Renewable energy resources & conversion technology

Renewable energy and the National Electricity Market: Issues & Challenges
CEEM, 23 November 2005

Australian Primary Energy Use 2000-01

(ABARE, quoted in Energy & Resources Working Group, 2003; www.greenhouse.gov.au)
5% 20% 28% Black coal Brown coal Crude oil Natural gas Renewables 13% 34%

Renewable energy resources & conversion technology CEEM 2005

Australias coal resources (www.industry.gov.au & SKM)

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Australias natural gas resources & pipelines

(www.aga.asn.au)

Linepack: Hours in Victoria to days in other states Trading arrangements: Market in Victoria Contract carriage in other states
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Prices for fossil fuels, possibly reflecting peak oil (BP 2005)

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Australian electricity industry emissions scenarios to 2030 (Beyond Kyoto, PMSEIC Report, 2002)
Zero emissions coal: carbon capture & storage (CCS) Renewable energy options also zero emission

Implications of these scenarios: Essential to improve end-use efficiency Avoid new coal power stations unless zero emission CCGT only a transition technology unless zero emission

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Integrated coal gasification & combined cycle with carbon collection & storage
(Simhauser, 2004)

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Geosequestration options for CO2

(Simhauser, 2004)

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CCS does not mean zero emissions

IGCC with geosequestration will still have CO2 emissions
Energy-cost tradeoffs in CO2 capture from flue or gasifier stream; also energy for transport and pumping underground
Coal IGCC with CO2 capture emits approx. 40% of standard CCGT (without capture)

IEA (2001)

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Key findings of IPCC CCS report

(www.ipcc.ch, 2005)

A portfolio of mitigation measures will be needed (CCS alone not sufficient) Large-scale CCS power plant dont yet exist By 2050, 20-40% of fossil fuel CO2 technically suitable for CCS at cost of 13 to 67 A$/MWh Deployment needs CO2 price of 25-30 US$/MWh CCS might contribute 15-44% of cumulative mitigation effort to 2100, limited beyond that (identified storage sites would then be full)
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Scenarios of CCS contribution to 2100

(IPCC CCS report, www.ipcc.ch, 2005)
CCS would decline beyond 2100

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Nuclear (fission) energy

Key issues: Power station safety Nuclear waste storage Terrorism & nuclear weapon proliferation

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Risks associated with nuclear fuel cycle (to companies & societies)
Operational risk (at each point in the cycle) Insurance risk (premium cost or non-insurability) Regulatory risk (compliance costs) Shareholder risk (activism & disruption) Litigation risk (claims for damages) Capital risk (inability to raise equity capital) Competitive risk (loss of economic activity) Resource depletion (uranium ore) Terrorism & war (risks to companies & societies)
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Geothermal (fission) energy - hot dry rock

Australia has plentiful hot dry rock at ~3000m (needs water injection) Trial in Cooper Basin, SA
(www.greenhouse.gov.au)

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Solar energy (fusion)

Australia has excellent solar resources; best in NW
Building Integrated PV & Solar Hot Water assessment: (www.greenhouse.gov.au) Key variables:
System efficiency Solar radiation Temperature Rooftops
area,orientation, tilt, shading

Further work needed:

Rooftop resource Shading
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Solar thermal concentrators for electricity generation(www.greenpeace.org)

Parabolic trough (~350MWe):
Most mature but low efficiency

Central receiver (~10MWe):

High efficiency but pre-commercial

Parabolic dish (<1MWe):

High efficiency but pre-commercial

Tower (50MWe)
Artificial wind; pre-commercial
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Solar energy - photovoltaics

PV cells convert solar energy directly to DC electricity
Use inverter to create AC

650 kW, Newington (Pacific Power)

Stand-alone or building integrated

200kW, Singleton Renewable energy resources & conversion technology CEEM 2005 (EnergyAustralia)

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AstroPower SunUPSTM Building-Integrated PV & UPS

1. PV Panel 2. Inverter (synchronised to the mains) 3. Battery for UPS function 4. Essential circuits supported by UPS 5. Low priority circuits not supported by UPS 6. Utility meter 7. PV is proven but expensive technology

