tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/battery-storage-36232/articlesBattery storage – The Conversation2023-08-21T01:52:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2092192023-08-21T01:52:23Z2023-08-21T01:52:23ZIs it worth investing in a battery for your rooftop solar? Here’s what buyers need to know (but often can’t find out)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536382/original/file-20230708-35060-lwu843.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3326%2C2210&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent electricity price increases of <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/electricity-prices-set-to-soar/5ed9ec22-0861-4546-9291-15b6c2f3094b">20–30%</a> have hit households hard. Some are installing rooftop solar systems and batteries to reduce or even <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/what-if-one-third-of-australians-chose-to-go-off-grid-85095/">end their reliance</a> on energy providers.</p>
<p>However, Australia’s uptake of household batteries lags well behind rooftop solar installations. The <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/system/files/2020-04/DER_Roadmap.pdf">high upfront cost</a> of batteries is a <a href="https://www.solarchoice.net.au/residential/battery-storage-price/">key reason</a>. </p>
<p>A household battery stores excess electricity generated by your solar power system. You can use it later when solar generation can’t meet your needs – for example, at night or on cloudy days. This reduces the amount of power you buy from the grid.</p>
<p>But how long will the battery take to pay for itself, in the form of lower power bills? The answer varies. It depends, among other things, on where you live, your solar system size and design, how much electricity you use and at what times, network tariffs, and limits on how much surplus electricity you can feed into the grid. </p>
<p>Our current <a href="https://www.ecu.edu.au/schools/engineering/staff/profiles/lecturers/dr-asma-aziz">research project</a> has found cases in which a solar panel and battery system will save you money in Western Australia. But the situation varies across Australia. Here, we take a look at what to consider before you buy. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Solar panel ready to be installed in front of a household battery mounted on a wall" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542542/original/file-20230814-25-bxxy9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542542/original/file-20230814-25-bxxy9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542542/original/file-20230814-25-bxxy9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542542/original/file-20230814-25-bxxy9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542542/original/file-20230814-25-bxxy9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542542/original/file-20230814-25-bxxy9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542542/original/file-20230814-25-bxxy9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Consumers need to consider many factors to work out whether adding a battery to their solar system is worth it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/solar-curtailment-is-emerging-as-a-new-challenge-to-overcome-as-australia-dashes-for-rooftop-solar-172152">Solar curtailment is emerging as a new challenge to overcome as Australia dashes for rooftop solar</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A tricky transition for consumers</h2>
<p>Almost <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/28/solar-already-australias-largest-source-of-electricity-as-rooftop-capacity-hits-20gw-consultancy-says">a third</a> of Australian households have rooftop solar systems – the <a href="https://www.powermag.com/a-global-look-at-residential-solar-adoption-rates/">highest rate</a> in the world. Households can now generate electricity on a massive collective scale. </p>
<p>This capability is key to the clean energy transition. But when solar systems aren’t generating enough power, households must draw electricity from the grid or a battery.</p>
<p>Battery costs vary with brand, size and location. On average, you’ll pay around <a href="https://www.solarchoice.net.au/solar-batteries/price/#The_Are_we_there_yet_Meters">A$1,420 per kilowatt-hour</a> (kWh) to install 1–5kWh of storage capacity. That’s down from $1,710 per kWh in 2017. The point at which buying a battery makes sense for most households is estimated at <a href="https://www.solarchoice.net.au/solar-batteries/price/#The_Are_we_there_yet_Meters">around $700 per kWh</a> (for a lithium battery with a ten-year warranty).</p>
<p>At current prices, <a href="https://www.solarchoice.net.au/research-solar/is-home-battery-storage-worth-it/">online</a> <a href="https://redbacktech.com/wa-electricity-costs-comparison-solar-and-batteries/">advice</a> suggests the warranty will typically expire before the battery pays for itself. So consumers might conclude they are better off buying solar systems only and waiting for battery prices to drop.</p>
<p>That’s not always the case. Our modelling found the payback time is less than the warranty period in Perth for at least two cases: using 50kWh per day with a 13.5kW solar system and 13kWh Tesla Powerwall 2 battery, and at 30kWh per day with a 6.6kW system and 6.5kWh LG Chem RESU battery. These batteries will cost you around <a href="https://www.solarchoice.net.au/products/batteries/tesla-powerwall-2-review">$12,900</a> and <a href="https://www.solarquotes.com.au/battery-storage/comparison-table/">$5,300</a> respectively, plus installation.</p>
<p>Our research also found that while there can be other reasons to get a battery, most people care about the financial benefits. But it’s not a simple decision. Some situations are good for batteries, but many people can’t use them effectively. </p>
<p>The amount of sunshine where you live and electricity prices also matter a lot. </p>
<p>In many cases, batteries might need government subsidies to be worth it.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1632301085909213184"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/think-of-solar-panels-more-like-apple-trees-we-need-a-fairer-approach-for-what-we-use-and-sell-205751">Think of solar panels more like apple trees – we need a fairer approach for what we use and sell</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What you need to know to design the optimum system</h2>
<p>Installers usually advise householders on what size solar and battery system is best for them. To get this right, installers need to know:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>household load profile</strong> – its energy use at different hours of the day and times of the year<br></li>
<li><strong>daily load</strong> – the household’s average total energy use in 24 hours</li>
<li><strong>tariffs</strong> – how much the household is charged for electricity from the grid, with higher tariffs at times of peak demand</li>
<li><strong>grid sales limits</strong> – households might be paid for energy they export to the grid. However, retailers may restrict the level of exports, change the feed-in tariff at different times of the day, and block feed-in to maintain grid stability. </li>
</ul>
<p>Most households will not know their load profile. Even if they do, it might change in response to energy providers’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/managing-demand-can-save-two-power-stations-worth-of-energy-at-peak-times-78173">demand management</a> programs – which give households incentives to reduce electricity consumption at peak times. </p>
<p>A system that was optimally sized might not remain so. And once installed, systems are difficult and costly to modify. </p>
<p>Also, customers can’t control tariff changes and grid sales limits. These can have huge impacts on the returns from their solar investments.</p>
<p>Unless all these factors are considered, a household might end up with an unsuitable solar panel and battery system and never recover the costs.</p>
<p>All this means consumers need a reliable source of information. The problem is not a lack of information but an overwhelming amount from a wide range of sources. It can be hard to tell who has a vested interest in promoting certain choices and who is offering independent advice. </p>
<p>Many consumers will leave the decisions to their installer. They must then choose their installer with care.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-maximise-savings-from-your-home-solar-system-and-slash-your-power-bills-197415">How to maximise savings from your home solar system and slash your power bills</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Solar panels on tiled roof of house on a sunny day" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542507/original/file-20230814-23-xuo96b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542507/original/file-20230814-23-xuo96b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542507/original/file-20230814-23-xuo96b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542507/original/file-20230814-23-xuo96b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542507/original/file-20230814-23-xuo96b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542507/original/file-20230814-23-xuo96b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542507/original/file-20230814-23-xuo96b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At times of peak solar generation, household exports of electricity to the grid might be cut off.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to fix this</h2>
<p>Householders are not the only ones who will benefit from widespread adoption of solar batteries. Network operators will too. </p>
<p>WA has one of the world’s largest isolated electricity grids. It also has a high uptake of rooftop solar. This threatens grid stability when solar generation surges and exceeds the capacity the network is designed to handle. Network operators are permitted to <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/energy-policy-wa/emergency-solar-management">disconnect systems</a> installed after March 14 last year as a last resort. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/using-electric-water-heaters-to-store-renewable-energy-could-do-the-work-of-2-million-home-batteries-and-save-us-billions-204281">Using electric water heaters to store renewable energy could do the work of 2 million home batteries – and save us billions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If more households installed batteries, they could store surplus energy that otherwise could destabilise the grid. But households want to be sure it’s a good investment. As <a href="https://energyconsumersaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/20230210_Submission-to-the-National-Energy-Performance-Strategy-Consultation-Paper.pdf">recommended</a> by Energy Consumers Australia, a trusted “one-stop shop” is needed to provide independent, tailored advice to consumers and refer them to government programs and measures.</p>
<p>Retailers and installers should provide households with consumer-friendly technology such as home energy management systems, including <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/business/equipment-and-technology-guides/metering-and-monitoring">smart meters</a>, to help them understand and manage their energy use. </p>
<p>Households should also be informed of alternatives. One option is <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/energy/renewable/community-batteries">community batteries</a>, which store and supply energy to a neighbourhood of homes with solar power. Another is <a href="https://www.solar.vic.gov.au/how-does-virtual-power-plant-work">virtual power plants</a> – energy-sharing networks that connect thousands of household batteries. </p>
<p>Armed with all this information, consumers could make more informed decisions about investing in the energy transition. Until then, many will defer the decision. And that could increase costs for both households and electricity networks.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thinking-of-buying-a-battery-to-help-power-your-home-heres-what-you-need-to-know-192610">Thinking of buying a battery to help power your home? Here's what you need to know</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209219/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research leading to some of the results mentioned in article has received funding from Edith Cowan University for EMCR Grant Scheme 2022 (Stream 2), 2023 ‑ 2024</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daryoush Habibi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In some cases, adding a battery to your rooftop solar system will pay off. But to be sure of this, households need information about many factors – and there’s no single reliable place to find it.Asma Aziz, Lecturer in Power Engineering, Edith Cowan UniversityDaryoush Habibi, Professor and Executive Dean, School of Engineering, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2042812023-06-04T20:04:59Z2023-06-04T20:04:59ZUsing electric water heaters to store renewable energy could do the work of 2 million home batteries – and save us billions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523358/original/file-20230428-28-izz5as.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5472%2C3612&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s energy transition is well under way. Some <a href="https://iea-pvps.org/snapshot-reports/snapshot-2022/">3 million households have rooftop solar</a> and <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/first-past-the-post-evs-race-to-front-in-sales-of-medium-sized-cars-20230420-p5d1yj.html">sales of medium-sized electric cars</a> are surging. But as we work towards fully electric households powered by renewable energy, have we overlooked a key enabling technology, the humble electric water heater?</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="a smart electric water heater" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529729/original/file-20230602-17-jsaz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529729/original/file-20230602-17-jsaz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529729/original/file-20230602-17-jsaz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529729/original/file-20230602-17-jsaz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529729/original/file-20230602-17-jsaz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529729/original/file-20230602-17-jsaz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529729/original/file-20230602-17-jsaz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">By storing solar energy as hot water, a smart electric heater can effectively act as a household battery.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>About <a href="https://www.energynetworks.com.au/resources/fact-sheets/reliable-and-clean-gas-for-australian-homes-2/">half of Australian households</a> use electric water heaters, while the rest use gas. So what’s so great about electric water heaters? </p>
<p>Electric water heaters offer a cheap way to store large amounts of energy, in the form of hot water. A heater with a 300-litre tank can store about as much energy as a second-generation Tesla Powerwall – at a fraction of the cost. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/isf/explore-research/projects/domestic-hot-water-and-flexibility">Our research</a> at the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures has found Australians could use household electric water heaters to store as much energy as over 2 million home batteries of that kind. This could eventually save over A$6 billion a year on our energy bills while getting us closer to net-zero carbon emissions.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/2023-06/Domestic%20Hot%20Water%20and%20Flexibility.pdf">Our report</a>, published today and funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), recommends that, to halve emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, we urgently need policies to rapidly replace gas water heaters with “smart” electric water heaters. Smart heaters can be switched on and off in response to changes in electricity supply and demand across the grid. </p>
<p>This means these heaters can soak up excess “off-peak” renewable energy, particularly from solar, and so help us solve two key problems at once. They can help reduce and eventually eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. And they can make our electricity grid more stable by providing flexible demand that helps balance out the fluctuating supply from renewable sources.</p>
<h2>Cutting emissions</h2>
<p>There are three main types of electric water heater. A conventional “resistance” heater uses electricity to heat water directly. Solar water heaters use sunlight and electricity, but have become less popular as newer “heat pump” units emerged. These collect heat from the air and “pump” it into water. A heat pump uses three to four times less electricity than a resistance heater. </p>
<p>Back in 2010, a resistance electric water heater typically produced around four times more emissions than its gas equivalent. Heat pump emissions were about the same as for gas. That’s because electric water heaters <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/households/hot-water-systems">use a lot of electricity</a>, and most of it came from burning coal. </p>
<p>As we generate more electricity from renewables, this picture is changing dramatically. Australia’s energy market operator, AEMO, publishes regularly updated pathways to a clean-energy future. In the most likely outcome, the “<a href="https://aemo.com.au/en/energy-systems/major-publications/integrated-system-plan-isp/2022-integrated-system-plan-isp">step-change scenario</a>”, gas will become the most greenhouse-intensive water-heating option by 2030. </p>
<p>By 2040, once the transition to a renewable electricity system is largely complete, emissions from resistance and heat pump water heaters will be much lower than for their gas counterparts. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529733/original/file-20230602-25-jsaz8u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graph showing projected emissions from 3 kinds of water heaters: electric resistance, heat pump and gas" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529733/original/file-20230602-25-jsaz8u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529733/original/file-20230602-25-jsaz8u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529733/original/file-20230602-25-jsaz8u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529733/original/file-20230602-25-jsaz8u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529733/original/file-20230602-25-jsaz8u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529733/original/file-20230602-25-jsaz8u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529733/original/file-20230602-25-jsaz8u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The projected emissions intensity of resistance and heat pump water heaters in NSW will soon be much lower than for their gas counterparts. Results for Queensland, Victoria and the ACT are similar to those for NSW.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Water heaters can last 15 years or more. So the stock of heaters in our homes for the next two decades depends on what we install today. Replacing gas heaters with electric heaters should therefore be an immediate priority in our energy transition. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/2023-05/Domestic%20Hot%20Water%20and%20Flexibility.pdf">Our work</a> explored a range of scenarios, each with a different mix of water-heating technologies. One was a business-as-usual baseline where gas water heaters remain prevalent. In alternative scenarios gas is phased out over the next 10–20 years. </p>
<p>We found that replacing gas with electric water heating would not only help us get to net-zero emissions sooner, it would save us money. </p>
<p>Gas is expensive and unlikely to get much cheaper. Abundant renewables offer an excess of cheap electricity that water heaters can help soak up. Embracing this opportunity could save over $6 billion a year on our energy bills by 2040.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529735/original/file-20230602-23-u38b97.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphs comparing stock of different water heater technologies across the NEM from 1990 to 2040" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529735/original/file-20230602-23-u38b97.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529735/original/file-20230602-23-u38b97.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529735/original/file-20230602-23-u38b97.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529735/original/file-20230602-23-u38b97.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529735/original/file-20230602-23-u38b97.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529735/original/file-20230602-23-u38b97.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529735/original/file-20230602-23-u38b97.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In our modelling of the National Electricity Market, business-as-usual policy (left) locks in costly and high-emissions gas units for decades to come. In our rapid electrification scenario (right), electric water heaters rapidly replace gas units.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Boosting grid stability</h2>
