|
Another 2000 to 3000 wind turbines would have to be built to meet Australia'smandatory renewable energy target of 20 per cent by 2020, says Jonathan Upson, seniordevelopment and government affairs manager with Infigen Energy. These turbines would add 6000 to 7000 megawatts of electricity,which should mean no additional coal or gas-fired generators wouldbe needed. Although the medium-term prospects for wind generation were bright,the huge glut of large-scale renewable energy certificates madebuilding new renewable energy generation uneconomic. Infigen Energy, the largest wind farm owner in Australia, ownsCapital Wind Farm, between Bungendore and Tarago, east of Canberra,which has 67 turbines. The company has approval to almost double this. Only the presenteconomics prevent the extension going ahead. Mr Upson said about 20 new wind farms had been approved in Victoriaand about six in NSW. These projects had been delayed by the"small-scale screw up". That had now been fixed by separating the small-scale andlarge-scale schemes but the glut of certificates remained. Mr Upson said some elements of the media spread a lot ofmisinformation about wind energy. Certainly, turbines killed asmall number of birds, but this was infinitesimal compared to thenumber of birds killed by power lines, motor vehicles, cats andpesticides. He also dismissed concerns that wind farms caused illness."There is no independent, regulatory, scientific or medicalbody in the world that thinks wind turbines make peoplesick." With wind energy worldwide doubling every three years, there wouldbe an epidemic of biblical proportions if wind turbines made peoplesick. "There are wind turbines everywhere in Europe and noone is getting sick." Mr Upson said the wind industry worldwide had grown by more than 25per cent each year for the past 15 years. "I challenge you tothink of another industry that has had this sustained and long-termgrowth." Wind produced less than 2 per cent of the total electricity demandin NSW and the ACT, but in South Australia, with a greater windresource and less demand for electricity, wind produced about 25per cent of that state's total demand. At times, it reachedabout 70 per cent. Though generation from wind turbines was variable, the AustralianEnergy Market Operator could now forecast wind energy throughoutthe grid with 98 per cent accuracy an hour ahead. This meant othergenerators were turned on or off as required. Wind farms were expensive to build but were very cheap to run. Sothey could under bid coal and gas generators given suitable wind. Infigen had plans to develop solar generation and would be pleasedto be selected in the Solar Flagships program, he said. "Inwhich case we would build three large-scale solarfacilities." One would be at the Capital Wind Farm, one at Nyngan and one atManildra. At present, generating electricity from even large-scalesolar plants was about twice as expensive as from wind. "Maybe by the middle of the decade it might be morecompetitive to build a large-scale solar facility we need somesort of grant or subsidy." Achieving 100 per cent of electricity from renewable sources was aterrific ambition but politically and practically that would bevery difficult to achieve, he said. I am an expert from dustfilter-bag.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Polyester Filter Bag Manufacturer , Dust Filter Bag Manufacturer, PPS Filter Bag,and more.
Related Articles -
Polyester Filter Bag Manufacturer, Dust Filter Bag Manufacturer,
|
