EcoGeneration

November/December 2009

Island equilibrium – Finding the perfect renewable balance on Lady Elliot Island

The Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, on the Great Barrier Reef’s southernmost tip, exemplifies the need for a balance between energy efficiency measures, renewable energy, and demand management. EcoGeneration takes a look at the measures undertaken to reduce the resort’s annual power consumption by 75 per cent.

Capital savings: Australia’s Lord Mayors on energy efficiency

Lucy Rochlin

Energy efficiency is one of the most cost effective and readily available ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and local government has a crucial role to play in driving its implementation in homes and buildings. Lucy Rochlin spoke with Australia’s capital city Lord Mayors to find out what measures are being implemented around the country at the local urban level.

Greening the Wharf

Kate Pemberton

Energy efficiency and solar power are taking centre stage at the Sydney Theatre Company’s Greening the Wharf development. Kate Pemberton reports.

Smartening up the grid

Lucy Rochlin

In the face of rising demand for power, increased renewable energy generation, and changing energy market regulations, the smart grid has been championed by experts as the key to an integrated energy future. EcoGeneration’s Lucy Rochlin spoke with Siemens Energy smart grid expert Dr Yannick Julliard during his visit to Australia for the Energy 21C conference in Melbourne to find out more about smartening up the grid.

Laying greener foundations: Sustainable House Day

Since Sustainable House Day started in 2001 as an initiative of the Australia and New Zealand Solar Energy Society, it has laid the foundation for a vibrant exchange of practical information and inspirational ideas.

Doltone House

A new waterfront function centre has taken up residence at workplace 6 at Sydney’s Darling Island Wharf, the nation’s second building to achieve a 6 Star Green Star V2 As Built rating by the Green Building Council of Australia.

Waking up the solar thermal giant

Lucy Rochlin

As President of the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation, Olivier Drücke is on a mission to wake up solar’s sleeping giant – solar thermal. Lucy Rochlin spoke with him about the understated potential of solar thermal, and the pressing need to address the real energy demand equation.

All-Energy conference calls for an all energy solution

The All-Energy Australia conference, which was held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 7–8 October, attracted over 1,750 visitors, and provided a lively and dynamic forum for the discussion of all facets of the global energy future.

All-Energy exhibitors take a bow

The All-Energy 09 Exhibition featured over 80 exhibitors spanning the whole spectrum of the clean energy industry, from equipment suppliers to specialist service providers, right across the Asia Pacific region. EcoGeneration caught up with a handful of key exhibitors to find out what they were showcasing at the event.

Innovation digs deep: The future of geothermal energy

Lawrence Molloy

Pessimists marginalise geothermal energy’s potential with the claim that the operating environment at depth is too extreme. Yet, these conditions are far less challenging than the deep-sea and outer space environments, whose technical obstacles were overcome more than 50 years ago, writes Lawrence Molloy.

CO2 to energy with MBD Energy

Lucy Rochlin

Geo-sequestration, or storage of carbon dioxide underground, is the most commonly known carbon capture and storage solution; however, companies are developing alternative and more lucrative solutions to lower emissions and power the future. MBD Energy is one company focused on developing bio-sequestration to reduce emissions and convert CO2 to energy, fuels and livestock feed. Lucy Rochlin caught up with the company’s Managing Director Andrew Lawson to discuss the potential for bio-sequestration in 2010 and beyond.

Advancing wave power: Surfing the eco wave into a renewable future

A new clean tech company is working to bring floating wave power out of the depths and into the clean energy market, with a prototype energy generating system commissioned in June this year.

How accurate is your solar resource prediction?

Nalini Blacker

Resource prediction is an important consideration for every large-scale solar development. Nalini Blacker, wind and solar engineer with Garrad Hassan, answers the big questions about the necessity of measuring solar irradiation.

The winding road to Copenhagen

Eva Oberender

With little time left for formal negotiations, can the world come together in Copenhagen and deliver a new climate change deal in December 2009? The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnerships South East Asia Regional Director Eva Oberender takes a look at the path to Copenhagen, and the work still to be done.

Australian policy in hot water

Hugh Saddler

While solar hot water heaters and heat pumps have an important role to play in reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, their inclusion in the Renewable Energy Target undermines the policy’s aim of delivering 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020, argues Dr Hugh Saddler. What’s more, high efficiency gas water heaters have been overlooked, further contributing to the incoherence of the country’s emissions abatement policy.

Like Dux to water: Investing in solar hot water training

The solar hot water industry is experiencing a period of rapid growth, kick-started this year by the Federal Government’s rebates for environmental water heaters. This has confirmed the need to invest in training and build the capability of the hot water industry quickly, and has prompted Dux Hot Water to open a new solar hot water training centre.

Up Close

Dr Zhengrong Shi, the founder, chairman and CEO of Suntech Power, spoke with EcoGeneration about the clean energy industry. Dr Shi is committed to creating a solar future, with a particular expertise in the commercialisation of next-generation photovoltaic technologies.

Selectronic releases new interactive inverter charger series

Selectronic has recently released the versatile SP PRO series of Interactive Sinewave Inverter Chargers.

Power Predictor launched in Australia

A simple and inexpensive device that measures the amount of solar power and wind energy that could be generated by homeowners and businesses has been launched.

ANZSES Solar 09: Forging new links between academia and industry

The 47th Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society (ANZSES), held in Townsville, Queensland, from 29 September – 2 October 2009, saw a new vitality within the society that is expanding to become a vital representative body in the clean energy industry.