<p>Solar and wind are now the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/renewables-cheapest-form-power">cheapest technologies we’ve ever had for generating electricity</a>. But to maintain a stable electricity system, we need to match demand with the fluctuating supply from renewable sources. Batteries offer a partial solution, but are still relatively costly. </p>
<p>Electric water heaters offer a much cheaper way to store large amounts of energy and provide the demand flexibility the grid needs.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/isf/explore-research/projects/domestic-hot-water-and-flexibility">Our research</a> found that, compared to the business-as-usual baseline, a scenario that emphasises demand flexibility using smart electric water heaters could provide an extra 30GWh of daily flexible demand capacity. That’s the equivalent of over 2 million home batteries across the National Electricity Market, which supplies electricity to eastern and southern Australia. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1361120769548320770"}"></div></p>
<h2>Back to the future for water heating</h2>
<p>Since the 1950s, “off-peak hot water” has seen Australian electricity providers turning household water heaters off during the day and on at night to better match demand and supply. In return, customers received heavily discounted prices. </p>
<p>In recent decades we’ve moved away from off-peak electric hot water, as incentives dwindled and more homes <a href="https://www.energynetworks.com.au/resources/fact-sheets/reliable-and-clean-gas-for-australian-homes-2/">connected to natural gas</a>.</p>
<p>As we electrify our hot water, which technology should we embrace: resistance or heat pump? The answer is both. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/isf/explore-research/projects/domestic-hot-water-and-flexibility">Our research</a> explored the trade-off between highly flexible resistance water heaters versus highly efficient but less flexible heat pumps.</p>
<p>Heat pumps use less electricity and cost less to run. Where electricity prices are high or power flow is limited, using heat pumps makes sense. However, they have a higher upfront cost and are not suited to all homes. Many apartments, for example, lack access to suitable outdoor space. </p>
<p>And because they use less electricity, heat pumps offer less flexible demand. As renewables, particularly solar, increasingly power our grid, the ability of resistance electric heaters to soak up excess “off-peak” renewable energy is a big advantage.</p>
<p>With the right policies and market reforms, we will all benefit from a system that once again rewards customers with cheap off-peak electricity in exchange for network operators being able to switch our water heaters off and on as needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204281/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Roche works for the Institute for Sustainable Futures, which received funding for this work from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).</span></em></p>A heater with a 300-litre tank can store as much energy as a home battery at a fraction of the cost. Being able to store surplus solar energy at the right times helps grid stability and cuts emissions.David Roche, Research Director - Strategic Energy Collaborations, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2003552023-02-22T05:41:10Z2023-02-22T05:41:10ZAustralia’s energy market operator is worried about the grid’s reliability. But should it be?<p>The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) this week <a href="https://aemo.com.au/newsroom/media-release/aemo-issues-nem-reliability-update">released an update</a> to its annual assessment of reliability, the so-called Electricity Statement of Opportunities. This has been reported as the market operator forecasting “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/east-coast-power-shortages-on-the-cards-without-new-projects-aemo-20230220-p5clwj.html">power shortages</a>”, or the network being “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/20/australia-at-risk-of-electricity-supply-shortages-as-renewable-projects-lag-behind-coal-plant-closures">at risk of supply shortages</a>”. </p>
<p>The market operator has certainly put up in lights its message that there’s an “urgent need for investment in generation, long-duration storage and transmission to achieve reliability requirements over the next decade”. Yet the reliability outlook has actually improved overall since AEMO’s previous statement last August. </p>
<p>At first pass, this seems counterintuitive. How can reliability be improving, yet still evidently cause for grave concern?</p>
<p>To interpret the report and statements fully, it’s important to understand how the analysis is prepared, and what is and isn’t included in the overall outlook.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-a-grid-anyway-making-sense-of-the-complex-beast-that-is-australias-electricity-network-185127">What's a grid, anyway? Making sense of the complex beast that is Australia's electricity network</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The Statement of Opportunities</h2>
<p>Every year, AEMO prepares a report that assesses the reliability of the National Electricity Market (NEM). Reliability is a measure of the power system’s ability to supply demand. A reliable power system has adequate resources – generation, demand response and transmission capacity – to supply customers. </p>
<p>In the NEM, the reliability of the system is reported in terms of “expected unserved energy”. This is essentially a measure of the expected amount of electricity <em>not</em> delivered to customers, as a result of inadequate capacity to meet the anticipated demand. </p>
<p>AEMO’s reliability assessment looks ahead ten years, to provide information to the electricity market more broadly on any potential gaps or shortfalls in supply that would put reliability at risk. This was intended to guide the private sector, by highlighting “opportunities” for new investment across the electricity system. Hence the report is named the <a href="https://aemo.com.au/en/energy-systems/electricity/national-electricity-market-nem/nem-forecasting-and-planning/forecasting-and-reliability/nem-electricity-statement-of-opportunities-esoo">Electricity Statement of Opportunities</a>. </p>
<p>But, importantly, the assessment does not actually forecast a market response or any other intervention in power generation or transmission. It generally only looks at “committed projects” – those that are all but guaranteed to be completed. </p>
<p>As such, it provides an estimate of the expected unserved energy over the next decade, if (and only if) there is no further investment or response. A consequence of this is that a large amount of potential investment and future capacity is not included. </p>
<h2>The update</h2>
<p>AEMO’s updated report was prompted by a range of “material generation capacity changes” since the August statement. This includes delays to the Kurri Kurri gas-fired power plant and the Snowy 2.0 hydro project. </p>
<p>However, it includes the addition of 461 megawatts of battery storage and 1,326MW of wind developments that have reached “committed” status since August. It also includes the <a href="https://www.energyco.nsw.gov.au/projects/waratah-super-battery">Waratah Super Battery</a>, which will effectively unlock additional capacity in the transmission system. </p>
<p>This is why the reliability outlook has improved. There are now no “supply gaps” projected in any region of the NEM, which covers Australia’s southern and eastern states, until 2025-26, where previously there were. </p>
<p>Besides these committed projects, more than 2,000MW of battery capacity is “anticipated” to be available. But, as it has not yet met the formal commitment criteria, it has not been considered in AEMO’s assessment. </p>
<p>The latest report also doesn’t include capacity that will supported by the <a href="https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/renewable-energy/victorian-renewable-energy-and-storage-targets/victorian-renewable-energy-target-auction-vret2">Victorian Renewable Energy Target</a> or the <a href="https://www.energy.nsw.gov.au/nsw-plans-and-progress/major-state-projects/electricity-infrastructure-roadmap">NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap</a>. </p>
<p>Several transmission developments that are expected to significantly reduce projected reliability risks were also not included. One of these, the Victoria-New South Wales Interconnector West, received a significant boost just yesterday, with the Victorian government issuing orders to <a href="https://aemo.com.au/newsroom/media-release/government-order-supports-community-input-for-vni-west">accelerate the project</a>. Other schemes are still working their way through the regulatory process, and hence are also not yet included in AEMO’s statements. </p>
<p>So, while AEMO’s assessment projects supply gaps appearing from 2026 onwards, as various projects and other initiatives progress we can expect this outlook to continue to improve. This is, after all, how it’s supposed to work. The market operator highlights emerging gaps, and various actors respond to prevent those gaps becoming reality. </p>
<h2>Emerging risks</h2>
<p>This is certainly not to say everything is fine. There are some significant risks and challenges on the horizon. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/crunch-time-looms-for-origin-on-eraring-closure-20230217-p5clb4">potential closure of Eraring power station</a> in just two-and-a-half years is a key risk to reliability in NSW in particular. In the shorter term, a return to hot summers in 2023-24 could give the system its harshest test in years. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-12/snowy-2-0-this-hole-is-above-a-stuck-tunnel-boring-machine/101957418">delay of Snowy 2.0</a> may also have significant impacts on the reliability of the system. Unfortunately, AEMO’s update doesn’t provide much meaningful information on the implications of this situation. </p>
<p>AEMO’s report does not include the transmission projects required to realise the benefits of Snowy 2.0, so the impact of a delay is rather a moot point. It is reasonable to assume, however, that the promised 2 gigawatts of firm supply would have a considerable impact on the reliability outlook. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/amid-blackout-scare-stories-remember-that-a-grid-without-power-cuts-is-impossible-and-expensive-102115">Amid blackout scare stories, remember that a grid without power cuts is impossible... and expensive</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As previously mentioned, there are plenty of projects – renewable, storage, transmission and demand response – that can mitigate these risks. But of course we have to actually deliver them. Supply-chain issues, skills shortages and community opposition are key challenges facing the delivery of new capacity. </p>
<p>At a federal level, the newly announced <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/news-media/news/capacity-investment-scheme-power-australian-energy-market-transformation">Capacity Investment Scheme</a> may help bring more storage capacity online. The <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/news-media/news/rewiring-nation-supports-its-first-two-transmission-projects">Rewiring the Nation</a> plan is intended to bring forward important transmission projects. A bevy of state government programs and interventions will also help bring new projects online. </p>
<p>Supply shortages can be assured if nothing happens beyond what is assumed in the assessment. Things are of course happening – but we do have to get cracking.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200355/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dylan McConnell's current position is supported by the Race for 2030 CRC. </span></em></p>Are blackouts really looming by the middle of this decade? An AEMO report warns they might be – but there are plenty of projects on the drawing board that will help ease the squeeze on the grid.Dylan McConnell, Senior Research Associate, Renewable Energy & Energy Systems Analyst, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1939972022-11-22T16:52:23Z2022-11-22T16:52:23ZSmart meters show your energy use but here’s how you can actually save money<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495895/original/file-20221117-19-2zesyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C8155%2C5444&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are gaps in UK households' understanding of their energy usage</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/smart-energy-meter-kitchen-measuring-electricity-2116196165">Daisy Daisy/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Soaring energy prices are squeezing homes and businesses across the UK and Europe, prompting leaders to implement support measures such as the UK’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support/energy-bills-support-factsheet-8-september-2022">Energy Price Guarantee</a>. Yet it is often unclear to a consumer how much they are spending on energy. For those not on prepayment meters, there is no direct fee each time a light is switched on or a cup of tea is made. </p>
<p>Energy bills also tend to be paid in average monthly sums spread across a year. This protects households from winter price rises when energy use increases. But it also means that the amount households pay for energy is not directly linked to their daily or monthly energy consumption. This separates households from their energy use and the bills they pay. </p>
<p>Smart electricity meters could change how households use energy. They track a household’s energy use and express the cost on an in-home display. </p>
<p>There are now <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1099629/Q2_2022_Smart_Meters_Statistics_Report.pdf">25.6 million</a> smart meters installed in homes and businesses across the UK. Though the number of installations varies, an additional one million smart meters are installed on average each year. </p>
<p>The UK government believe that smart meters could cut household energy bills by 2–3% on average based on trials from their nationwide <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/831716/smart-meter-roll-out-cost-benefit-analysis-2019.pdf">smart meter roll-out programme</a>. But research <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277045/key_findings_summary_quantitative_sm_public_attitudes_research_wave_4.pdf">cautions</a> against the benefits of smart meters for households. </p>
<h2>Not so smart meters</h2>
<p>A smart meter can reveal which of a household’s appliances use the most energy. Their proponents argue that they <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421516300039#bib13">support</a> behavioural change and incite discipline over energy use by raising household energy consciousness. But the effectiveness of a smart meter depends on the decision of an individual not to consume or waste energy. </p>
<p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/657766/Leeds_Core_Cities_Green_Deal_Final_Report.pdf">Research</a> that I co-authored found evidence that there are gaps in UK households’ understanding of their energy usage. In other words, many households exhibit what we call a low level of “energy literacy”. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A technician servicing his boiler." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496464/original/file-20221121-23-qc5bn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many households do not understand their heating control systems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/technician-servicing-gas-boiler-hot-water-182175488">Alexander Raths/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Heating control systems can be complex, often involving timers and zonal controls that regulate the temperature across different rooms. We found that it was common for people to misunderstand these systems. </p>
<p>Some of the households interviewed admitted that they did not know how their boiler worked or how to adjust its controls. Others had their heating on continuously and simply turned the boiler on and off at the wall. This can lead to over or under heating parts of a house, resulting in wasted energy. It is therefore likely that those who respond to the prompts offered by smart meters will already be conscientious energy users. </p>
<p>However, the move away from physical heating controls may exacerbate the problem. Not all people will be able and willing to engage with smart meters. While there is a lack of research into the extent of energy literacy across different social groups in the UK, digital exclusion may leave some households still unable to control their own heating. </p>
<p>Understanding fuel bills is also a part of energy literacy. Research shows that many households have a limited understanding of their energy bills. In a 2021 survey, <a href="https://cdn.literacytrust.org.uk/media/documents/Energy_bills_and_literacy_report_-_final_002.pdf">just 46.6%</a> of the 2,520 UK adult bill payers questioned were able to identify the correct definitions of six terms commonly used on their energy bills. Without guidance, many households will be unable to use the information provided by their smart meter effectively. </p>
<p>Energy suppliers instead accrue considerable benefits from smart meters. A smart meter delivers <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988314001649">information</a> about a home’s energy use to suppliers remotely and reduces the necessity for routine door-to-door meter reads. </p>
<h2>Finding a place for smart meters</h2>
<p>Smart meters may prove valuable for households on variable fuel tariffs, where the per unit price of energy they pay varies at the discretion of their energy supplier. The cost of energy rises during the hours where energy demand is at its highest and falls during periods of lower total energy use.</p>
<p>If smart meters are able to convey instant and future unit energy prices then consumers can shift energy intensive activities, such as washing clothing, towards cheaper periods including overnight. The National Grid is trialling a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63483668">scheme</a> which will compensate energy suppliers for offering households discounts on their electricity bills for reducing their energy use during peak times. The scheme applies to homes with smart meters, who receive an alert 24 hours before the test session. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two Tesla Powerwalls, the company's household energy storage system, mounted on a wall." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495897/original/file-20221117-23-6q2h5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Battery storage can save homeowners money on their energy bills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/austin-texas-usa-july-19th-2021-2015851994">Roschetzky Photography/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Energy can also be stored in house batteries and in electric cars. Variable tariffs would allow them to be recharged when energy is cheap and used during periods of peak energy use. Initial trials conducted by renewable energy company Octopus Energy revealed that charging batteries using variably priced energy could save households up to <a href="https://octopus.energy/blog/agile-powervault-trial/">£580 per year</a>. </p>
<p>This would also accelerate the transition towards electrified household heating. If enough homes use variably priced energy to recharge storage batteries and use them to satisfy their peak energy demand, the requirement for backup energy sources to bolster electricity generation during periods of high demand is reduced. </p>
<p>Smart meters may be ineffective at encouraging greater energy consciousness. But in the future they may allow households to take advantage of a flexible energy grid built around variable pricing and energy storage. But given the current energy crisis, there is limited opportunity to switch energy tariffs. When the situation changes in the future, it is likely that smart meters will play a larger role in household energy consumption.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193997/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Glew does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The government is rolling out smart meters across the UK, but at present they are providing households with little benefit.David Glew, Head of Energy Efficiency and Policy, Leeds Beckett UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1907402022-09-22T23:59:14Z2022-09-22T23:59:14ZSmall communities could be buying, selling and saving money on electric power right now – here’s how<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486022/original/file-20220922-24-wlunst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=366%2C125%2C6570%2C3667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Riccio da favola</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Globally, the electricity sector is shifting from large, centralised <a href="https://www.epa.gov/energy/centralized-generation-electricity-and-its-impacts-environment">grids powered by fossil fuels</a> to smaller and smarter <a href="https://www.ea.govt.nz/about-us/media-and-publications/market-commentary/projects/the-electricity-sector-is-on-the-cusp-of-transformation?start=15">renewable local networks</a>.</p>
<p>One area of strong interest is “<a href="https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/storage/what-time-of-use-rate-makes-sense-for-residential-energy-arbitrage/">energy arbitrage</a>”, which allows users to buy and store electricity when it is cheaper and sell or use it when the cost is high.</p>
