as a sign of things to come. Architects and sustainability experts have generally welcomed the proposal as an example of increasing environmental awareness. Developer Robert Rockefeller has applied to put 11m-high power generation turbines on top of the Marine Board building in Sullivans Cove and the ANZ building in Elizabeth St.

Sustainable Living Tasmania executive officer Margaret Steadman said it was good to see business leading while governments were slow to act. "It"s really exciting," she said. "I"d rather see wind turbines than carparks. "One of the issues is about whether people think they"re aesthetic but the buildings in Hobart are sneaking up higher and higher and I"d rattier see wind turbines than more or higher buildings. "If we don"t, we"re in deep trouble."

University of Tasmania school of architecture associate professor Gregory Nolan said the proposal reflected developments in Europe. "There is lots of potential around Hobart to put up wind energy generation capability." he said. "The concept of having windmills of quite a large scale in parts of the city is something we should consider. "We should be putting them in as many locations as we can, that"s what the Europeans do."

Mr Nolan said there were less noticeable things to consider for making a commercial building less reliant on nonrenewable energy sources. "There are far more efficient solutions than putting a windmill on it," he said. "You"d be looking to generate your own hot water ft from solar sources." Architect Garry Forward said the city was likely to have more such proposals. "To get the first ones right is important because there"s going to be a lot of them," he said. "If you"d asked me 10 years ago what my predictions were, I would have thought the paneltype photovoltaic collection was the technology that was going to get there first because it can be built into roofs and walls, but it"s still very low in its efficiency.

"Wind turbines won"t eventually be the way to go. They will be a passing phase. "They need to be considered as part of the building, not as an add-on. I don"t see any reason they shouldn"t look good if they"re part of the architecture." Heritage Council spokesman Michael Lynch said the council was considering the application for the ANZ building but had not seen one for the Marine Board building.

"We have been going through an exercise in which we can best allow for things like turbines and more, particularly solar panels, on heritage-listed places because this is going to become an important issue for the owners. So we need to have a pretty good handle on these sorts of things," he said. Clean Energy Council policy manager Rob Jackson said turbines were on a few buildings in Melbourne and fitted the urban environment.

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Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:21:00 -0700

Australian
Thursday 18/6/2009 Page: 2

ONCE an oddity, the sight of giant windmills harvesting the breeze is set to increasingly become a normal part of the landscape as Australia seeks green energy alternatives. The world"s cheapest renewable energy source, which also boasts one of the lowest environmental impacts, wind energy features giant wind-turbine blades which revolve to drive an electrical generator to produce power for the national electricity grid.

Yet despite being blessed with some of the best and most reliable winds on Earth, Australia has only in the past decade taken up the cause of wind energy with a passion. There are now 50 windfarms in the country with an installed capacity of 1306MW, which equates to about 1.3% of the national electricity needs and 39% of the renewable energy sector.

Although well behind Denmark, which gets about 20% of its electricity from the wind, and other parts of Europe and the US, Australia is making up for lost time and is in the process generating employment for thousands of people in the construction and management of windfarms. Recently, the Council of Australian Governments approved a 20% renewable energy target (RET) by 2020. Once that occurs, the green energy sector will power on, creating thousands of jobs.

Pacific Hydro chief executive Rob Grant has called on the Government to pass the legislation as soon as possible. "While much has been made of the potential job losses due to action on climate change, what must be recognised are the tens of thousands of new jobs that will be created in building Australia"s clean energy future," Mr Grant said.

"The jobs created in building renewable energy projects are all those sorts of jobs that might be under pressure at the moment because of the global financial crisis and are easily transferable from sectors like mining. "There is no better time to focus on renewable energy infrastructure than now.

We must legislate the RET as quickly as possible to create new jobs and limit the impact of the global economic crisis." There are expectations that through the RET up to $25 billion over the next 10 years will be pumped into the renewable energy sector, of which between 20 and 50% will be spent on generating wind energy.

The Clean Energy Council says there are six large windfarms under construction in Australia with an installed capacity of 535MW, while a further 76 windfarms are under development with more than 5800MW of installed capacity. Much of this planned development has been entirely dependent on the passing of the RET.

