A sensational rise...

Castlemaine Mail
Friday 16/3/2007 Page: 7

Climbing a 114m-high wind turbine accompanied by a helper who speaks no English may not be everyone's cup of tea, but Neil Barrett, Chairman of the Mount Alexander Sustainability Group (MASG), did just that on a recent trip to Europe to study renewable energy. He spent most of his time in Germany, a world leader in renewables, and said the German Government had been instrumental in kickstarting the sector.

"Through the 1990s the government made laws to favour renewable energy," he said. "The most significant was the so-called 'feed in law' which forces the big four energy utilities to buy renewable energy from householders or companies at a price much higher than they have to pay the coal-fired and nuclear producers.

"So for example, while wind power producers receive 14c per kwh, solar producers receive 85c and biomass producers up to 36c. "As a result of the feed-in law, there has been a boom in all three energy sources. Germany now has 30 per cent of world wind capacity, almost 60 per cent of world solar capacity and a significant proportion of biomass.

"It's an incredible performance for a country that has much less sunshine than ours and about the same wind and biomass potential." Neil spent time in four small towns, all of which were producing much more renewable energy than they needed and exporting the excess to the grid.

In many cases, he said farmers were building wind turbines on their land, putting solar photovoltaics on their barn roofs and using their crops to produce energy in methane generators. At the town of Dardesheim in the former East Germany he was fortunate enough to be asked to go to the top of a 114m turbine. "The first 100 metres was in a tiny lift but the last 14 metres was via a narrow ladder, to which I was tied by a sliding climber's lock," he said.

Sensational

"When I finally popped my head out of the door at the top and stopped shaking, it was a sensational sight." He said the wind industry has been embraced in this town for the jobs, tourists and income it brings, which is spent on infrastructure and associations in the town.

"The Mayor is extremely proud that the town orchestra, which is supported by the wind farm, won a national award in 2006," he said. The real highlight of his trip was visiting Juhnde, a village of 700 people, heated by a biogas plant.

"Residents own the plant and local farmers supply silage and manure," he said. "In summer when heat is not needed the methane gas produces electricity which gives them a tidy income. The mayor described the building of the biogass plant as the greatest achievement of his life.

"The town is now independent of oil, farmers have another source of income and cooperative members are receiving an income from it. And around 4000 visitors are coming to this once sleepy village every year. "There's no question we can do similar things in our shire, and for much the same reasons as they're doing it in Germany. All we lack is a commitment from government. Something like Germany's feed-in law is essential if we are to achieve very much.

"When we feed solar-produced electricity back into the grid we are paid 14c by the retailer, compared to 85c in Germany. This is despite the energy retailers paying high prices per kwh to the coal producers to supply peak power in summer." He said MASG had plans to install a major renewable energy facility in or near the shire within the next three years, with much public involvement, financially and otherwise.