<p>But Aotearoa New Zealand is <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/green-business/124788036/nz-solar-power-takeup-still-low-but-economics-are-changing-says-installer">slow to take this up</a> – even though it is a crucial part of the <a href="https://www.seanz.org.nz/unlocking_distributed_generation">transition to a zero-carbon future</a>. Why is this?</p>
<p>Small-grid technologies and infrastructure are still in the experimental phase, being tested for effectiveness and desirability of <a href="https://gridcognition.com/community-batteries-and-network-tariffs/">different set-ups, ownership models and commercial arrangements</a>. And <a href="https://verlume.world/technology/intelligent-energy-management/">intelligent energy-management systems</a> that can provide a prescient forecast of <a href="https://datacenterfrontier.com/market-dynamics-renewable-energy-and-rising-energy-costs/">market dynamics</a> are not used widely.</p>
<p>To better understand these dynamics, we’ve modelled a theoretical “<a href="https://microgridknowledge.com/microgrid-defined/">microgrid</a>” in a residential subdivision, <a href="https://totarabank.weebly.com/">Totarabank</a>, in the North Island of Aotearoa.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Satellite image of the case study area." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485019/original/file-20220916-14-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485019/original/file-20220916-14-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485019/original/file-20220916-14-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485019/original/file-20220916-14-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485019/original/file-20220916-14-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485019/original/file-20220916-14-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485019/original/file-20220916-14-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This satellite image shows the case study area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Earth™ mapping service</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We used the model to forecast the expected commercial returns from investing in microgrids and to unlock potential revenue streams from energy arbitrage.</p>
<h2>Smart scheduling of batteries</h2>
<p>Energy arbitrage requires battery storage and <a href="https://ecos.csiro.au/intelligent-control-the-key-to-grid-friendly-solar/">intelligent control</a> to make the most of a local renewable energy system’s generation. </p>
<p>This can be achieved by forecasting short-term future electricity consumption and linking this to the spot power price on the market. <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/grid/microgrid-controls.html">Sophisticated real-time controllers</a> then decide if the local system should store or sell to the market (or store and sell later).</p>
<p>Battery storage systems can vary in size, from <a href="https://bsgip.com/research/community-scale-batteries/">community-scale batteries</a> supplying a neighbourhood to batteries within a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs). The fundamental controlling processes required to achieve an optimal outcome are broadly the same, except that community batteries are stationary while EV batteries move around. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/good-news-theres-a-clean-energy-gold-rush-under-way-well-need-it-to-tackle-energy-price-turbulence-and-coals-exodus-188804">Good news – there's a clean energy gold rush under way. We'll need it to tackle energy price turbulence and coal's exodus</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Community batteries can store electricity purchased from the grid during off-peak periods and then discharge it during peak periods. Neighbourhoods with solar power can charge community batteries in the middle of the day when solar-generated electricity is abundant and discharge during the higher-priced evening peak.</p>
<p>EV batteries can be used similarly, using cheaper night rates or periods of surplus wind during the night to charge. The energy stored in EV batteries can then be discharged into local loads or sold back into the grid when the price is highest, creating an additional revenue stream.</p>
<h2>Modelling return on investment</h2>
<p>In our modelling, we assumed the primary reasons people will invest in clean-energy technologies are sustainability, energy independence and resilience. We believe energy arbitrage could be an enabler of capital-intensive microgrids, as opposed to an investment made on a purely commercial basis. </p>
<p>Specifically, we considered a grid-connected microgrid integrating solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbines. The system is also backed by a community battery and has a fleet of ten personal EVs to serve.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A schematic showing the modelled microgrid." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485021/original/file-20220916-1085-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485021/original/file-20220916-1085-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485021/original/file-20220916-1085-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485021/original/file-20220916-1085-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485021/original/file-20220916-1085-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485021/original/file-20220916-1085-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485021/original/file-20220916-1085-ri8lo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The modelled microgrid includes wind and solar power, a community battery and a fleet of electric vehicles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We considered two scenarios: one with grid arbitrage revenues and one without. </p>
<p>Our results suggest revenues procured explicitly from energy arbitrage could reduce the total cost of the system by at least 12%. To put this into perspective, for a typical NZ$10 million town-wide microgrid investment, this means $1.2 million in savings.</p>
<p>Another interesting finding was that the length of time the batteries were able to sustain critical loads during <a href="https://aemo.com.au/en/learn/energy-explained/energy-101/blackouts-vs-system-outages">unplanned grid outages</a> was greater by about 16 hours per year, compared to the case without intelligent control. This is a remarkable resilience advantage.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-want-to-be-part-of-that-movement-residents-embrace-renewable-energy-but-worry-how-their-towns-will-change-184743">'We want to be part of that movement': residents embrace renewable energy but worry how their towns will change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So what does this kind of analysis mean for you? If you are part of a community interested in owning and operating a microgrid, you now have enough evidence to ask your developer to consider energy arbitrage so the community can participate in the electricity market to make a profit.</p>
<p>If you own an EV and are trying to get cheaper night rates, this is a heads-up on future offerings from electricity retailers to get your storage-on-wheels to work with the vehicle-to-grid technology.</p>
<p>On the whole, energy arbitrage is an excellent tool to provide support for renewable energy investment decisions and help firm up revenue forecasts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190740/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Brent receives funding from Victoria University of Wellington. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Soheil Mohseni does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A technique called ‘energy arbitrage’ allows owners of local ‘microgrids’ to make a profit by designing the network to buy cheap power, store it and sell it back at a higher price.Soheil Mohseni, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Sustainable Energy Systems, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonAlan Brent, Professor and Chair in Sustainable Energy Systems, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1816942022-04-25T12:10:30Z2022-04-25T12:10:30ZMeet the power plant of the future: Solar + battery hybrids are poised for explosive growth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459357/original/file-20220422-22-x2jns9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1546%2C1092%2C4063%2C2725&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">By pairing solar power and battery storage, hybrids can keep providing electricity after dark.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/dawn-of-new-renewable-energy-technologies-modern-royalty-free-image/1128888172">Petmal via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>America’s electric power system is undergoing radical change as it transitions from fossil fuels to renewable energy. While the first decade of the 2000s saw huge growth in natural gas generation, and the 2010s were the decade of wind and solar, early signs suggest the innovation of the 2020s may be a boom in “hybrid” power plants.</p>
<p>A typical hybrid power plant combines electricity generation with battery storage at the same location. That often means a solar or wind farm paired with large-scale batteries. Working together, solar panels and battery storage can generate renewable power when solar energy is at its peak during the day and then release it as needed after the sun goes down.</p>
<p>A look at the power and storage projects in the development pipeline offers a glimpse of hybrid power’s future.</p>
<p><a href="https://emp.lbl.gov">Our team</a> at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that a staggering <a href="http://emp.lbl.gov/queues">1,400 gigawatts</a> of proposed generation and storage projects have applied to connect to the grid – more than all existing U.S. power plants combined. The largest group is now solar projects, and over a third of those projects involve hybrid solar plus battery storage.</p>
<p>While these power plants of the future offer many benefits, they also <a href="https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/batteries-included-top-10-findings">raise questions</a> about how the electric grid should best be operated.</p>
<h2>Why hybrids are hot</h2>
<p>As wind and solar grow, they are starting to have big impacts on the grid.</p>
<p>Solar power already <a href="https://www.seia.org/state-solar-policy/california-solar">exceeds 25%</a> of annual power generation in California and is spreading rapidly in other states such as Texas, Florida and Georgia. The “wind belt” states, from the Dakotas to Texas, have seen <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=50624">massive deployment of wind turbines</a>, with Iowa now getting a majority of its power from the wind.</p>
<p>This high percentage of renewable power raises a question: How do we integrate renewable sources that produce large but varying amounts of power throughout the day?</p>
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459363/original/file-20220422-26-hj5nrf.gif"><figcaption>Joshua Rhodes/University of Texas at Austin.</figcaption></figure>
<p>That’s where storage comes in. Lithium-ion battery prices have <a href="https://about.bnef.com/blog/battery-pack-prices-fall-to-an-average-of-132-kwh-but-rising-commodity-prices-start-to-bite/">rapidly fallen</a> as production has scaled up for the electric vehicle market in recent years. While there are concerns about future <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-administration-doe-invest-3-billion-strengthen-us-supply-chain-advanced-batteries">supply chain challenges</a>, battery design is also likely to evolve.</p>
<p>The combination of solar and batteries allows hybrid plant operators to provide power through the most valuable hours when demand is strongest, such as summer afternoons and evenings when air conditioners are running on high. Batteries also help smooth out production from wind and solar power, store excess power that would otherwise be curtailed, and reduce congestion on the grid.</p>
<h2>Hybrids dominate the project pipeline</h2>
<p>At the end of 2020, there were 73 solar and 16 wind hybrid projects operating in the U.S., amounting to 2.5 gigawatts of generation and 0.45 gigawatts of storage.</p>
<p>Today, solar and hybrids dominate the development pipeline. By the end of 2021, more than <a href="http://emp.lbl.gov/queues">675 gigawatts of proposed solar</a> plants had applied for grid connection approval, with over a third of them paired with storage. Another 247 gigawatts of wind farms were in line, with 19 gigawatts, or about 8% of those, as hybrids.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bar chart showing overwhelming increase in solar since 2014 compared to other sources and fast rise in batteries in the past two years." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459172/original/file-20220421-11033-mcdm2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459172/original/file-20220421-11033-mcdm2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459172/original/file-20220421-11033-mcdm2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459172/original/file-20220421-11033-mcdm2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459172/original/file-20220421-11033-mcdm2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459172/original/file-20220421-11033-mcdm2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459172/original/file-20220421-11033-mcdm2i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The amount of proposed solar, storage and wind power waiting to hook up to the grid has grown dramatically in recent years, while coal, gas and nuclear have faded.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/batteries-included-top-10-findings">Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of course, applying for a connection is only one step in developing a power plant. A developer also needs land and community agreements, a sales contract, financing and permits. Only about one in four new plants proposed between 2010 and 2016 made it to commercial operation. But the depth of interest in hybrid plants portends strong growth.</p>
<p>In markets like California, batteries are essentially obligatory for new solar developers. Since solar often accounts for the <a href="http://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/supply.aspx">majority of power</a> in the daytime market, building more adds little value. Currently 95% of all proposed large-scale solar capacity in the California queue comes with batteries.</p>
<h2>5 lessons on hybrids and questions for the future</h2>
<p>The opportunity for growth in renewable hybrids is clearly large, but it raises some questions that <a href="https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/batteries-included-top-10-findings">our group</a> at Berkeley Lab has been investigating.</p>
<p>Here are some of our <a href="https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/batteries-included-top-10-findings">top findings</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>The investment pays off in many regions.</strong> We found that while adding batteries to a solar power plant increases the price, it also increases the value of the power. Putting generation and storage in the same location can capture benefits from tax credits, construction cost savings and operational flexibility. Looking at the revenue potential over recent years, and with the help of federal tax credits, the added value appears to justify the higher price. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Co-location also means tradeoffs.</strong> Wind and solar perform best where the wind and solar resources are strongest, but batteries provide the most value where they can deliver the greatest grid benefits, like relieving congestion. That means there are trade-offs when determining the best location with the highest value. Federal tax credits that can be earned only when batteries are co-located with solar may be encouraging suboptimal decisions in some cases. </p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Rows of solar panels and two batteries the size of small shipping containers sit in a field." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459146/original/file-20220421-20-28yqdt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5219%2C3497&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459146/original/file-20220421-20-28yqdt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459146/original/file-20220421-20-28yqdt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459146/original/file-20220421-20-28yqdt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459146/original/file-20220421-20-28yqdt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459146/original/file-20220421-20-28yqdt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459146/original/file-20220421-20-28yqdt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hybrid power has become standard in Hawaii as solar power saturates the grid.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.nrel.gov/MX/Profiles/en/default/#/main/single/95986513-9905-4d71-86d2-6535e97e053f">Dennis Schroeder/NREL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>There is no one best combination.</strong> The value of a hybrid plant is determined in part by the configuration of the equipment. For example, the size of the battery relative to a solar generator can determine how late into the evening the plant can deliver power. But the value of nighttime power depends on local market conditions, which change throughout the year.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Power market rules need to evolve.</strong> Hybrids can participate in the power market as a single unit or as separate entities, with the solar and storage bidding independently. Hybrids can also be either sellers or buyers of power, or both. That can get complicated. Market participation rules for hybrids are still evolving, leaving plant operators to experiment with how they sell their services. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Small hybrids create new opportunities:</strong> Hybrid power plants can also be small, such as solar and batteries in a home or business. Such <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=43215">hybrids have become standard in Hawaii</a> as solar power saturates the grid. In California, customers who are subject to power shutoffs to prevent wildfires are increasingly adding storage to their solar systems. These <a href="https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2019/Sep/IRENA_BTM_Batteries_2019.pdf">“behind-the-meter” hybrids</a> raise questions about how they should be valued, and how they can contribute to grid operations. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Hybrids are just beginning, but a lot more are on the way. More research is needed on the technologies, market designs and regulations to ensure the grid and grid pricing evolve with them.</p>
<p>While questions remain, it’s clear that hybrids are redefining power plants. And they may remake the U.S. power system in the process.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181694/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joachim Seel receives funding from the US Department of Energy</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bentham Paulos receives funding for this work from the US Department of Energy.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Will Gorman receives funding for this work from the US Department of Energy. </span></em></p>The largest category of power plants applying to connect to the US grid are now solar, and over a third of those are hybrids that include battery storage.Joachim Seel, Senior Scientific Engineering Associate, Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryBentham Paulos, Affiliate, Electricity Markets & Policy Group, Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryWill Gorman, Graduate Student Researcher in Electricity Markets and Policy, Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1800762022-04-04T09:02:32Z2022-04-04T09:02:32ZThese energy innovations could transform how we mitigate climate change, and save money in the process – 5 essential reads<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454426/original/file-20220325-23-1asrf9z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=367%2C208%2C1465%2C864&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Building solar panels over water sources is one way to both provide power and reduce evaporation in drought-troubled regions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robin Raj, Citizen Group & Solar Aquagrid</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>To most people, a solar farm or a geothermal plant is an important source of clean energy. Scientists and engineers see that plus far more potential.</p>
<p>They envision offshore wind turbines capturing and storing carbon beneath the sea, and geothermal plants producing essential metals for powering electric vehicles. Electric vehicle batteries, too, can be transformed to power homes, saving their owners money and also <a href="https://theconversation.com/revolutionary-changes-in-transportation-from-electric-vehicles-to-ride-sharing-could-slow-global-warming-if-theyre-done-right-ipcc-says-179535">reducing transportation emissions</a>.</p>