Pacific Hydro general manager, Australia- Pacific, Lane Crockett, expects the RET to "kick off a green-collar revolution". "There should be enough activity to keep quite a number of people thousands at least in permanent roles building new renewable infrastructure," Mr Crockett said. "There will be quite significant opportunities for people in other industries that are not quite as active.

We have ended up with quite a few ex-mining people here at Pacific Hydro, from project engineering to senior level people, so most of the skills are transferable." Mr Crockett said while many sectors had been affected by the credit squeeze, the renewable energy sector was still attracting financial support. One of the good things about being in renewable energy is that the banks, who are selective about where their money goes, like renewable energy," Mr Crockett said.

We don"t represent a forward risk that a lot of other industries have, so in some ways it"s easier to get money." Like other renewable energy companies, Pacific Hydro continues to expand despite the recession. Established in the early 1990s as an owner-developer of hydro-electric power stations, Pacific Hydro opened the first of its five working Victorian windfarms at Codrington, in the state"s southwest, in 2001.

It is currently building the 58MW Clements Gap Windfarm in South Australia and has a number of other projects in various stages of development. Pacific Hydro has 600MW of projects which will create $2 billion in investment into clean energy infrastructure in Australia. While the company, purchased in 2005 by IFM Renewable Energy, continues to develop hydro-electric power stations in South America, the bulk of its operations in Australia are made up of windfarms.

Mr Crocket said Pacific Hydro currently employed about 240 people and expected to expand. It was always looking for skilled workers. "We have planning engineers and environmental engineers who work through the early part of the projects," he said. "Then we move into the construction phase with project managers and project engineers, as well as people with other skills in major construction work which has electrical or civil elements to it. "We tend to use construction contractors and for the installation of the actual unit you need crane operators and riggers and they tend to be highly experienced."

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Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:20:00 -0700

Age
Friday 19/6/2009 Page: 6

A HOUSEHOLD solar panels credits program will be delayed for at least two months after the Opposition voted to refer the Government"s renewable energy target legislation to a Senate committee. The delay could mean job cuts in the solar industry after several retailers told TheAge this week they could shed hundreds of jobs because of the continuing uncertainty surrounding the legislation.

The legislation could have been voted on as early as next week but will now have to wait until after a Senate committee reports on August 12. The committee investigation was proposed by Family First senator Steve Fielding and backed by the Opposition and independent Nick Xenophon.

Senator Fielding said any job losses in the solar industry caused by the delay were the fault of the Government"s decision to link industry exemptions from the target to the emissions trading scheme, which is likely to be defeated in the Senate next week. That link has angered the Opposition, which has previously stated it would pass the renewable scheme but not the emissions trading scheme.

Clean Energy Council chief executive Matt Warren said yesterday"s delay meant hundreds of jobs could be lost and industry expansion plans to employ more people would be put on hold. "We are in almost disbelief," Mr Warren said. "How can this policy that everyone supports not be getting through?" The Solar Shop, NuSolar and Clear Solar have all said they would halt expansion plans and review staffing if the uncertainty continued.

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Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:19:00 -0700

Age
Friday 19/6/2009 Page: 4

AGL Energy has bought two windfarm developments from Transfield Services, the latest in a string of wind deals signed despite doubts over the Federal Government"s renewable energy target. The $9 million purchase gives AGL the right to develop up to 236 MWs of extra wind capacity at Barn Hill, near Adelaide, and Crows Nest in Queensland.

The move follows further wind acquisitions by AGL and its rival Origin Energy in recent months, as the utilities prepare for a Federal Government policy that would require 20% of all power to cone from renewable energy from 2020. The policy is expected to drive up to $27 billion in renewable investment, and wind is set to dominate because it is the cheapest form of green energy. However, yesterday the Senate deferred the Renewable Energy Target Bill to a Senate committee, sparking an outcry from AGL and others in the industry.

AGL"s managing director Michael Fraser said it was disappointing to see the bill used for "political football" between the parties over their climate change policies. "This unnecessary delay will impose additional pressures on an industry which is working very hard to promote job creation in a challenging economic climate."

