I came across an article that sums up a much larger position on our own direction with energy. It turns out that Australia has met it's prime ministers goal of producing at least 20% of the countries energy from renewables by 2020; after the completion of a 47 turbine wind farm. Read the article HERE. South Australia can now boast that 60% of the entire countries renewables come from the southern region. The 47 turbines installed are believed to produce enough power for 70,000 homes! Don't give all the credit to the Aussie's, it turns out the Kiwi's provided all the construction and design. Trust Power of New Zealand, also operates Australia's largest wind farm. This is a story of the people who demanded of themselves to be better.
First of all, this is terrific to hear, a country rising to the vision of it's leader and producing a clean energy resource WAY ahead of schedule. To me that sounds like the resident's, contractor's, and leader's all really cared about what was going on within their country. As we turn to a new day in America I can only hope that Americans can rise to such an occasion. We have the leader to guide us, we have the money allocated, and we have the national pride & desire to systematically move forward to our sustainable goal. The goal again, is to leave the planet in a better shape for our children than it was during our time spent on it. Making use of the abundant natural resource (wind) to power our homes is only logical in the sustainable developmental path we are headed. I hope Barack Obama drives this fact home into all of us. I hope he demands more of us. Of the $850 BILLION- allocated to development, I hope most of all- it is given to projects that include energy efficiency, clean energy development, and restructuring inefficient transportation systems. All of which will create new jobs, reduce carbon in the atmosphere, and provide the necessary building blocks for sustained growth.
Does anyone have any information on what other countries are doing?
Other countries are continuously paying off debt and selling whatever they can to the world market in order to stay afloat. We buy solar panels to help offset fossil fuel energy production, but the cost to the environment to produce a solar panel is more than the offset, and it is building a global market that cannot sustain the growth needed if solar energy becomes the alternative solution to energy demands.
ReplyDeleteAustralia's second largest commodity exports is LNG... LNG poses many transportation issues as well as sustainability conflicts... and is by no means a solution. I hope that the world leaders can develop an energy plan for the whole world. Trade and commerce are the building blocks for a new global energy policy...
Agreed. Solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, hydro all have their problems. One must recognize that the total cost of ownership of these energy sources is much lower than coal, oil natural gas, nuclear, etc. Without attaching a cost to carbon one has trouble understanding the pure financial gain from using renewables. While (like you suggested) silicon for solar panels, manufacturing is inherently 'dirty'. The 30 years of carbon-less energy they produce should allow you to think otherwise. Not every region is efficient in producing solar, so they shouldn't use solar.
ReplyDeleteWhile the Pacific Northwest has some sunny days, overall the production of solar energy in the region is inefficient. One could look at the strong tidal power of the San Juan Islands though as a good source of energy production. Each region has it's own strength and weaknesses. One must look at that renewable strength of a region and understand how to use it.
Last point: A global energy market is exactly what will spur growth in the technological innovation of these energy sources. It will allow them to become cheaper and abundant. People will never abate until the true cost of carbon is realized. Renewables will never compete until this is written into law. More about markets- next blog.