<p>With scientists worldwide <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/">sounding the alarm</a> about the increasing dangers and costs of climate change, let’s explore some cutting-edge ideas that could transform how today’s technologies <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-3/">reduce the effects of global warming</a>, from five recent articles in The Conversation.</p>
<h2>1. Solar canals: Power + water protection</h2>
<p>What if solar panels did double duty, protecting water supplies while producing more power?</p>
<p>California is developing the United States’ first solar canals, with solar panels built atop some of the state’s water distribution canals. These canals run for thousands of miles through arid environments, where the dry air boosts evaporation in a state frequently troubled by water shortages.</p>
<p>“In a 2021 study, we showed that <a href="https://theconversation.com/first-solar-canal-project-is-a-win-for-water-energy-air-and-climate-in-california-177433">covering all 4,000 miles of California’s canals</a> with solar panels would save more than 65 billion gallons of water annually by reducing evaporation. That’s enough to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland or meet the residential water needs of more than 2 million people,” writes engineering professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=S2cxf2IAAAAJ&hl=en">Roger Bales</a> of the University of California, Merced. They would also expand renewable energy without taking up farmable land.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Solar panels would form a roof over canals." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Other countries including China and India are also testing the solar farms over water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Solar Aquagrid LLC</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/">Research shows</a> that human activities, particularly using fossil fuels for energy and transportation, are <a href="https://theconversation.com/ipcc-climate-report-profound-changes-are-underway-in-earths-oceans-and-ice-a-lead-author-explains-what-the-warnings-mean-165588">unequivocally warming the planet</a> and increasing extreme weather. Increasing renewable energy, currently about <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=3">20% of U.S. utility-scale electricity</a> generation, can reduce fossil fuel demand.</p>
<p>Putting solar panels over shaded water can also improve their power output. The cooler water lowers the temperature of the panels by about 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius), boosting their efficiency, Bales writes. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/first-solar-canal-project-is-a-win-for-water-energy-air-and-climate-in-california-177433">First solar canal project is a win for water, energy, air and climate in California</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>2. Geothermal power could boost battery supplies</h2>
<p>For renewable energy to slash global greenhouse gas emissions, buildings and vehicles have to be able to use it. Batteries are essential, but the industry has a supply chain problem.</p>
<p>Most batteries used in electric vehicles and utility-scale energy storage are lithium-ion batteries, and most lithium used in the U.S. comes from Argentina, Chile, China and Russia. China is the leader in lithium processing. </p>
<p>Geologist and engineers are working on an innovative method that could boost the U.S. lithium supply at home by <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-few-geothermal-plants-could-solve-americas-lithium-supply-crunch-and-boost-the-ev-battery-industry-179465">extracting lithium from geothermal brines</a> in California’s Salton Sea region.</p>
<p>Brines are the liquid leftover in a geothermal plant after heat and steam are used to produce power. That liquid contains lithium and other metals such as manganese, zinc and boron. Normally, it is pumped back underground, but the metals can also be filtered out.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oYtyEVPGEU8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How lithium is extracted during geothermal energy production. Courtesy of Controlled Thermal Resources.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“If test projects now underway prove that battery-grade lithium can be extracted from these brines cost effectively, 11 existing geothermal plants along the Salton Sea alone could have the potential to produce enough lithium metal to provide about 10 times the current U.S. demand,” write geologist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GN_MdtQAAAAJ&hl=en">Michael McKibben</a> of the University of California, Riverside, and energy policy scholar <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=gLrgWW4AAAAJ&hl=en">Bryant Jones</a> of Boise State University.</p>
<p>President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/03/31/memorandum-on-presidential-determination-pursuant-to-section-303-of-the-defense-production-act-of-1950-as-amended/">invoked the Defense Production Act</a> on March 31, 2022, to provide incentives for U.S. companies to mine and process more critical minerals for batteries.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-few-geothermal-plants-could-solve-americas-lithium-supply-crunch-and-boost-the-ev-battery-industry-179465">How a few geothermal plants could solve America's lithium supply crunch and boost the EV battery industry</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. Green hydrogen and other storage ideas</h2>
<p>Scientists are working on other ways to boost batteries’ mineral supply chain, too, including recycling lithium and cobalt from old batteries. They’re also <a href="https://theconversation.com/these-3-energy-storage-technologies-can-help-solve-the-challenge-of-moving-to-100-renewable-electricity-161564">developing designs with other materials</a>, explained <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/research/staff/kerry-rippy.html">Kerry Rippy</a>, a researcher with the National Renewable Energy Lab.</p>
<p>Concentrated solar power, for example, stores energy from the sun by heating molten salt and using it to produce steam to drive electric generators, similar to how a coal power plant would generate electricity. It’s expensive, though, and the salts currently used aren’t stable at higher temperature, Rippy writes. The Department of Energy is funding a similar project that is experimenting with heated sand.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fkX-H24Chfw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Hydrogen’s challenges, including its fossil fuel history.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Renewable fuels, such as green hydrogen and ammonia, provide a different type of storage. Since they store energy as liquid, they can be transported and used for shipping or rocket fuel.</p>
<p>Hydrogen gets a lot of attention, but not all hydrogen is green. Most hydrogen used today is actually produced with natural gas – a fossil fuel. Green hydrogen, in contrast, could be produced using renewable energy to power electrolysis, which splits water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, but again, it’s expensive.</p>
<p>“The key challenge is optimizing the process to make it efficient and economical,” Rippy writes. “The potential payoff is enormous: inexhaustible, completely renewable energy.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/these-3-energy-storage-technologies-can-help-solve-the-challenge-of-moving-to-100-renewable-electricity-161564">These 3 energy storage technologies can help solve the challenge of moving to 100% renewable electricity</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>4. Using your EV to power your home</h2>
<p>Batteries could also soon turn your electric vehicle into a giant, mobile battery capable of powering your home.</p>
<p>Only a few vehicles are currently designed for vehicle-to-home charging, or V2H, but that’s changing, writes energy economist <a href="https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=07sAJX8AAAAJ&hl=en">Seth Blumsack</a> of Penn State University. Ford, for example, says its new F-150 Lightning pickup truck will be able to power an average house for three days on a single charge.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w4XLBOnzE6Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How bidirectional charging allows EVs to power homes.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Blumsack explores the technical challenges as V2H grows and its potential to change <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-my-electric-car-power-my-house-not-yet-for-most-drivers-but-vehicle-to-home-charging-is-coming-163332">how people manage energy use and how utilities store power</a>.</p>
<p>For example, he writes, “some homeowners might hope to use their vehicle for what utility planners call ‘peak shaving’ – drawing household power from their EV during the day instead of relying on the grid, thus reducing their electricity purchases during peak demand hours.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-my-electric-car-power-my-house-not-yet-for-most-drivers-but-vehicle-to-home-charging-is-coming-163332">Can my electric car power my house? Not yet for most drivers, but vehicle-to-home charging is coming</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>5. Capturing carbon from air and locking it away</h2>
<p>Another emerging technology is more controversial.</p>
<p>Humans have put so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the past two centuries that just stopping fossil fuel use won’t be enough to quickly stabilize the climate. Most scenarios, including <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch">in recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports</a>, show the world will have to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well.</p>
<p>The technology to capture carbon dioxide from the air exists – it’s called <a href="https://theconversation.com/these-machines-scrub-greenhouse-gases-from-the-air-an-inventor-of-direct-air-capture-technology-shows-how-it-works-172306">direct air capture</a> – but it’s expensive. </p>
<p>Engineers and geophysicists like <a href="https://www.earth.columbia.edu/users/profile/david-s-goldberg">David Goldberg</a> of Columbia University are exploring ways to cut those costs by combining direct air capture technology with renewable energy production and carbon storage, like offshore wind turbines built above undersea rock formations where captured carbon could be locked away. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Construction of a wind farm off Rhode Island" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454424/original/file-20220325-21-19jxroc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454424/original/file-20220325-21-19jxroc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454424/original/file-20220325-21-19jxroc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454424/original/file-20220325-21-19jxroc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454424/original/file-20220325-21-19jxroc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454424/original/file-20220325-21-19jxroc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454424/original/file-20220325-21-19jxroc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The U.S. had seven operating offshore wind turbines with 42 megawatts of capacity in 2021. The Biden administration’s goal is 30,000 megawatts by 2030.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/OffshoreWind/933c4adb5d06417c8d42f69986bae5d6/photo">AP Photo/Michael Dwyer</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The world’s largest direct air capture plant, launched in 2021 in Iceland, uses geothermal energy to power its equipment. The captured carbon dioxide is mixed with water and pumped into volcanic basalt formations underground. Chemical reactions with the basalt turn it into a hard carbonate.</p>
<p>Goldberg, who helped developed the mineralization process used in Iceland, sees similar <a href="https://theconversation.com/offshore-wind-farms-could-help-capture-carbon-from-air-and-store-it-long-term-using-energy-that-would-otherwise-go-to-waste-173208">potential for future U.S. offshore wind farms</a>. Wind turbines often produce more energy than their customers need at any given time, making excess energy available. </p>
<p>“Built together, these technologies could reduce the energy costs of carbon capture and minimize the need for onshore pipelines, reducing impacts on the environment,” Goldberg writes. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/offshore-wind-farms-could-help-capture-carbon-from-air-and-store-it-long-term-using-energy-that-would-otherwise-go-to-waste-173208">Offshore wind farms could help capture carbon from air and store it long-term – using energy that would otherwise go to waste</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180076/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
From pulling carbon dioxide out of the air to turning water into fuel, innovators are developing new technologies and pairing existing ones to help slow global warming.Stacy Morford, Environment + Climate EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1537932021-01-27T22:55:58Z2021-01-27T22:55:58ZIs Tesla’s share price justified? Probably not<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380783/original/file-20210127-21-q0omku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5000%2C3218&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Elon Musk is now the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55578403">world’s richest person</a>, edging out previous title holder Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. His rocketing fortune is due to the booming share price of <a href="https://www.tesla.com/">Tesla</a>, the maker of electric vehicles and clean energy technologies.</p>
<p>In the past week Tesla’s share price surpassed US$880, ten times its March 2020 low of US$85, giving the company a market capitalisation (or total value) in excess of US$880 billion – <a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-top-car-manufacturer-by-market-cap/">more than</a> Toyota, Volkswagen, Daimler, General Motors, BMW, Honda, Hyundai and Ford combined.</p>
<p>That’s an extraordinary amount for a company that only last financial year made its first full-year profit since being founded in 2003; and that profit was relatively modest. It gave Tesla a price-to-earnings ratio – a standard measure of a stock’s value – <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TSLA/news?ltr=1">close to 1,700</a>. </p>
<p>Compare that to the other shares that have boomed since global stock markets rebounded from the COVID-induced lows of March 2020 – technology companies such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google. Amazon’s PE ratio is about 97, Apple’s about 44, and others in the 30-40 range.</p>
<p>Telsa’s latest quarterly profit is equally modest, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/tesla-tsla-earnings-q4-2020.html">missing analysts’ expectations</a> with reported earnings per share of just 80 cents. Its share price has dipped as a result, but still remains a very optimistic valuation. </p>
<p>So can Tesla’s valuation be justified, or is this one more example of a bubble waiting to burst? Well, Tesla is clearly an extraordinary innovator, but there are several reasons to think that, though irrational exuberance may drive its value even higher, sooner or later it’s going to come crashing back down to earth.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tulip-mania-the-classic-story-of-a-dutch-financial-bubble-is-mostly-wrong-91413">Tulip mania: the classic story of a Dutch financial bubble is mostly wrong</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The positives</h2>
<p>Tesla has benefited from its founder’s vision. It has established a strong brand as the premiere producer of electric vehicles and renewable energy systems – two industries on the cusp of significant growth as the world moves away from fossil fuels. </p>
<p>It has successfully developed a suite of electric cars where other car companies have failed. It has done this by capturing the imagination of investors and technology enthusiasts alike with technically impressive and aesthetically beautiful products. </p>
<p>It has become a major manufacturer of solar photovoltaic systems.</p>
<p>Connected to both these markets are its developments in batteries to power vehicles, homes and entire communities. In South Australia it built the world’s largest lithium-ion battery, storing renewable energy from nearby wind turbines when generation exceeds demand and balancing out the grid when demand exceeds variable supply.</p>
<p>These industries will accrue a greater share of vehicle and energy markets over time, and Tesla will be a major player in both.</p>
<p>However, Tesla faces serious challenges. </p>
<h2>Tesla has led, but others will follow</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.vw.com/en/electric-vehicles.html">major car makers</a>, once wedded to their old internal combustion technologies, are embracing electric in response to what is, for them, an <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-eu-transport/eu-to-target-30-million-electric-cars-by-2030-draft-idUSKBN28E2KM">existential threat</a>. Car makers from Korea to Japan to Germany – and of course <a href="https://www.nio.com/">China</a> – are responding with new products to challenge Tesla’s position.</p>
<p>In strategic management, this response is called “disruption”. </p>
<p>The term is most closely associated with the American academic Clayton Christensen. In his influential 1997 book The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail, he describes the inexorable processes of how “early movers” are confronted with a new batch of entrants intent on securing their share of growing markets.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qDrMAzCHFUU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Clayton Christensen discusses the innovator’s dilemma.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tesla’s success is tantalising, something both established and start-up competitors will seek to emulate. Late movers may start with simpler, cheaper and by some measures inferior products. But over time they can learn what consumers want and are willing to pay for. They then challenge industry leaders for a share of the market, starting at the bottom but always moving upward.</p>
<p>Indeed, Tesla itself has benefited from these very processes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pursuing-teslas-electric-cars-wont-rev-up-vws-share-price-152279">Pursuing Tesla's electric cars won't rev up VW's share price</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Smoothing the road for competitors</h2>
<p>As an early mover, Tesla is also laying the foundations for emulators’ success. By establishing the impetus for infrastructure needed for the massive roll-out of electric vehicles, later movers will face fewer entry obstacles than Tesla and other early movers. </p>
<p>These include creating charging stations that, once established, will drive a virtuous cycle of increased demand for electric vehicles and supply of stations.</p>
<p>But the differences between Tesla and its big-tech peers may be a source of serious challenge.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-superfast-charging-batteries-can-help-sell-the-transition-to-electric-vehicles-153872">How superfast charging batteries can help sell the transition to electric vehicles</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Other tech companies benefit from what economists call <a href="https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/what-are-network-effects">network effects</a>: the more ubiquitous a product, the more valuable it become to users.</p>
<p>Social media platforms are an obvious example, but it also applies to companies such as eBay and Amazon: the more buyers and sellers on these platform, the greater their value to sellers and buyers – and therefore the greater the returns to the service provider. </p>
<p>For Tesla, network benefits are harder to protect. More electric vehicles will create more demand for charging stations, and more charging stations will help vehicles sales. But it will be harder for Tesla to protect its stations from benefiting competitors.</p>
<p>Perhaps for Tesla’s visionary founder that’s just fine. His plans extend far beyond making money – and Earth.</p>
<p>But if you’re an investor, it’s something to be careful about. You might be able to ride the speculative rocket, so long as you time when you hop off. But if you’re looking at Tesla as a long-term investment – as you should – there are no guarantees.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153793/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Tesla is now valued at more than Toyota, Volkswagen, Daimler, General Motors, BMW, Honda, Hyundai and Ford combined. But don’t expect that to last.John Rice, Professor, College of Business, Zayed UniversityNigel Martin, Lecturer, College of Business and Economics, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1429722020-07-23T01:30:21Z2020-07-23T01:30:21ZIn a world first, Australian university builds own solar farm to offset 100% of its electricity use<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348792/original/file-20200722-35-1kkklly.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5176%2C3453&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Glenn Hunt</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Limiting global warming to well below 2°C this century <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments/#:%7E:text=Global%20net%20human%2Dcaused%20emissions,removing%20CO2%20from%20the%20air.">requires</a> carbon emissions to reach net zero by around 2050. Australian households have done much to support the transition via <a href="https://assets.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/documents/resources/reports/clean-energy-australia/clean-energy-australia-report-2020.pdf">rooftop solar investments</a>. Now it’s time for organisations to take a more serious role. </p>