The Clean Energy Council, which includes fossil fuel generators in its members, also slammed the Senate"s move. AGL is positioning itself as the largest developer of renewable energy, while its listed rival, Origin Energy, has focused more on gas. Developing the sites acquired yesterday to full capacity could cost more than $600 million, and in March, AGL said it would spend $341 million expanding its Hallett project in South Australia.

Last month, Origin Energy bought wind development sites in Victoria but did not disclose a price. Royal Bank of Scotland analyst Jason Mabee said AGL was leading the wind energy race between the two locally listed utilities. "My view that AGL has definitely secured some of the best sites early on," Mr Mabee said. AGL shares rose 2% to $13.94 and Transfield shares fell 0.8% to $2.62.

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Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:18:00 -0700

Daily Telegraph
Thursday 18/6/2009 Page: 23

A MAJOR conservation group has backed the creation of energy by harnessing the power of the ocean swells which batter much of the Australian coast. WWF-Australia will release a report today claiming energy from waves close to the coast can provide approximately four times Australia"s current national power needs. "Harnessing just 10% [of the available energy] could supply about 35% of Australia"s current power demand," the report said. Building wave energy power stations which could generate 1500 MWs of electricity by 2020 would create 3210 jobs in Australia, WWF-Australia says. The group said this would be enough to power 1.2 million households with clean energy.

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Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:17:00 -0700

Australian
Thursday 18/6/2009 Page: 3

LAST month, Sydney firm Solar Sailor Holdings and naval architect Alastair Callender unveiled the design for what they said would be the world"s first green super yacht, a 58m yacht powered by wind and sun as well as Solar Sailor"s hybrid marine power technology.

According to Solar Sailor chief executive Robert Dane, the $33 million yacht will be able to store renewable energy in its batteries, which can power onboard electrics without the need or the noise of a generator, and to run at nearly eight knots on solar energy alone. "You could take 12 people around the world in a quiet environment, with low to no fumes, never have the generator running at night and even feed into the grid at the marina," Dane says.

Solar Sailor created its first solar vessel in time for the Sydney Olympics and it has been in use since by Captain Cook Cruises, as well as acting as its research and development vessel. In November the company will launch the first of four vessels being built in China for the Hong Kong ferry authority, and it is helping design drone vessels for the US military that will use a combination of solar, wind and wave power.

The attraction of the super yacht market, says Dane, is that about 600 super yachts of 30m or more are built each year and a green yacht could be the ultimate statement of sustain ability for the rich. These wealthy clients also tend to be captains of industry who will invest in such technology in the future. The international shipping market is recognised as a highly efficient and crucial transport system for ferrying goods across the globe, but it is also one of the most heavily polluting.

International shipping is estimated to produce more than twice the greenhouse emissions of the aviation sector, as well as substantial amounts of sulphur and nitrogen oxides from the bunker fuel used in the mostly slow-running two-stroke engines. Because of shipping"s international nature, and the flags of convenience, ships" emissions are poorly regulated and poorly controlled.

There are efforts announced by the International Maritime Organisation to reduce SOx and NOx emissions, and planned reductions for greenhouse emissions are expected to follow soon. However, emission reduction technologies as they apply to the shipping industry are capital intensive and may increase overall fuel costs, which is why Solar Sails and others are confident that alternative technologies such as renewables will provide the answer.

Dane says the ferries developed by his company can reduce fuel consumption by up to 30%, particularly in areas where the ferry moves at low speed. In Hong Kong, the savings will be greater because at low speed the ferries will be able to travel under silent renewable power only and could approach areas previously prohibited to them because of their noisy, polluting engines. That could cut down routes by nearly one-third.

He says such reductions could be contemplated in bulk carriers and tankers as well. Last year, the company signed a deal with China"s biggest shipping line, Cosco, to retrofit ships with solar energyed sails the size of the wings of a jumbo jet. The sails are covered with photovoltaic panels that can meet some of the ship"s energy needs and harness the wind to reduce fuel costs by up to 40%.