(http://www.astropower.com/sunups.htm)
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Renewable energy resources & conversion technology CEEM 2005

From potential energy of water in storage dam To rotational kinetic energy in turbine and then electrical energy At good sites, large hydro can be cheaper than coal-fired power stations Electrical power (kW): P ~ 10xFxHxE Where: F = water flow (metres3/sec) H = gross head (metres) E = efficiency (0.7-0.9)
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Hydro energy
(www.greenhouse.gov.au)

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Snowy Mountains Scheme

Lake Eucumbene (3900 GWh/yr) transfer tunnels Tumut 1 & 2 600 MW Talbingo Tumut 3 Gen: 1500 MW Pump: 600 MW Geehi

Jindabyne pumps (240 GWh/yr) Murray 1 & 2 1500 MW

Jounama
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Renewable energy resources & conversion technology CEEM 2005

Woolnorth wind farm 65 (+75) MW

Mersey

Bell Bay 240MW Musselroe wind farm (130 MW) Great Lake

Pieman

Tasmanias power stations

(Tas Govt 2000)

2500 1500

King Derwent Gordon

Rainfall (mm)

1000 750 500

Renewable energy resources & conversion technology CEEM 2005 www.hydro.com.au

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Tidal energy
Low-head hydro with two-directional flow Tidal range varies with solar-lunar alignment Sea water more corrosive than fresh water Low head implies less cost-effective than most hydro
(www.greenhouse.gov.au)

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Wave energy
Wave energy derives from wind energy:
Energy density varies dramatically

Need strength to survive storms yet cheap & sensitive enough to produce energy from small waves Still under development
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(www.greenhouse.gov.au)

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Emerging wave power technologies

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Biomass energy
(www.greenhouse.gov.au) Energy crops, possibly also for salinity control Agricultural by-products - eg bagasse (sugarcane) Municipal wastes (a difficult fuel due to diverse nature) Burn directly or convert to liquid or gaseous fuels

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PEM fuel cell (PEFC)

(http://www.ballard.com, 2001)

Anode: Hydrogen disassociates into protons & electrons at ~90oC Electrons flow to cathode via external circuit (~0.6 volts/cell DC) Membrane: Protons pass through to cathode Cathode: Returning electrons combine with protons & oxygen to produce water vapour

250 kW prototype PEFC

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Ballard residential fuel cell concept

(http://www.ballard.com, March 2001)

1 kW PEFC Engineering Prototype Feb 2001: ~40% elec efficiency & ~40% heat efficiency

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Australian wind resource

(Approximate estimates, with average speeds in m/s)

(www.greenhouse.gov.au)
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Installed windfarms in Australia

(www.auswea.com.au)

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Australian wind farm planning

AusWEA best practice guidelines:
www.auswea.com.au

State handbooks & planning protocols:

NSW (SEDA); Victoria (SEAV):
Project-based, some variations between states

Stages in the process (AusWEA):

Site selection; feasibility; detailed assessment, development application; construction; operation; decommissioning

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Australian wind farm planning experience to date

Limited experience to date:
Some strong support, some strong opposition

Mixed federal, state & local government approvals process lacks coherence:
Project based - may not manage cumulative issues & interactions well

Other industries have a comprehensive planning framework, eg:

Strong, state-based planning framework for the minerals industry
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ANSTO estimates of CO2 emission coefficients (R Cameron, ABC web site)

Primary energy type Coal Gas Solar Wind Nuclear Hydro
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CO2 grams/kWh 970-1245 450-660 100-280 6-29 9-21 3-11

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Summary
Large steam-cycle turbo-generators:
The workhorse of the electricity industry:
Coal, oil, gas or nuclear

Combined cycle - a recent enhancement CCS - currently RD&D

Embedded & renewable energy generation:

CHP, fuel cells, hydro, solar, wind Demand-side options - neglected to date:
End-use efficiency, voluntary demand reduction

Procedure to track the optimal mix:

Centralised (traditional) or decentralised (competitive)

No zero emission generation technology

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