<p>The University of Queensland’s efforts to reduce its electricity emissions provides one blueprint. Last week UQ opened a <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/news/node/126784">64 megawatt solar farm</a> at Warwick in the state’s southeast. It’s the <a href="https://giving.uq.edu.au/stories/100-cent-renewable-energy-uq-sets-new-standard">first major university</a> in the world to offset 100% of its electricity use with renewable power produced from its own assets. In fact, UQ will generate more renewable electricity than it uses.</p>
<p>The Warwick Solar farm shows businesses and other organisations that the renewables transition is doable, and makes economic sense.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348787/original/file-20200722-19-1a94fhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348787/original/file-20200722-19-1a94fhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348787/original/file-20200722-19-1a94fhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348787/original/file-20200722-19-1a94fhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348787/original/file-20200722-19-1a94fhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348787/original/file-20200722-19-1a94fhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348787/original/file-20200722-19-1a94fhg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The renewables transition makes economic sense.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Glenn Hunt</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A model for the future</h2>
<p>UQ’s electricity decarbonisation journey started a decade ago when it installed a <a href="https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/projects/renewable-energy/uq-rooftop-solar-facilities">1.2MW rooftop solar array</a> across buildings at the St Lucia campus. At the time, it was the largest rooftop solar array in Australia. </p>
<p>In 2015 UQ launched the <a href="https://solar-energy.uq.edu.au/facilities/gatton">3.3MW solar farm at Gatton</a> – part of a world-class solar research facility open to researchers from around the world.</p>
<p>Building on this, last week UQ opened the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/news/node/126784">Warwick solar farm</a>, primarily funded through a <a href="https://universitas21.com/sites/default/files/2020-04/University%20of%20Queensland_Jessica%20Gallagher.pdf">A$125 million loan</a> from the Queensland Government. The <a href="https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/warwick-solar-farm-technical-information">output</a> – about 160 gigawatt-hours a year – is equal to powering about 27,000 homes or reducing coal consumption by more than 60,000 tonnes. This generation will more than offset the total amount of energy UQ’s sites use each year. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/really-australia-its-not-that-hard-10-reasons-why-renewable-energy-is-the-future-130459">Really Australia, it's not that hard: 10 reasons why renewable energy is the future</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Money that would previously have been spent paying the university’s electricity bills will instead now pay off this loan, over about a decade. This shows how an organisation can redirect operating expenditure to invest in emissions reduction. </p>
<p>Three months ago, UQ also installed a <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2020/05/uq%E2%80%99s-tesla-battery-saving-big-energy-bucks">1.1MW Tesla battery</a> at its St Lucia campus. As Queensland’s largest on-site battery, it saved UQ almost A$75,000 in <a href="https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/files/11868/EPBQtyRptq12020.pdf">electricity costs</a> during the first three months of operation. It did this by buying power when it was cheap and selling it during peak demand periods, as well as helping support the grid during faults. </p>
<p>These projects provide a “living laboratory” for teaching and research. They also give crucial insights into how organisations can invest in renewable generation and energy storage assets today, to increase their commercial viability. </p>
<p>UQ has made data generated by its <a href="http://dashboards.sustainability.uq.edu.au/warwick-solar-farm/display/">solar</a> and <a href="http://dashboards.sustainability.uq.edu.au/engineering-precinct-battery/interactive/#/">battery</a> assets publicly available so other organisations can learn from its efforts.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bdBWVBoXiXM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Opening of UQ’s Warwick Solar Farm in 2020.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why organisations must act</h2>
<p>About 2,000 companies are jointly responsible for more than <a href="https://www.worldbenchmarkingalliance.org/onwards-together/">half the world’s emissions</a>. In many cases, investors are now <a href="http://www.climateaction100.org">calling on companies</a> to demonstrate how their activities are compatible with a net-zero emissions target.</p>
<p>Organisations generate greenhouse gas emissions in different ways. “Scope 1” emissions come from assets owned or controlled by the organisation, such as company-owned vehicles or power plants. “Scope 2” emissions come from electricity consumed, and “Scope 3” involves a wide range of indirect emissions such as staff commuting or waste disposal. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-pretty-good-start-but-room-for-improvement-3-experts-rate-australias-emissions-technology-plan-132866">A pretty good start but room for improvement: 3 experts rate Australia's emissions technology plan</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Companies can also contribute to emissions produced overseas, but these are generally not captured by standard national <a href="https://publications.industry.gov.au/publications/climate-change/climate-change/climate-science-data/greenhouse-gas-measurement/publications/national-greenhouse-accounts-factors-august-2019.html">emissions accounts</a>.</p>
<p>A 2015 <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2770">study</a> was the first to translate global climate targets to a company level. Since then, more than 900 companies have committed to climate action through the <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/companies-taking-action/">Science Based Targets initiative</a>. </p>
<p>Typically, companies are not yet evaluated in terms of their performance against <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650319825764">climate goals</a>. However, attention from investors on climate risk and impact is increasing. It’s only a matter of time before lagging companies will face greater scrutiny from investors, governments and the broader public. All the more reason to start acting today. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348809/original/file-20200722-19-8xe00q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348809/original/file-20200722-19-8xe00q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348809/original/file-20200722-19-8xe00q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348809/original/file-20200722-19-8xe00q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348809/original/file-20200722-19-8xe00q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348809/original/file-20200722-19-8xe00q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348809/original/file-20200722-19-8xe00q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Public pressure is building on companies to reduce emissions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">School Strike 4 Climate Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Over to you</h2>
<p>An organisation must take a holistic view of all its activities, to fully understand the emissions it creates. From this they can develop a sustainability “action plan” which includes setting <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/">science-based targets </a>. UQ is currently finalising a ten-year Sustainability Strategy based on the UN’s <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/">Sustainable Development Goals</a>.</p>
<p>Other ways organisations can reduce emissions include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>entering into <a href="https://arena.gov.au/knowledge-bank/corporate-renewable-power-purchase-agreements-in-australia-state-of-the-market-2019/">power purchase agreements</a> with renewable energy generators – basically a contract for the sale and supply of renewable energy</p></li>
<li><p>investing in <a href="https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/campus-sustainability/energy">energy efficient equipment</a> such as LED lighting and modern air conditioners</p></li>
<li><p>transitioning to a low-emission vehicle fleet and supporting <a href="https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/campus-sustainability/transport">sustainable transport alternatives</a> such as electric scooters, bikes, cars and buses </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/campus-sustainability/recycling-and-waste">minimising waste</a> and recycling more</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/projects/sustainable-food">supporting sustainable food practices</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The time for talk is over. Organisations must now actively play their part in achieving global net-zero emissions. The University of Queensland shows how it can be done.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-explained-could-the-world-stop-using-fossil-fuels-today-138605">Climate explained: could the world stop using fossil fuels today?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142972/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Jake Whitehead is the Tritium e-Mobility Fellow at the Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation at The University of Queensland, a Research Fellow at the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Queensland, holds an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship focussed on how electric vehicles can deliver co-benefits to the energy sector, is a Member of the International Electric Vehicle Policy Council, and is an AR6 Lead Author for The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peta Ashworth is Director, Andrew N Liveris Innovation and Leadership Academy and Chair in Sustainable Energy Futures at The University of Queensland. Peta has previously received funding from the Australian Council of Learned Academies Secretariat on "Understanding the socio-economic challenges for energy storage uptake"; from Australian Renewable Energy Agency for "Investigating the Australian public's attitudes to hydrogen"; Peta currently leads the Social License to Operate Work Package 2 of the Future Fuels CRC among other research grants from the Australian Research Council.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Saphira Rekker is a Lecturer in Finance at the University of Queensland. Saphira is a member of the Technical Working Group for the Oil & Gas sector methodology of the Science-Based Targets initiative and Assessing Carbon Transitions initiative. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tapan K Saha is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Queensland since 2005, where he joined as a Lecturer in January 1996. He leads UQ Solar research for grid integration. He receives funding from Australian Research Council, Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Queensland State Government and Commonwealth Government departments, Australian Electricity Supply Industry, Australian Power Institute, Energy Networks Australia etc. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Wilson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Households shouldn’t have to do all the heavy lifting in the renewables transition. A new solar farm shows organisations and businesses how it’s done.Jake Whitehead, Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellow & Tritum E-Mobility Fellow, The University of QueenslandAndrew Wilson, Project Director - Warwick Solar Farm, The University of QueenslandPeta Ashworth, Professor and Chair in Sustrainable Energy Futures, The University of QueenslandSaphira Rekker, Lecturer Finance, The University of QueenslandTapan K Saha, Professor, Leader-UQ Solar, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1406402020-06-17T04:24:02Z2020-06-17T04:24:02ZEnergy giants want to thwart reforms that would help renewables and lower power bills<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342044/original/file-20200616-23266-3qzulm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C0%2C5534%2C3709&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darren England/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s energy market is outdated. It doesn’t encourage competition and that’s holding back the <a href="http://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/39-4-6.pdf">transition</a> to renewable energy. Important reforms to modernise the market are on the way, but big energy companies are seeking to use the cover of COVID-19 to prevent the change.</p>
<p>This is bad for consumers, and for climate action. Reform would help create a modern grid <a href="https://relp.lexxion.eu/article/RELP/2011/2/44">designed</a> around clean energy, pushing coal-fired generators to retire earlier. Over time, it would also bring down power costs for households and business.</p>
<p>Renewable energy is the cheapest form of new electricity. It’s far better for the environment than coal and gas, and can deliver reliable supplies when backed by batteries and other energy storage. </p>
<p>Instead of delaying reform, Australia should be advancing it.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342051/original/file-20200616-23235-82b1p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342051/original/file-20200616-23235-82b1p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342051/original/file-20200616-23235-82b1p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342051/original/file-20200616-23235-82b1p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342051/original/file-20200616-23235-82b1p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342051/original/file-20200616-23235-82b1p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342051/original/file-20200616-23235-82b1p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wind and solar energy is better for the environment, and consumers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tim Wimborne/Reuters</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s this all about?</h2>
<p>Regulators and governments recognise the need to modernise the rules governing the National Electricity Market. That market, established in 1998, supplies all Australian jurisdictions except Western Australia and the Northern Territory.</p>
<p>Reliable electricity requires that supply and demand be kept in balance. This balance is primarily provided by a system known as the <a href="https://www.aemc.gov.au/sites/default/files/content//Five-Minute-Settlement-directions-paper-fact-sheet-FINAL.PDF">wholesale spot market</a>. Every five minutes, electricity generators bid into the spot market, specifying how much energy they will provide at a certain price. </p>
<p>An entire <a href="http://www.coagenergycouncil.gov.au/publications/post-2025-market-design-national-electricity-market-nem">redesign</a> of the market rules is scheduled for 2025. This should make the market work efficiently and reliably as coal retires and is replaced by renewable energy.</p>
<p>In the meantime, one important rule change is due to start in July next year, known as “<a href="https://www.aemc.gov.au/rule-changes/five-minute-settlement">5-minute settlement</a>”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/matt-canavan-says-australia-doesnt-subsidise-the-fossil-fuel-industry-an-expert-says-it-does-131200">Matt Canavan says Australia doesn't subsidise the fossil fuel industry, an expert says it does</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Currently, electricity is sold and sent out from generators in 5-minute blocks. But the actual price paid for this electricity in the wholesale market is averaged every 30 minutes. This means there are six dispatch periods, each with their own price, which are then averaged out when the market is settled. </p>
<p>This strange design has enabled big electricity generators to <a href="https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0140988316301839">game the market</a>. One method involves placing high bids in the first interval, then placing low or even negative bids in the remaining five intervals. This ensures that electricity from the big generators is purchased, but that they and all other generators receive an artificially high average price for the whole 30-minute period.</p>
<p>In 2017, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) <a href="https://www.aemc.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/97d09813-a07c-49c3-9c55-288baf8936af/ERC0201-Five-Minute-Settlement-Final-Determination.PDF">decided</a> to replace 30-minute settlement with 5-minute settlement.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.aemc.gov.au/sites/default/files/content//Five-Minute-Settlement-directions-paper-fact-sheet-FINAL.PDF">The commission says</a> the current system was adopted more than 20 years ago due to technological barriers which have since been overcome. It argues moving to 5-minute settlement would better reflect the value to consumers of fast-response technologies, such as batteries storing renewable energy and so-called “demand response” (a concept we’ll explain later).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342058/original/file-20200616-23247-kd09nn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342058/original/file-20200616-23247-kd09nn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342058/original/file-20200616-23247-kd09nn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342058/original/file-20200616-23247-kd09nn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342058/original/file-20200616-23247-kd09nn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342058/original/file-20200616-23247-kd09nn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342058/original/file-20200616-23247-kd09nn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rule change would reduce power costs for consumers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brendan Esposito/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.aemc.gov.au/rule-changes/five-minute-settlement">According to</a> the AEMC, the rule change would lead to lower wholesale costs, cutting electricity prices for consumers.</p>
<p>But on March 19 this year, the Australian Energy Council, which represents most coal-fired power stations and the big three electricity retailers, sought to delay the reform. It wrote to federal energy minister Angus Taylor and his state counterparts, arguing the pandemic means energy companies must focus on “<a href="https://www.energycouncil.com.au/analysis/covid-19-brings-reform-challenges/">critical supply and reliabilty</a>” issues, rather than implementing the rule change. </p>
<p>But energy consumption has <a href="https://www.tai.org.au/content/national-energy-emissions-audit-april-2020">barely changed</a> during the pandemic, the Australia Institute’s national energy emissions audit shows. So delaying the reform to deal with supply and reliability issues appears unjustified.</p>
<p>Despite this, the Australian Energy Market Operator has proposed delaying the change for a year. Our <a href="https://www.tai.org.au/content/delaying-energy-market-reform-increase-costs-slow-transition-renewables-think-tank-industry">submission</a>, endorsed by energy and technology leaders, opposes the delay. </p>
<p>Moves by regulators to delay another <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/regulators-flag-delays-to-16-energy-reform-projects-as-fossil-fuel-interests-dig-in-15284/">16 market reforms</a> due to COVID-19 also seem to be afoot.</p>
<h2>Change is possible</h2>
<p>Last week, one big rule change to the National Electricity Market <em>did</em> proceed as planned. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-11/customers-paid-for-reducing-electricity-demand-radical-change/12343790">It allows</a> “demand response” energy trading from 2021.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tai.org.au/content/finkel%E2%80%99s-forgotten-finding-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%98negawatts%E2%80%99">Demand response</a> involves reducing energy consumption during peaks in demand, such as during heatwaves. Basically, the rule means big energy users, such as smelters and manufacturing plants, could power down in these periods, and be paid for doing so.</p>