Meanwhile, Hamburg-based SkySails is developing an alternative wind propulsion system that it says can reduce fuel costs for cargo vessels by 10% to 35%, or up to 50% for short periods under optimal wind conditions. SkySails" towing kite is being tested on two cargo ships belonging to the shipping lines Wessels and Beluga Shipping. Commercial production of its sails will begin later this year.

Its clients also include the Norwegian shipping company Wilson, which will install a 160sqm kite on the MV Wilson Grip, an 88m-long cargo vessel with a deadweight of 3700 tonnes. Sky Sails says its product could generate up to eight tonnes of tractive force for the ship, which usually needs about 11 tonnes of thrust to reach its cruising speed of 11 knots.

SkySails says kites with an effective load of 32 tonnes should be available in 2011 and models that have an effective load of up to 130 tonnes are planned. It says that nearly two-thirds of the world"s estimated 100,000 cargo ships could be retro-fitted with its wind propulsion system. Solar Sails" Dane says although the shipping industry is perhaps 10 years behind the land transport industry in embracing alternative fuel and technologies, he envisages a day when all ships will be driven by renewable energy before becoming completely electric.

As fuel prices rise, and the cost and price of technology comes down because of economies of scale, I can see more sun, wind and ocean energy being used," he says. "And the second thing that will happen in conjunction with this is that the propulsion systems will move to electric propulsion." This will begin with a hybrid electric system, then move to an electric motor that runs off electric storage, be it a battery system or a hydrogen cell system. The advantage of the shipping industry, as opposed to aviation or land transport, is that potential weight issues associated with such systems are not a problem. It simply can be used as ballast.

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Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:16:00 -0700

Age
Thursday 18/6/2009 Page: 7

Solar panel retailers are preparing to cut jobs and halt expansion plans because of uncertainty over the Government"s solar credit program. Retailers contacted yesterday said they would have to collectively review the position of hundreds of staff in their call centres and administration because there is no guarantee the solar credits program will pass the Senate next week, delaying its process for at least two months.

Replacing the $8000 rebate that was abruptly withdrawn last week, the credit program is part of the Government"s renewable energy target legislation currently before Parliament. The legislation has become embroiled in a political dogfight after the Government linked industry exemptions from the target to the passage of its emissions trading scheme, which is likely to be rejected by the Senate next week.

Simon Schauble, chief executive of NuSolar, one of the nation"s largest solar retailers, said he would have to retrench 60 people if the passage of the bill remained uncertain. Mr Schauble added that he would halt recruitment plans for another hundred positions if the fate of the credits program remained in limbo.

The biggest issue is it is stalling momentum in the industry," he said. "We had plans to put on hundreds of people over the next year but we have stopped that until we know what is going on." Paul Wilson, executive director of retailer Clear Solar, said if the legislation does not pass next week he would reconsider the positions of 80 employees.

Chief executive of the Clean Energy Council Matt Warren said a quick survey of members yesterday revealed that solar retailers would shed hundreds of jobs across Victoria if the legislation is delayed. "The Government promised a smooth transition for the solar industry between the rebate and credits system, and the chances of that have now evaporated," he said.

The Opposition was supportive of the renewable energy target legislation, which will mandate that 20% of electricity must cone from renewable energy by 2020, until it was revealed partial exemptions for trade-exposed industry would not be granted until the emissions trading scheme is passed.

The Opposition will attempt to " decouple" the target and trading scheme with a Senate amendment but are split in the party room on whether to vote for the bill if that amendment fails. Opposition resources and energy spokesman Ian MacFarlane, and Nationals Senators Barnaby Joyce and Ron Boswell, are pushing hard to block the bill if it is not amended.

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong yesterday said renewable energy target legislation contained a provision to backdate the solar credit program to any solar panel sold after the end of the rebate program last Monday. "The Government is committed to passing this legislation," she said. "We call on the Opposition to act responsibly and support the renewable energy target."

It is understood the Government"s Senate schedule has listed the renewable legislation bill as "desirable" but not "urgent" to pass next week, which means it will sit behind other bills, including the emissions trading scheme, in order of priority.

