Beyond Zero Emissions
Melbourne, Australia
Media Release 03 June 07
On February 28th 2007 Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said "You can't run a modern economy on wind farms and solar panels. It's a pity that you can't, but you can't." Yet the Danish government has announced it aims to generate 75 per cent of their electricity needs through wind energy by 2025 and Denmark have set the agenda to reduce fossil fuel imports to zero as part of their massive renewable energy plans.
"This is a monumental decision from Denmark," said Matthew Wright, lead campaigner of Beyond Zero Emissions. "They have made a mockery of the Australian government and their refusal to accept renewable energy. Malcolm Turnbull is either lying or incompetent."
Denmark has less than one fifth the land area of Victoria, yet has already installed 3200MW of wind energy capacity. If Victoria had the same density of wind energy facilities as Denmark, they would have over 16,000MW of wind energy potential: enough to generate the entire state's energy requirements. The Danish wind industry also employs over 20,000 people, which when adjusted for population is equivalent to more than the entire Australian coal industry employs both directly and via downstream jobs.
"This is what a dedicated and informed government can achieve," said Mr. Wright. "Denmark understands that a sustainable economy is entirely dependent on a sustainable environment. And this in a country so high in density they are building wind farms in the ocean. They have borne the cost of developing wind technology, allowing countries like Australia the opportunity to leverage their early adoption."
Beyond Zero Emissions has produced a scoping document outlining the transition of Victoria's stationary energy sector to a zero emissions economy within thirteen years. This plan is predominately structured around the installation of 12,000MW of wind energy capacity into the state's electricity grid. Germany installed the same amount of wind energy potential in only four years - between 2001 and 2005. By 2010 they will have 30,000MW of wind energy potential, enough to generate equivalent of 40 per cent Australia's electricity needs.
"Wind power has become an internationally recognised, mainstream energy source," said Mr. Wright. "With a responsible carbon trading scheme, wind energy will rapidly achieve cost parity with coal-fired power generation. It also uses less than 99 per cent water to produce the same amount of energy as either coal or nuclear energy.
New international turbine developments allow developers to generate significant energy from low wind speed sites such as those in China and India. Using biomimicry to model nature, a Canadian research team has designed a low speed turbine blade replicating the form of a humpback whale's tail.
"Even if we reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero today, we still have a one in two chance of exceeding 2 degrees C average global warming – the figure widely accepted as representing runaway climate change. As an international community we need to convert to a zero emission society, and wind energy represents the fastest and most efficient technology to achieve this."
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