<p>Technology pioneers such as battery entrepreneur <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/covid-19-may-delay-national-electricity-market-reform-20200419-p54l3s">Simon Hackett</a> and Atlassian chief <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/ambitious-energy-reforms-set-to-cut-household-power-bills-20200611-p551rs.html">Mike Cannon-Brookes</a> have backed this change. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1267305793033867265"}"></div></p>
<p>Australia has successfully used demand response to provide <a href="https://arena.gov.au/assets/2019/03/demand-response-rert-trial-year-1-report.pdf">emergency</a> electricity capacity and <a href="https://www.afr.com/news/demand-response-worth-half-a-liddell-to-energy-queensland-20180404-h0ybij">other</a> <a href="https://www.aemc.gov.au/rule-changes/demand-response-mechanism">benefits</a>. But it’s never been unleashed in the wholesale energy market.</p>
<p>The rule change doesn’t involve smaller users such as households. But it’s a promising start that creates new competition for fossil fuel generators and allows energy users to help make the grid more reliable.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-demand-response-energy-rules-sound-good-but-the-devil-is-in-the-hugely-complicated-details-120676">New demand-response energy rules sound good, but the devil is in the (hugely complicated) details</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Political warfare over climate policy has held back Australia, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8500.12328">and the electricity market</a>, for more than a decade. But energy reform that encourages greater market competition can readily be supported by political conservatives.</p>
<p>The demand-response rule change is a clear example: it has been <a href="https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/taylor/media-releases/wholesale-demand-response-help-lower-costs-and-strengthen-energy">championed by Taylor</a> and his predecessors <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-13/negawatts-touted-as-solution-to-growing-energy/8707232">Josh Frydenberg</a> and <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/coalition-seeks-deal-to-cut-power-demand/news-story/5b7a3dd86ddf11c91d5f817405bb43a9">Greg Hunt</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338473/original/file-20200529-51456-mfb7ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338473/original/file-20200529-51456-mfb7ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338473/original/file-20200529-51456-mfb7ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338473/original/file-20200529-51456-mfb7ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338473/original/file-20200529-51456-mfb7ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338473/original/file-20200529-51456-mfb7ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338473/original/file-20200529-51456-mfb7ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Newly built renewable electricity is cheaper than new coal-fired power.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Petr Josek/Reuters</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Getting future-ready</h2>
<p>Once the health crisis is over and economic recovery has begun, Australia will need the economic and social benefits of electricity market reform even more than before.</p>
<p>Such reform “<a href="https://www.tai.org.au/content/energy-reform-after-covid-19">stimulus</a>” would help ready the grid for the inevitable retirement of coal-fired power stations, such as Liddell in 2023. </p>
<p>It would also align with state government investments in renewable energy, and boost private investment in new generation (which has <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/cec-calls-for-action-on-grid-issues-as-renewables-investment-cut-in-half-28289/">recently slumped</a>) and <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2020/05/26/coronavirus-manufacturing-industry/">large-scale batteries</a>.</p>
<p>Electricity remains Australia’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-to-attend-climate-summit-empty-handed-despite-un-pleas-to-come-with-a-plan-123187">highest-polluting sector</a>. Around the world, electricity markets are planning the <a href="https://www.ren21.net/renewables-report-launch/">transition</a> from high to low emissions. </p>
<p>Delaying reform in Australia would be a major setback on the path to our essential energy transition.</p>
<p><em>Richie Merzian, Climate & Energy Program Director at The Australia Institute, contributed to this piece.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/putting-stimulus-spending-to-the-test-4-ways-a-smart-government-can-create-jobs-and-cut-emissions-140339">Putting stimulus spending to the test: 4 ways a smart government can create jobs and cut emissions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140640/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel J Cass is Energy Policy & Regulatory Lead at the Australia Institute and is on the board of Solar Head of State.</span></em></p>The rules governing Australia’s electricity market are more than 20 years old and no longer serve consumers, or climate action. But big energy companies are using COVID-19 to delay reform.Daniel J Cass, Research Affiliate, Sydney Business School, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1308992020-02-17T13:07:42Z2020-02-17T13:07:42ZAfrica’s growing lead battery industry is causing extensive contamination<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314726/original/file-20200211-146674-1i9yu18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Serious lead poisoning cases are a growing problem on the continent. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GeetyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Africa is facing a serious lead poisoning problem. In Senegal, for example, researchers <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2897224/">linked the deaths</a> of children from processing lead waste to supply a lead battery recycling plant in a poor suburb of Dakar. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/woman-risking-her-life-save-village-lead-poisoning">Kenya</a>, the legacy of a shutdown lead-recycling plant is causing major health problems for people living in the neighbourhood. And in <a href="https://businessday.ng/businessday-investigation/businessday-investigation-f/article/dying-in-instalments-how-lead-battery-recyclers-are-poisoning-nigerians-part-i/">Nigeria</a> an investigation by journalists showed how lead battery recycling facilities were poisoning workers and the people living in the area. </p>
<p>The problem is growing along with the market for <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/259447/9789241512855-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">lead batteries</a>. This is due to lack of regulation and investment in environmentally sound battery recycling plants. Most facilities in Africa are small. They weren’t built with adequate pollution controls to prevent disasters and ongoing contamination.</p>
<p>The production of lead batteries is <a href="https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/africa-lead-acid-battery-market.html">growing rapidly</a> in Africa as the market for lead batteries expands. <a href="https://www.ila-lead.org/lead-facts/lead-uses--statistics">Global lead output</a> continues to grow, with about 85% production going to make batteries.</p>
<p>We conducted a study around lead battery recycling plants in Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania and Tunisia. Our results <a href="http://www.okinternational.org/docs/Lead%20Soil%207%20Countries%202018.pdf">showed</a> significant lead contamination around 15 licensed battery recycling plants. This shows that informal sector recycling is not the only source of lead pollution.</p>
<p>Other <a href="http://www.okinternational.org/docs/Gottesfeld%20JOEH%202011%20final.pdf">studies</a> have also reported excessive emissions from lead acid battery manufacturing and recycling plants in low and middle-income countries. </p>
<p>Our findings contribute to the growing body of research in documenting lead contamination around licensed recycling plants across Africa. This underscores the need for urgent action. This should include putting in place regulatory systems. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314727/original/file-20200211-146674-1giotfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A typical lead battery recycling plant without adequate pollution controls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Occupational Knowledge International</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Growing problem</h2>
<p>At the 15 facilities we tested, 85% of the soil sampled from inside and outside the plants exceeded 80 parts per million (ppm). This is the health hazard level used in <a href="https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/crnr/leadchhsl091709.pdf">California</a>. Piles of used battery cases and waste slag (residues) were responsible for some of the soil contamination. But excessive airborne emissions are the largest source. </p>
<p>This extensive soil lead contamination is a significant source of human exposure across the region. We found that these hazardous sites are often adjacent to residential areas, agricultural and grazing lands. </p>
<p>In recent years, the <a href="http://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/11183/K1607167_UNEPEA2_RES7E.pdf?Sequence=1&isAllowed=y">United Nations Environment Assembly</a> has begun to recognise the growing threat of lead battery recycling to public health and the environment. In <a href="http://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/11183/K1607167_UNEPEA2_RES7E.pdf?Sequence=1&isAllowed=y">2016</a>, it passed a resolution noting the lack of adequate infrastructure needed to recycle the rapidly growing number of used lead-acid batteries. It noted that there was a “need to further reduce releases, emissions and exposures”.</p>
<p>Despite this call and the urgent need for continued intervention, there’s been minimal effort by African governments.</p>
<p>Unlike electronic waste, lead battery recycling is a profitable enterprise that can be safely done without any subsidies. Countries such as <a href="http://www.okinternational.org/docs/China%20Lead%20Battery%20Report%20IPE%20English%20Revised.pdf">China</a> have enforced minimum size requirements for recycling facilities to ensure that adequate emission control technology can be cost effective. </p>
<p>In the US and Europe effective take-back schemes ensure that lead batteries are collected back at the end of their useful life. These measures are key to ensuring that used batteries go to regulated facilities and aren’t diverted to the informal sector.</p>
<h2>What is needed</h2>
<p>Our research points to the need for regional and national level action across the continent. This should include the establishment of comprehensive industry-specific regulations. </p>
<p>There must be performance requirements in place for stack emissions, ambient air levels, minimum production capacity for new and existing recycling plants and occupational exposure limits for airborne emissions and blood lead levels.</p>
<p>There’s also a need to attract investment to build efficient facilities with proper emission control technology. Along with these measures, governments should put strategies that should require manufacturers and distributors to take back used batteries in order to consolidate this hazardous waste stream. </p>
<p>Without formal collection systems there’s no financial incentive for battery recycling companies to invest in suitable infrastructure as they are competing against the informal sector. </p>
<p>As <a href="http://www.okinternational.org/docs/Lead%20Soil%207%20Countries%202018.pdf">our study</a> shows, land use restrictions in most countries on the continent have been ineffective in separating hazardous recycling plants from residential areas. This has resulted in harm to human health. </p>
<p>The industry needs to be more transparent. Battery makers and recyclers should report emissions and alert the public about soil lead contamination. </p>
<p>The remediation of contaminated soils under these circumstance is complex and costly. The regulatory system should ensure that financial resources are available for the anticipated cost of remediation following plant closure.</p>
<p>Comprehensive awareness programmes about the associated health impacts are critical to the communities since most contaminated sites only come to light after reported deaths or cases of severe lead poisoning are identified. </p>
<p><em>Perry Gottesfeld, the Executive Director of Occupational Knowledge International, was a co-author of the research and also contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130899/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Faridah Hussein Were consults for UN Environment where she receives funding to enhance environmentally sound management of used lead acid battery activities. </span></em></p>Unregulated and hazardous lead acid battery manufacturing and recycling plants are often adjacent to residential areas, agricultural and grazing lands.Faridah Hussein Were, Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of NairobiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1255592019-10-23T19:11:44Z2019-10-23T19:11:44ZSome good news for a change: Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are set to fall<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298239/original/file-20191023-149570-1n2a07y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C0%2C5961%2C4016&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Renewable energy being installed at a community in the Northern Territory. Researchers have predicted Australia's emissions are set to fall, but warn the renewables deployment rate must continue.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lucy Hughes-Jones/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the past few years, Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions have <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-30/emissions-drop-but-year-long-trend-on-the-rise/11464816">headed in the wrong direction</a>. The upward trajectory has come amid overwhelming evidence that the world must bring carbon dioxide emissions down. But the trend is set to change.</p>
<p>In a policy brief released today, we predict that Australia’s greenhouse gas <a href="http://re100.eng.anu.edu.au/resources/assets/191024Emissionsarepeaking.pdf">emissions will peak during 2019-20</a> at the equivalent of about 540 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.</p>
<p>After a brief plateau, we expect they will decline by 3-4% over 2020-22, and perhaps much more in the following years - if backed by government policy. </p>
<p>The peak will occur because Australia’s world-leading deployment of solar and wind energy is displacing fossil fuel combustion. Emissions from the electricity sector are about to fall much faster than increases in emissions from all other sectors combined.</p>
<p>This is a message of hope for rapid reduction of emissions at low cost. But we cannot rest on our laurels. If renewable energy deployment stops or slows, emissions may rise again.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297855/original/file-20191021-56194-f2reah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297855/original/file-20191021-56194-f2reah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297855/original/file-20191021-56194-f2reah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297855/original/file-20191021-56194-f2reah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297855/original/file-20191021-56194-f2reah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297855/original/file-20191021-56194-f2reah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297855/original/file-20191021-56194-f2reah.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 1: Historical and projected total Australian emissions in megatonnes of CO2 (equivalent) per year. Black line: Government emissions projections which assume solar and wind deplpoyment almost stops. Green line: Deployment continues at the current rate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ANU</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Australia: a renewables superstar</h2>
<p>Deployment of solar and wind energy is the cheapest and quickest way to make deep emissions cuts because of its low and falling cost. Higher deployment rates would yield deeper emissions cuts, but this requires supportive government policy.</p>
<p>Wind and solar constitute about <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8836526">two-thirds</a> of global net new electricity capacity. Gas, hydro and coal comprise most of the balance. Solar and wind comprise virtually all new generation capacity in Australia because they are cheaper than alternatives.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-the-runaway-global-leader-in-building-new-renewable-energy-123694">Australia is the runaway global leader in building new renewable energy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Australia is a <a href="http://theconversation.com/australia-is-the-runaway-global-leader-in-building-new-renewable-energy-123694">global renewable energy superstar</a> because it is installing new solar and wind capacity four to fives times faster per capita than China, the European Union, Japan or the United States. This allows Australia to stabilise and then reduce its greenhouse emissions and sends a globally important message.</p>
<p>Figure 2 shows the rapid increase in the proportion of solar and wind energy from 2018 in the <a href="http://theconversation.com/the-national-electricity-market-has-served-its-purpose-its-time-to-move-on-80973">National Electricity Market</a>, which covers the eastern states and comprises about 85% of national electricity generation. The proportion of renewable energy generation has reached 25%, including hydro. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297857/original/file-20191021-56234-jxzkmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297857/original/file-20191021-56234-jxzkmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297857/original/file-20191021-56234-jxzkmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297857/original/file-20191021-56234-jxzkmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297857/original/file-20191021-56234-jxzkmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297857/original/file-20191021-56234-jxzkmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297857/original/file-20191021-56234-jxzkmu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 2: Monthly solar and wind fraction of electricity generation in the NEM over 2014-19 showing sharp increase in 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ANU</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We are confident Australia’s emissions will fall in 2020, 2021 and probably 2022 because 16-17 gigawatts of wind and solar is <a href="http://theconversation.com/australia-is-the-runaway-global-leader-in-building-new-renewable-energy-123694">locked in</a> for deployment in 2018-20. This reduces emissions in the electricity sector by about 10 million tonnes a year.</p>
<p>The federal government projects that emissions outside the electricity system will increase by about <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/publications/emissions-projections-2018">3 million tonnes per year</a> on average over the 2020s. The difference leaves an overall decline of 7 million tonnes of emissions per year.</p>
<h2>100% clean electricity is within our grasp</h2>
<p>Beyond our projections for the next few years, continued falls in emissions are not assured. The emissions trajectory for 2022 and beyond depends largely on the level of renewables deployed.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/publications/emissions-projections-2018">Federal government projections</a> assume solar and wind deployment almost stops in the 2020s. This would mean annual emissions increase from current levels to 563 million tonnes in 2030.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298240/original/file-20191023-149608-8q1sb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298240/original/file-20191023-149608-8q1sb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298240/original/file-20191023-149608-8q1sb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298240/original/file-20191023-149608-8q1sb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298240/original/file-20191023-149608-8q1sb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298240/original/file-20191023-149608-8q1sb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298240/original/file-20191023-149608-8q1sb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wind turbines adjacent to the Tesla batteries at Jamestown, north of Adelaide, in 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">DAVID MARIUZ/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But it doesn’t need to be this way. If the current renewables deployment rate continued, Australia would reach 50% renewable electricity in 2024, and potentially 80% renewables in 2030. This transformation would be <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544217309568">technically straightforward and affordable</a>. It requires governments, mostly the federal government, to encourage more transmission power lines to deliver renewable electricity to where it’s needed. Other off-the-shelf methods to support renewables include energy storage such as <a href="http://re100.eng.anu.edu.au/global/index.php">pumped hydro</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-can-teslas-giant-south-australian-battery-achieve-80738">batteries</a>, and managing electricity demand.</p>
