Thread: ACT goes 100% renewable

If the rest of the country copied the ACT this country would be 100% renewable.
It can be done. Britain has just gone a whole week without burning a single lump of coal

Ah but look up Drax who import word chips from the USA and burn them . They are considered "renewable" , well maybe in 50 years.
As they say a good story.
As for ACT . The problem is that somebody somewhere has to supply coal/gas power for when the sun don't shine and the wind don't blow.
Their 100% DEPENDS on other states supplying coal fired power but at the same time makes it more expensive as the utilization rate goes down when ACT is selling power.

Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Ah but look up Drax who import word chips from the USA and burn them . They are considered "renewable" , well maybe in 50 years.
As they say a good story.
As for ACT . The problem is that somebody somewhere has to supply coal/gas power for when the sun don't shine and the wind don't blow.
Their 100% DEPENDS on other states supplying coal fired power but at the same time makes it more expensive as the utilization rate goes down when ACT is selling power.

Regards Philip A

Yep, they're not like Tasmania who are pretty much 100%

So what the article says is they are generating 2% of the electricity through solar. The other 98% they are buying from other places. Just smoke and mirrors. It just means those other places that generate the renewables appear less green.

Originally Posted by Red90

So what the article says is they are generating 2% of the electricity through solar. The other 98% they are buying from other places. Just smoke and mirrors. It just means those other places that generate the renewables appear less green.

ACT have never claimed to be generating the power, the article just says that they're buying the amount of energy they use from renewables via a predominantly coal powered network.

The article has said in the headline:

Canberra will be first Australian city to run on 100 per cent renewable energy from October

What however is significant is that ACT has mandated the use of 100% renewables (which in reality isn't due to need for some base load), they are supporting an industry that needs to grow as a non-option. Its great they they are aware of the need for more environmentally appropriate energy and supporting the industry.

Here are the Key point boxes for those who didn't actually read the article

Key points:

• The ACT sources most of its renewable energy from reverse auctions
• Canberrans pay $5 a week on top of their average power bill to fund the scheme
• The ACT Government had pledged to reach the target by 2020

Where does the ACT's power come from?

• 76 per cent = large scale renewable power bought through reverse auctions
• 22 per cent = bought from ACT's contribution to the renewable energy target — from solar, wind and hydro farms across the country
• 2 per cent = excess solar power generated by ACT residents

Looks like its on! Westpac with 100% renewable energy also (no, they are not making it either).

Westpac to go 100pc renewable by 2025

Westpac to go 100pc renewable by 2025 | Westpac

“One of the most exciting things about the PPA is that we’re effectively underwriting the development of a new solar energy facility,” s

Westpac has pledged to source 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025, joining a growing band of big businesses moving away from traditional power sources amid the global push to a lower carbon economy.

In simple terms, the PPA will see Westpac pay Bomen Solar Farm for an amount of renewable energy it will put into the grid, and the equivalent amount consumed by the bank will be recognised as having zero emissions.

“It is economically the right thing for Westpac to do,” she says, noting that the current cost of renewable electricity is less than the current wholesale price of electricity.

It doesn't matter if the power that Canberra runs on is not the same power that the renewable generates - that's irrelevant. What's important is the amount of power being generated into the grid has increased. That's good for the country.
If that didn't happen, then every time a clapped-out coal fired plant such as Hazelwood closed, there would be a power shortage and prices would rise, which is exactly what happened when Hazelwood closed. SA had to send mostly renewable power across to help out Victoria.

That's the trend which is accelerating. Cities, councils, companies and other organisations are seeing opportunities to secure their own stable electricity supplies by signing contracts to buy power from generators.
Those generators are renewables such as solar and wind because the banks will only fund new renewable sources and gas because they know coal generation is on the way out and money invested in coal power plants now will be a stranded asset in 20 years - no-one would want to buy the coal generator, so the banks couldn't get their money back by selling the generator. World demand for coal will keep falling.

Gas will replace some coal generators as a reliable baseload supply. It's already happened in Queensland and SA and NSW and Victoria will be next. That's good. Gas is an industry which can generate many of the jobs to replace those lost by the continuing decline of the coal fired power generators. North Queensland and the Northern Territory could gain a lot of jobs from the gas industry, particularly if the promising Beetaloo field in the NT is linked by pipeline to the eastern states. It could also ensure our country has enough gas supplies at affordable prices.

This is a good process. It guarantees a market for the generator, which makes it easier for the generator to raise the funds to build the renewable assets. Those assets puts more power in the grid so the country benefits.

Meanwhile, it's renewables that are creating most of the new energy jobs now. That's also a great thing.

Notice I've totally avoided being political in this post. If you want to discuss the politics of power generation, join the Current Affairs section.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

It doesn't matter if the power that Canberra runs on is not the same power that the renewable generates - that's irrelevant.

No its not - its hypocritical - the power being used is either from renewable resources or it is not - and it is not - we might be paying for it but we are not getting it.

Not getting what we pay for - maybe a complaint to the ACCC might clarify.

Originally Posted by 101RRS

No its not - its hypocritical - the power being used is either from renewable resources or it is not - and it is not - we might be paying for it but we are not getting it.

Not getting what we pay for - maybe a complaint to the ACCC might clarify.

They are buying the amount of power they are using from renewables. It’s really not that difficult.