Wind farm, Australia. Credit: TRD JZX100/ flickr
By Rich Bowden:
The Australian Government’s inaugural Energy Resource Assessment has outlined the increasing future role of renewable energy such as solar and wind in satisfying Australia’s energy needs.
Undertaken by the Australian Department of Resources, Energy & Tourism, who commissioned Geoscience Australia and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural & Resource Economics (ABARE) to carry out the research, the report looked at all Australia’s potential energy resources including fossil fuels, uranium and renewables, according to Geoscience.
Looking to the future, the organisation said, though fossil fuels would continue to dominate the country’s energy needs, developments in technology would see renewables such as wind and solar “…make a growing contribution to Australia’s future energy supply.”
It said such renewables remain largely undeveloped.
“Australia has a rich diversity of renewable energy resources (wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, wave, tidal, bioenergy) with low greenhouse gas emissions,” the report explains. “With the exception of hydro and wind energy (which is growing strongly), many of these resources are largely undeveloped, constrained by the current immaturity of technologies.”
The report added that the extent of the move towards alternative energies was reliant on future governments’ carbon reduction policies
Australia’s energy usage in 2030 is expected to differ significantly from that of today under the influence of the 20 per cent Renewable Energy Target and other government policies such as the proposed emissions reduction target. In addition the Government has established the Clean Energy Initiative which includes the Carbon Capture and Storage and Solar Flagship Programs, and the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy.
Australia’s long-term energy projections show total energy production nearly doubling due to strong export demand, primary energy consumption rising by 35 per cent, and electricity demand increasing by nearly 50 per cent by 2030. Whilst coal is expected to continue to dominate Australia’s electricity generation, a shift to lower-emissions fuels is expected to result in a significant reduction in coal’s share and increases in gas and renewable energy, particularly wind.
The report found that renewable energy resources currently account for seven percent of Australia’s energy resources however predicted this could rise to 19 percent by 2030.
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Wind power is a good source of electricity but it also takes up lots of space just like solar power plants.,.;
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