<p>The benefits of a consistent renewables rollout would be large. Australia’s electricity emissions in 2030 would be 100 million tonnes lower than government projections and the nation would meet its <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/publications/factsheet-australias-2030-climate-change-target">Paris target</a> of a 26-28% emissions reduction between 2005 and 2030. This could be achieved without the controversial proposal to carry over carbon credits earned in the Kyoto Protocol period.</p>
<p>It should be noted that changes in land clearing rates or coal and gas mining or economic activity would also affect future national emissions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298241/original/file-20191023-149541-1b6e4uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298241/original/file-20191023-149541-1b6e4uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298241/original/file-20191023-149541-1b6e4uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298241/original/file-20191023-149541-1b6e4uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298241/original/file-20191023-149541-1b6e4uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298241/original/file-20191023-149541-1b6e4uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298241/original/file-20191023-149541-1b6e4uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Electricity infrastructure at the Snowy Hydro scheme. Such hydro projects are key to firming up intermittent renewable energy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lukas Coch/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The emissions road ahead</h2>
<p>Continued rapid deployment of solar and wind requires that governments enable construction of adequate electricity transmission and storage.</p>
<p>State governments should also continue efforts to establish <a href="https://www.dnrme.qld.gov.au/energy/initiatives/powering-queensland">renewable energy zones</a>, with or without cooperation from the federal government. These zones would be located where there is good wind, sun and pumped hydro energy storage, bringing sustainable investment and jobs to regional areas. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/governments-took-the-hard-road-on-clean-energy-and-consumers-are-feeling-the-bumps-124575">Governments took the hard road on clean energy – and consumers are feeling the bumps</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the longer term, solar and wind can <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8836526">cut national emissions by two-thirds</a>. Beyond the electricity sector, this involves electrifying motor vehicles, residential heating and cooling and industrial heating. National emissions could be cut by another 10% by stopping exports of fossil fuels, which creates fugitive emissions.</p>
<p>It is clear that solar and wind are the most practical route, globally and in Australia, to cheap, rapid and deep emissions cuts - and government policy will be key.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125559/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Blakers receives funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and similar organisations</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Stocks receives funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, the Australia-German Energy Transition Hub and the ANU Grand Challege - Zero Carbon for the Asia-Pacific. The opinions in this article do not necessary reflect the views of the funding agencies. </span></em></p>Australia’s renewables revolution proves that there’s cause for hope in our emissions reduction goals. But we cannot rest on our laurels.Andrew Blakers, Professor of Engineering, Australian National UniversityMatthew Stocks, Research Fellow, ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1250092019-10-09T17:21:35Z2019-10-09T17:21:35ZNobel Prize in Chemistry: how lithium ion battery inventors changed the world<p>This year’s <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2019/summary/">Nobel Prize in Chemistry</a> is shared by Michael Stanley Whittingham, John Bannister Goodenough and Akira Yoshino. These three world-leading scientists deserve enormous credit for their contributions to lithium ion battery (LIB) technology. The decision to award more than one person correctly reflects the fact that this technology did not appear at once out of the dungeon laboratory of an individual genius, but rather is a history of systematic problem solving.</p>
<p>LIBs have had a huge impact on our society. They enabled modern portable electronics such as laptops and mobile phones. And they are now enabling clean and low-carbon transport, be it via electric cars or even <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/16/electric-flying-taxi-prototype-unveiled-by-german-start-up">flying taxis</a>, and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/utility-scale-energy-storage-will-enable-a-renewable-grid/">grid-scale storage</a> of renewable energy.</p>
<p>The success of LIBs is explained by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-lithium-ion-batteries-work-99164">way batteries work</a>. A battery cell releases the energy from a chemical reaction in the form of electricity. If the internal reaction is a powerful one, this yields a high voltage. And if the materials in the cell don’t claim too much space and are not too heavy either, this gives it a high-energy density in terms of volume and weight.</p>
<p>Lithium is a very reactive element and the lightest metal on the periodic table, so it ticks both these boxes. This is why LIBs rapidly became a crucial part of electronics after <a href="http://jes.ecsdl.org/content/164/1/A5019.full">their commercialisation</a> in the early 1990s.</p>
<p>Using lithium for electrochemical energy storage is a no-brainer on the back of an envelope. But that very reactivity that boosts the energy content also makes it very difficult to build a cell that can be safely kept in charged state, drained of its energy via electric current, and then returned to charged state just by feeding back that current.</p>
<p>Whittingham took a chance way ahead of time, in the 1970s, by developing and later commercialising (via Exxon) the <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/192/4244/1126">first lithium-based rechargeable battery</a>. It relied on the compound titanium disulfide (TiS₂), which not only conducts electricity but can also host lithium in its crystal lattice. </p>
<p>If a piece of lithium is placed next to a piece of TiS₂ in a substance known as an electrolyte, the metal will dissolve and charged particles of lithium known as lithium ions will spontaneously move into and stay in the TiS₂. At the same time, electrons are transferred from the lithium metal (the negative electrode) to the TiS₂ (the positive electrode), which allows us to draw a current from the battery.</p>
<p>During the recharge process, the current is reversed and lithium is forced out of the TiS₂ and back to the metal deposit. But one of the peculiarities of lithium is its tendency to form needles and dendrites (long branching structures) during this recharging process. Those can cause internal short circuits, and this made the <a href="https://qz.com/338767/the-man-who-brought-us-the-lithium-ion-battery-at-57-has-an-idea-for-a-new-one-at-92/">first generation of rechargeable lithium batteries</a> inherently unsafe.</p>
<p>Goodenough discovered in the 1980s that lithium cobalt oxide was a better alternative to TiS₂ in a LIB. This material contains lithium but is less reactive with its environment and so easier to handle in the manufacturing process. Lithium cobalt oxide became the “father” material of most modern commercial LIBs and powered the <a href="https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/2-13.html">first generations of cell phones</a>. </p>
<p>Today, even cutting-edge high-energy electrodes – <a href="https://researchinterfaces.com/know-next-generation-nmc-811-cathode/">such as NMC 811</a> – that boost the range of the next generation of electric vehicles are essentially made from lithium cobalt oxide with the cobalt largely replaced by nickel and manganese in an otherwise similar crystal structure. Cobalt mines are rare and often associated with <a href="https://theconversation.com/fairtrade-renewable-energy-shedding-light-on-clean-energys-dirty-secrets-100263">poor</a> working conditions, so there’s an added advantage in being able to avoid using this metal. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296279/original/file-20191009-3872-sx3k52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296279/original/file-20191009-3872-sx3k52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296279/original/file-20191009-3872-sx3k52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296279/original/file-20191009-3872-sx3k52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296279/original/file-20191009-3872-sx3k52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296279/original/file-20191009-3872-sx3k52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296279/original/file-20191009-3872-sx3k52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lithium-ion batteries enabled the smartphone revolution.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/wireless-charging-smartphone-3d-render-370105112?src=bEgBfz8O_Ut7mH-PgCjdYg-1-39">Sashkin/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then in the late 1980s, Yoshino built the first commercially viable rechargeable lithium battery that used <a href="https://www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/asahi/en/r_and_d/interview/yoshino/pdf/lithium-ion_battery.pdf">graphite instead of metallic lithium</a> as the negative electrode. In this architecture, also used in modern cells, lithium travels between two different host structures: lithium cobalt oxide and graphite. This (in principle) eliminates metallic lithium and so you don’t get dendrite formation. </p>
<p>Yoshino also deserves credit for developing the architecture that enabled the use of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-017-0033-8">organic electrolytes</a>, delivering voltages that are more than twice as large as those with traditional water-based electrolytes. But the poor conductivity of organic electrolytes means the positive and negative electrodes must be thin and placed close together.</p>
<p>Yoshino found ways of coating the active electrode materials on thin metal foils, and was able to to separate positive and negative electrodes by a thin mesh. Only that way could the first generation of LIBs compete with the energy and power performance of the nickel metal hydride batteries that dominated portable electronics in the early 1990s.</p>
<h2>Shared success</h2>
<p>Goodenough and Yoshino already share the <a href="https://www.nae.edu/105792/2014-Charles-Stark-Draper-Prize-for-Engineering-Recipients">2014 Charles Stark Draper Prize</a>, which also went to Rachid Yazami and Yoshio Nishi. Those two deserve credit for their findings and inventions that enabled the use of graphite electrodes and that brought LIBs to mass market, respectively. </p>
<p>The success of LIBs also had some indirect helpers which should be remembered in view of future technology commercialisations. In the 1990s, modern microelectronics made it possible to unite video cameras and tape recorders in a single device. Suddenly, battery weight and longevity became product design bottlenecks in a lucrative growing market, which then <a href="https://www.batterypoweronline.com/articles/the-lithium-ion-inflection-point">fuelled demand</a> for LIBs.</p>
<p>At the same time, rewriteable CDs and DVDs were causing the beginning of the end of the audio and video tape business. But the coating processes and the machines used to build the first LIBs <a href="https://qz.com/433131/the-story-of-the-invention-that-could-revolutionize-batteries-and-maybe-american-manufacturing-as-well/">were adapted from magnetic tape manufacturing</a>. So it’s not clear if LIBs would have succeeded without that pre-existing manufacturing expertise. </p>
<p>The latest challenge is to scale LIB mass-production from portable electronics to the automotive and energy markets, and this requires concerted global efforts. The three deserving Nobel laureates must surely be happy to see the fruits of their work inspire research projects such as “<a href="https://www.jcesr.org/">JCESR</a>”, “<a href="https://battery2030.eu/">Batteries 2030+</a>” and the <a href="https://faraday.ac.uk">Faraday Institution</a>. This work has just begun.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Harry Hoster is Director of the Research Centre "Energy Lancaster" at Lancaster University. He is a co-founder and Technical Director of Altelium Ltd., specialising on battery warranty and battery data. He receives funding from The Faraday Institution and Innovate UK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. </span></em></p>M. Stanley Whittingham, John B. Goodenough and Akira Yoshino made the batteries in our pockets possible.Harry Hoster, Director of Energy Lancaster and Professor of Physical Chemistry, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1174212019-06-17T02:07:51Z2019-06-17T02:07:51ZThere’s a looming waste crisis from Australia’s solar energy boom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276533/original/file-20190527-40038-1vf0im7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C2%2C1376%2C912&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rooftop solar has boomed, but soalr panels only last about 20 years. What happens to the waste? </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/enecomedia/5600325194">Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Australians seek to <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-two-decades-to-avoid-the-most-damaging-impacts-of-climate-change-104409">control rising energy costs</a> and tackle the damaging impacts of climate change, rooftop solar has boomed. </p>
<p>To manage the variability of rooftop solar – broadly, the “no power at night” problem – we will also see a rapid increase in battery storage.</p>
<p>The question is: what will happen to these panels and batteries once they reach the end of their life?</p>
<p>If not addressed, ageing solar panels and batteries will create a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/waste-crisis-looms-as-thousands-of-solar-panels-reach-end-of-life-20190112-p50qzd.html">mountain of hazardous waste for Australia</a> over the coming decades.</p>
<p>Our research, published recently in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652618336321">Journal of Cleaner Production</a>, looked at the barriers to managing solar panel waste, and how to improve it. </p>
<h2>A potentially toxic problem</h2>
<p>Solar panels generally last about 20 years. And lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries, which will be the most common battery storage for solar, last between five and 15 years. Many solar panels have already been retired, but battery waste will start to emerge more significantly in 2025. By 2050 the projected amount of waste from retired solar panels in Australia is over 1,500 kilotonnes (kT). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275370/original/file-20190520-69189-10eryit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275370/original/file-20190520-69189-10eryit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275370/original/file-20190520-69189-10eryit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275370/original/file-20190520-69189-10eryit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275370/original/file-20190520-69189-10eryit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275370/original/file-20190520-69189-10eryit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275370/original/file-20190520-69189-10eryit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mass of end of life solar panels (a) and battery energy storage (b) 2020-2050.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Salim et al. 2019</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Solar panels and batteries contain valuable materials such as metals, glass, ruthenium, indium, tellurium, lead and lithium. </p>
<p>Recycling this waste will prevent environmental and human health problems, and save valuable resources for future use.</p>
<h2>Product stewardship</h2>
<p>Australia has a <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/product-stewardship/consultation-review-ps-act-incl-ntcrs">Product Stewardship Act</a>, which aims to establish a system of shared responsibility for those who make, sell and use a product to ensure that product does not end up harming the environment or people at the end of its life.</p>
<p>In 2016, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems were added to a <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/product-stewardship/legislation/product-list-2017-18">priority list</a> to be considered for a scheme design. This includes an assessment of voluntary, co-regulatory and regulatory pathways to manage the waste streams.</p>
<p>Sustainability Victoria (on behalf of the Victorian state government and with the support of states and territories) is leading a national investigation into a system of shared responsibility for end-of-life solar photovoltaic systems in Australia. Our research project has supported the assessment process.</p>
<p>Industries play a crucial role in the success of any product stewardship scheme. As we move into assessing and testing possible schemes, Australia’s PV sector (and other stakeholders) will have critical input. </p>
<p>A preferred product scope and stewardship approach will be presented to environment ministers. Scheme design and implementation activities are tentatively set to start in 2020.</p>
<h2>Moving towards a circular economy</h2>
<p>Federal and state environment ministers recently agreed to update the <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/d523f4e9-d958-466b-9fd1-3b7d6283f006/files/national-waste-policy-2018.pdf">National Waste Policy</a> to incorporate the principles of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-circular-economy-23298">circular economy</a>.</p>
<p>This approach aims to reduce the need for virgin raw materials, extend product life, maintain material quality at the highest level, prioritise reuse, and use renewable energy throughout the process.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-circular-economy-23298">Explainer: what is the circular economy?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Businesses in Australia currently have little incentive to innovate and improve the recycling rate. By helping implement circular business models such as lease, refurbishment and product-service systems, we can boost recycling, reduce collection costs and prolong tech lifetimes.</p>
<p>Requiring system manufacturers, importers or distributors to source solar panels and batteries designed for the environment makes both economic and environmental sense. By doing so, recyclers will recover more materials and achieve higher recirculation of recovered resources.</p>
<p>Consumers need to be provided with proper guidance and education for responsible end-of-life management of solar panels and batteries.</p>
<h2>Immature domestic recycling capability</h2>
<p>Now that <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-recycling-ban-throws-australia-into-a-very-messy-waste-crisis-95522">China is no longer accepting waste for recycling</a>, Australia needs to rapidly develop its domestic recycling industry. This will also spur job creation and contribute to the green economy.</p>
<p>Given Australia is struggling to recycle simple waste, such as cardboard and plastics, in a cost-effective way, we need to question our capability to deal with more complex solar PV and battery waste.</p>
<p>Australia currently has little capacity to recycle both <a href="http://reclaimpv.com/">solar panels</a> and <a href="https://envirostream.com.au/">batteries</a>.</p>
<p>And even if China were to suddenly start accepting Australia’s waste – an unlikely proposition – we cannot simply export our problem. As a signatory to the <a href="http://www.basel.int/Countries/StatusofRatifications/PartiesSignatories/tabid/4499/Default.aspx">Basel Convention</a>, exporting hazardous materials requires permits. </p>
<p>A previous study suggests half of Australia’s scrap metal is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0892687514003707">exported for overseas processing</a>, which indicates the lack of incentives for domestic recycling.</p>
<p>Even if we build domestic recycling capability for solar panels and batteries, it will be underused while landfills remain available as a low-cost disposal option. </p>
<p>It’s promising that South Australia and the ACT have banned certain e-waste categories from entering landfill, while Victoria will implement an all-encompassing e-waste landfill ban from July 1 2019. This means any end-of-life electrical or electronic device that requires an electromagnetic current to operate must be recycled.</p>
<p>Creating a circular economy for solar and battery waste will need a strong commitment from policymakers and industry. Ideally, we need to prioritise reuse and refurbishment <em>before</em> recycling.</p>
