A new blueprint to reshape Australia’s electricity market by Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel provides a workable platform to achieve energy security, reliability and affordability whilst also meeting our global carbon objectives over the next 30 years.
A new blueprint to reshape Australia’s electricity market by Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel provides a workable platform to achieve energy security, reliability and affordability whilst also meeting our global carbon objectives over the next 30 years.
Not an easy job given the competing interests of all players in the energy market. Clearly, the coal industry would like to stop a move to renewables, but can we meet our carbon targets if we don’t change?
Simply saying we aren’t a big CO2 emitter is no longer enough given that the market of the future will value environmental performance critically.
The evolution of AI, robotics and 3D printing , coupled with the high cost of shipping and transport in a carbon neutral future, means that Australia will have a viable manufacturing industry and cannot ignore the cost of non-compliance – no matter how small we are.
Of course, Dr Finkel recognised that coal fired power generation must be a part of the energy future to provide for base load security, but while coal is still cheaper than wind and solar that wont last much longer.
To get there though we need a CET or ETS scheme in the intervening years, but ultimately carbon credits will diminish in value to very little as the real cost of renewable vs. coal decreases– this has been predicted in Europe already.
So how does the Copper industry view this Report? Well remember that we’re largely technology agnostic, but we are quite excited about our ability to contribute to a more efficient carbon free future in Australia through our role in areas like:
1. Electric vehicles – twice the copper as a standard ECI vehicle
2. High efficiency HVAC using microgroove copper tubes
3. Economic Cable sizing for all future businesses and a homes
4. Smart Home technologies
5. Inter neighbourhood connectivity to support Demand side management using sophisticated software in future
6. Battery storage
7. Ultra Conductive copper to reduce energy losses
8. High efficiency transformers using copper
9. High efficiency motors using copper rotors etc.
10. Renewable energy generation uses 4 times the amount of copper as coal fired generation
Obviously we do give a Finkel !
You can find the report here: https://www.environment.gov.au/energy/national-electricity-market-review
Cheers
John