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Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:13:00 -0700

www.dailyexaminer.com.au
19th June 2009

IF you"re finding it hard keeping up with changes to government rebates for solar energy systems, you"re not the only one. But here"s an easy explanation for you. Firstly, the Federal Government"s recent removal of the Solar for Homes and Communities Plan only affects power generation systems known as solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Solar hot water incentives remain unchanged, meaning people can pay as little as $60 plus installation (about $1500) for a solar hot water system. The government"s new incentive scheme for solar PV systems is based on solar credits - a program which will not be means tested like the previous rebate scheme, and which will be open to the commercial sector.

Basically, in the solar credits program you only pay a%age of the cost of the system and the installer claims the outstanding amount from the government, with that amount dependent on how many RECs the system qualifies for. The government will pay those who install solar PV systems five times the value of the renewable energy certificates (REC) the system qualifies for (up to a 1.5 kW system). So a system that qualifies for 31 RECs will benefit for $6975 worth of credit (based on a $45 REC).

The homeowner may still have to outlay up to $7000 for a 1.5kW system, but several other schemes are there to help further. The Home Sustainability Assessment Scheme, which starts on July 1, offers a free "green" inspection for any household in Australia and may allow access to a $10,000 interest-free "green loan" for use on renewable energy solutions and water and energy-efficiency devices. The inspection may also recommend behavioural changes.

Northern Rivers Renewable Energy operator Trent Rogers is a certified "green loan" assessor. He said he"d already been inundated by homeowners wanting to find out about the scheme. Mr Rogers, who supplies both solar hot water systems and solar PV systems, said there were many ways people could benefit from a combination of government incentive schemes. He said the NSW Government"s proposed feed-in tariff Scheme would pay solar energy producers 60 cents per kW hour of energy produced.

The cost of energy on the current market is about 17 cents per kW hour. In the proposed feed-in tariff system, a house using 20kW hours of power per day but generates 6kW hours from its solar panels would receive a 20 cent credit per day from its electricity provider.

"If a household could cut their consumption down to 15kW hours per day, which is very achievable, their financial benefit is even greater," Mr Rogers said. Money saved and earned through a solar PV system could be used to help repay the $10,000 green loan, Mr Rogers said. "But it"s not just about money. A house with a 1.5kW grid connect system will save 78 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions - 2600 kilograms per year. "Also there is no doubt the price of electricity will rise significantly in the future and people should take action to avoid being caught out."

Murray Kirk, from The Solar Shop in South Grafton, said awareness about solar energy was on the rise because of the incentives and general media attention. "The weather in the Clarence Valley is beautiful for solar," Mr Kirk said. Mr Rogers agreed. "This area is perfectly placed to take advantage of the many incentives on offer. We have plenty of sunshine and people are highly aware of sustainability issues."

What does it mean?

REC - renewable energy certificate: A form of currency created by the Federal Government based on how much renewable energy your system produces. Eg. A 250-litre solar hot water system is awarded an average of 30 RECs ($1350 at today"s rate). RECs are currently valued at about $45 each but vary according to market demand. They can be traded like shares.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) system: A power-generating solar panel system which usually connects to the main electricity grid. The system produces power for the household"s use with the excess being sold back to electricity suppliers.
Solar hot water systems: There are two main types, flat plate and evacuated tube collector. The latter is more expensive but is said to be more efficient.
Solar Credit: Multiplies the value of the REC by five ($225 per solar credit based on today"s REC value of $45). Therefore a 1.5kw grid connect system which qualifies for 31 RECs will make a solar credit value $6975 (based on a $45 REC).
Home Sustainability Assessment Scheme: Offered to all Australian households from July 1. Involves an assessment of water and energy efficiency in the home plus solar energy solutions. Households may qualify for up to $10,000 interest-free loans (over four years) to spend on solutions.
Feed-in tariff Scheme: Proposed by the NSW Government - will pay up to 60 cents per kW hour of solar electricity generated.
The average house uses 15 to 25 kW hours of electricity per day.
A 1.5 kW PV system will generate 6 kW of electricity per day on average.

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