Clean energy powers up in ACT region

Canberra Times
23 December 2010, Page: 5

From mini-hydro power stations on our water storages to $100 million wind turbines, the ACT region is making a growing contribution to the nation's clean energy industry. The latest modelling predicts more than 55,000 jobs are expected to be created in renewable energy across Australia by 2020, many in regional areas. The Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme, which commissioned a new $30 million, 14MW power station near Talbingo this year, is still a major employer and producer of renewable energy.

While Canberra's hydro-power capacity is tiny, it is growing. Two existing stations, at the Mt Stromlo and Googong water treatment plants, generated little during the drought, but Stromlo can generate around 2000-3000MWh. As part of the Murrumbidgee to Googong water transfer project, ACTEW is planning a mini-hydro power plant at Burra Creek to help offset greenhouse gases from the pipeline project.

The Clean Energy Australia Report 2010 says more solar power was installed on rooftops across the country between January and October this year than for the entire previous decade. Greater affordability of solar power meant the technology was fast becoming "the Hills Hoist of the 21st century", according to the Energy Council of Australia's chief executive Matthew Warren. In the past year, wind power generated almost 5000GWh of electricity enough to power more than 700,000 homes.

Joining Australia's 52 operating wind farms next year will be Union Fenosa's project at Crookwell, near Goulburn, which has approval for 46 turbines and is proposing another farm of between 25 and 35 turbines. Bioenergy generates about 1% of Australia's energy. Two-thirds comes from bagasse fibre residue combustion in the sugar industry, while the second largest contributor is landfill gas.

At the former Woodlawn mine near Tarago, Veolia Environmental Services commissioned a 1.1MW landfill gas power plant. The gas is captured from a network of pipes through the waste, and output is expected to increase when Veolia expands annual waste from 500,000 tonnes a year to 1.13 million tonnes a year.

State of play:

• 8.67% of Australia's electricity was generated by renewable sources such as solar and wind in the last year, a total of 21,751GW hours (equivalent of over three million Australian households)
• Good rainfall in key catchments led to a 15% increase in hydro electricity from previous years
• ACT clean energy projects are bioenergy, hydro and solar PV
• ACT capacity: 10MW, or 0.09 per cent of Australia's renewable installed capacity
• ACT feed-in tariff: 45.7 cents kW (gross)
• ACT policy support for clean energy: Target of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2060; home energy audit program; expanded feed-in tariff scheme for household, medium and large-scale solar.