<p>If we combine sensible policies with proactive business strategy and education to promote recycling rates, we can have a reliable and truly sustainable source of renewable energy in this country.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Michael Dudley from Sustainability Victoria to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117421/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>No funding has been received for this project. Sustainability Victoria have been kindly providing in-kind support to assist the Griffith University research team to source relevant experts to participate in various research stages of this project.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hengky Salim and Oz Sahin do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia urgently needs to prepare for a coming tsunami of solar panel and battery waste.Rodney Stewart, Professor, Griffith School of Engineering, Griffith UniversityHengky Salim, PhD Candidate, Griffith UniversityOz Sahin, Senior Research Fellow, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1153472019-04-26T11:11:46Z2019-04-26T11:11:46ZWe accidentally created a new wonder material that could revolutionise batteries and electronics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269599/original/file-20190416-147525-19qqkmd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Phosphorene nanoribbons. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Oliver Payton/University of Bristol</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Some of the most famous scientific discoveries happened by accident. From Teflon and the microwave oven to penicillin, <a href="https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/4852/science-and-serendipity-famous-accidental-discoveries">scientists trying to solve a problem sometimes find unexpected things</a>. This is exactly how <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1074-x">we created</a> phosphorene nanoribbons – a material made from one of the universe’s basic building blocks, but that has the potential to revolutionise a wide range of technologies.</p>
<p>We’d been trying to separate layers of phosphorus crystals into two-dimensional sheets. Instead, our technique created tiny, tagliatelle-like ribbons one single atom thick and only 100 or so atoms across, but up to 100,000 atoms long. We spent three years honing the production process, before <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1074-x">announcing our findings</a>.</p>
<p>The two-dimensional ribbons have a number of remarkable properties. Their width to length ratio is similar to the cables that span the Golden Gate Bridge. Their incredibly uniform but manipulable width allows their properties, such as whether and how they conduct electricity, to be fine-tuned. They are also incredibly flexible, which means that they can follow the contours of any surfaces they’re put on perfectly, and even be twisted.</p>
<h2>Transformative potential</h2>
<p>More than 100 scientific papers predicted the transformative potential of these nanoribbons, should it be possible to create them, across a range of technologies – some as many as five years prior to the publishing of our discovery in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1074-x">Nature</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270789/original/file-20190424-121228-14jb5st.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270789/original/file-20190424-121228-14jb5st.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270789/original/file-20190424-121228-14jb5st.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270789/original/file-20190424-121228-14jb5st.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270789/original/file-20190424-121228-14jb5st.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270789/original/file-20190424-121228-14jb5st.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270789/original/file-20190424-121228-14jb5st.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The one-atom thick wonder ribbons twisting through a carbon grid.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mitch Watts/UCL</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Perhaps the most important of these is in the area of <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b02130">battery technology</a>. The corrugated structure of phosphorene nanoribbons means that the charged ions that power batteries could soon move up to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378775315304468">1000 times faster</a> than currently possible. This would mean a significant decrease in charging time, alongside an increase in capacity of approximately 50%. Such performance gains would provide <a href="https://theconversation.com/flying-cars-could-cut-emissions-replace-planes-and-free-up-roads-but-not-soon-enough-115123">massive boosts</a> to the electric car and aircraft industries, and allow us to much better harness renewable energy to <a href="https://theconversation.com/despite-good-progress-100-low-carbon-energy-is-still-a-long-way-off-for-the-uk-114949">eliminate reliance</a> on fossil fuels even on grey, calm days.</p>
<p>It also means that in future, batteries could use <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aenm.201702849">sodium ions</a> instead of lithium ions. Known lithium reserves may not be able to meet huge projected increases in battery demand, and extraction of the metal can be <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact">environmentally harmful</a>. Sodium, by contrast, is abundant and cheap. </p>
<p>The field of electronics may also be thankful for nanoribbons. Moore’s law observes that computer processing power doubles every two years, but this rate is <a href="https://theconversation.com/moores-law-is-50-years-old-but-will-it-continue-44511">in danger of slowing down</a> as the physical limits of materials are being fast approached. Using <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00793-8?utm_source=twt_nnc&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=naturenews&sf209440816=1">‘2D’ materials</a> like ours could redefine these limits, allowing us to make ever-smaller and faster devices.</p>
<p>The ribbons could solve another major roadblock in this area – how to electrically connect nanomaterials without creating large resistance (and therefore energy loss) at the joins. Several-layer thick versions of phosphorene nanoribbons can be seamlessly split into ribbons with different heights and electrical properties, circumventing the usual engineering requirements of connections. Thanks to this, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nnano.2014.257">high-efficiency solar cells</a> could now be much closer to entering into reality.</p>
<p>The phosphorene nanoribbons’ flexibility and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep06452">thermoelectric properties</a> mean that they could also be embedded in wearable fabrics, and used to convert <a href="http://news.mit.edu/2010/explained-thermoelectricity-0427">waste heat into useful electricity</a>. For example, we could soon see thermoelectric t-shirts that function as heart and blood sugar level monitors, all powered by body heat alone.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270793/original/file-20190424-121237-f9rype.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270793/original/file-20190424-121237-f9rype.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270793/original/file-20190424-121237-f9rype.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270793/original/file-20190424-121237-f9rype.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270793/original/file-20190424-121237-f9rype.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270793/original/file-20190424-121237-f9rype.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/270793/original/file-20190424-121237-f9rype.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A thick phosphorene ribbon splitting into two thinner ribbons.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Freddie Russell-Pavier/University of Bristol</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The technology could unlock the potential of hydrogen as an efficient and low-carbon fuel. The gas is abundantly available in water and only produces oxygen as a byproduct when extracted. However, finding a way to do this cheaply has thus far eluded scientists. Water molecules can be split through a process called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvMEbSKn1Sw">photocatalysis</a>, but the method requires a material that absorbs lots of light, and whose energy properties match up well with water. Nanoribbons are predicted to have exactly these qualities, as well as a high surface area that would maximise contact with water, making it a promising candidate to <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.7b08474">crack the hydrogen-production conundrum</a>.</p>
<p>Encouragingly, phosphorene nanoribbons have already navigated major obstacles on the route to commercialisation. Finding a scalable production method like ours takes years for most new materials, and some never see the light of day. Added to this, phosphorus is a relatively abundant and easily extracted material in the Earth’s crust. And since our ribbons are already formed in liquids, inks or paints can easily be produced to manipulate them at scale using low-cost methods such as spray-coating or <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1143/APEX.4.115101/pdf">ink-jet printing</a>.</p>
<p>Producing these ribbons is however just the first step towards revolutionising the above technologies. Much research now needs to be carried out to test theoretical predictions, and investigate the extent to which the properties of the ribbons can be tailored for specific applications. As the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nmat3594">20-year plus journeys</a> of Teflon, lithium batteries, and Velcro show us, the road from discovery to use can be long. But with society <a href="https://theconversation.com/despite-good-progress-100-low-carbon-energy-is-still-a-long-way-off-for-the-uk-114949">increasingly moving away</a> from fossil fuels, we expect that road to soon be well-travelled.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115347/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Howard is an academic working for University College London. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mitch Watts is a PhD student working for UCL</span></em></p>Phosphorene nanoribbons are like tagliatelle, but carry the potential to boost battery capacity by 50%.Chris Howard, Associate Professor, UCLMitch Watts, PhD Candidate - Production, characterisation and simulation of few layer black phosphorus, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1057392018-11-29T19:10:20Z2018-11-29T19:10:20ZHappy birthday, SA’s big battery, and many happy returns (of your recyclable parts)<p>A year ago today, Tesla’s big battery in South Australia <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-30/sa-tesla-battery-begins-producing-power-a-day-ahead-of-schedule/9212794">began dispatching</a> power to the state’s grid, one day ahead of schedule. By most accounts, the world’s largest lithium-ion battery has been a <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-month-in-teslas-sa-battery-is-surpassing-expectations-89770">remarkable success</a>. But there are some concerns that have so far escaped scrutiny.</p>
<p>The big battery (or the <a href="https://hornsdalepowerreserve.com.au/">Hornsdale Power Reserve</a>, to use its official name) was born of a <a href="https://twitter.com/mcannonbrookes/status/839762954887180289?lang=en">Twitter wager</a> between entrepreneurs Mike Cannon-Brookes and Elon Musk, with the latter offering to build a functioning battery in “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/mar/10/elon-musk-i-can-fix-south-australia-power-network-in-100-days-or-its-free">100 days or it’s free</a>”. </p>
<p>Musk succeeded, and so too has the battery in smoothing the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-month-in-teslas-sa-battery-is-surpassing-expectations-89770">daily operation</a> of South Australia’s energy grid and helping to <a href="https://www.afr.com/news/close-call-in-an-energy-policy-vacuum-grid-must-still-be-managed-20180830-h14rfq">avert blackouts</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-month-in-teslas-sa-battery-is-surpassing-expectations-89770">A month in, Tesla's SA battery is surpassing expectations</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The battery has also been a financial success. It earned <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/revealed-true-cost-of-tesla-big-battery-and-its-government-contract-66888/">A$13 million</a> in the first half of 2018, by selling stored electricity and other <a href="https://www.aemo.com.au/Electricity/National-Electricity-Market-NEM/Security-and-reliability/Ancillary-services">grid-stabilising services</a>. </p>
<p>These successes have spurred <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/second-wave-of-big-batteries-about-to-join-australias-main-grid-39973">further big battery uptake</a> in Australia, while the global industry is forecast to attract <a href="https://about.bnef.com/blog/energy-storage-1-2-trillion-investment-opportunity-2040/">US$620 billion in investments by 2040</a>. It’s clear that big batteries will play a big role in our energy future.</p>
<p>But not every aspect of Tesla’s big battery earns a big tick. The battery’s own credentials aren’t particularly “green”, and by making people feel good about the energy they consume over summer, it arguably sustains an unhealthy appetite for energy consumption.</p>
<h2>The problem of lithium-ion batteries</h2>
<p>The Hornsdale Power Reserve is made up of hundreds of <a href="https://www.tesla.com/en_AU/powerpack">Tesla Powerpacks</a>, each containing 16 “battery pods” similar to the ones in Tesla’s Model S vehicle. Each battery pod houses thousands of small lithium-ion cells – the same ones that you might find in a hand-held device like a torch. </p>
<p>The growing demand for lithium-ion batteries has a range of <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact">environmental impacts</a>. Not least of these is the issue of how best to recycle them, which presents significant <a href="https://theconversation.com/lithium-australia-needs-to-recycle-and-lease-to-be-part-of-the-boom-54037">opportunities</a> and <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/EF/Areas/Energy-storage/Battery-recycling">challenges</a>. </p>
<p>The Hornsdale Power Reserve claims that when the batteries stop working (in about 15 years), Tesla will <a href="https://hornsdalepowerreserve.com.au/faqs/">recycle all of them at its Gigafactory in Nevada</a>, recovering up to 60% of the materials. </p>
<p>It’s important that Tesla is held account to the above claim. A <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/EF/Areas/Energy-storage/Battery-recycling">CSIRO report</a> found that in 2016, only 2% of lithium-ion batteries were collected in Australia to be recycled offshore. </p>
<p>However, lithium-ion batteries aren’t the only option. Australia is <a href="https://theconversation.com/charging-ahead-how-australia-is-innovating-in-battery-technology-90169">leading the way</a> in developing more sustainable alternative batteries. There are also other innovative ways to store energy, such as by harnessing the gravitational energy stored in <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90261233/can-these-35-ton-bricks-solve-renewable-energys-biggest-problem">giant hanging bricks</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/charging-ahead-how-australia-is-innovating-in-battery-technology-90169">Charging ahead: how Australia is innovating in battery technology</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Solving symptoms, not problems</h2>
<p>Tesla’s big battery was introduced at a time when the energy debate was fixated on South Australia’s energy “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-real-lesson-from-south-australias-electricity-crisis-we-need-better-climate-policy-66028">crisis</a>” and a need for “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/sep/29/jay-weatherill-accuses-barnaby-joyce-of-pushing-anti-windfarm-agenda-over-blackouts">energy security</a>”. After a succession of <a href="https://www.energycouncil.com.au/analysis/south-australias-blackouts-not-as-simple-as-it-looks/">severe weather events and blackouts</a>, the state’s renewable energy agenda was under fire and there was pressure on the government to take action.</p>
<p>On February 8, 2017, high temperatures contributed to high electricity demand and South Australia experienced yet another widespread blackout. But this time it was caused by the common practice of “<a href="https://www.aemo.com.au/-/media/Files/Electricity/NEM/Market_Notices_and_Events/Power_System_Incident_Reports/2017/System-Event-Report-South-Australia-8-February-2017.pdf">load-shedding</a>”, in which power is deliberately cut to sections of the grid to prevent it being overwhelmed. </p>
<p>A month later, Cannon-Brookes (who recently reclaimed the term “<a href="https://www.afr.com/news/mike-cannonbrookes-campaign-to-reclaim-fair-dinkum-power-swamped-20181101-h17eaq">fair dinkum power</a>” from Prime Minister Scott Morrison) coordinated “<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-year-since-the-sa-blackout-whos-winning-the-high-wattage-power-play-84416">policy by tweet</a>” and helped prompt Tesla’s battery-building partnership with the SA government.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-year-since-the-sa-blackout-whos-winning-the-high-wattage-power-play-84416">A year since the SA blackout, who's winning the high-wattage power play?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Since the battery’s inception the theme of “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-02/how-the-energy-market-survived-summer/9492000">summer</a>” (a euphemism for high electricity demand) has followed its reports in media. </p>
<p>The combination of extreme heat and high demand is <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-power-station-trips-are-normal-but-blackouts-are-not-90682">very challenging</a> for an electricity distribution system. Big batteries can undoubtedly help smooth this peak demand. But that’s only solving a symptom of the deeper problem – namely, excessive electricity demand. </p>
<h2>Time to talk about energy demand</h2>
<p>These concerns are most likely not addressed in the national conversation because of the <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/">urgency to move away from fossil fuels</a> and, as such, a desire to keep big batteries in a positive light. </p>
<p>But as we continue to adopt renewable energy technologies, we need to embrace a new relationship with energy. By avoiding these concerns we only prolong the very problems that have led us to a changed climate and arguably, <a href="https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/08288661311319166">make us ill-prepared for our renewable energy future</a>. </p>
<p>The good news is that the big battery industry is just kicking off. That means now is the time to talk about what type of big batteries we want in the future, to review our expectations of energy supply, and to embrace more sustainable demand.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was amended on December 7, 2018, to provide a correct figure for the battery’s earnings in the first half of 2018.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105739/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aleesha Rodriguez is affiliated with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition.</span></em></p>A year ago, the world’s largest lithium-ion battery began dispatching power to South Australia’s grid. It has been a remarkable success but there are some concerns that have so far escaped scrutinyAleesha Rodriguez, Phd Student, Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1074342018-11-22T18:53:46Z2018-11-22T18:53:46ZLabor’s battery plan – good policy, or just good politics?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246824/original/file-20181122-182059-wylcnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=42%2C17%2C5610%2C3147&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">With the right settings, Labor's new scheme could benefit householders as well as the grid itself.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Federal Labor obviously likes the <a href="https://theconversation.com/households-to-get-2000-subsidy-for-batteries-under-shorten-energy-policy-107417">politics</a> of giving <a href="https://www.markbutler.net.au/news/media-releases/battery-boost-for-households-to-slash-power-bills/">rebates</a> of up to A$2,000 each to 100,000 households of prospective voters so they can install domestic batteries. But is this good policy that will support Australia’s transition to a reliable, affordable, low-emissions energy system, or is it just middle-class welfare? </p>
<p>The Grattan Institute has previously been critical of solar subsidies similar to this program. In 2015 we found that household solar photovoltaic (PV) installations driven by state and federal government subsidies cost Australia around <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/sundown-sunrise-how-australia-can-finally-get-solar-power-right/">A$9 billion</a>. Many solar incentive programs were uncapped, and their costs blew out as the price of PV systems dropped rapidly. </p>
<p>The parallels with battery technology are clear: batteries may be expensive and uncommon today, but <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-19/how-big-will-the-battery-boom-get-try-548-billion-bnef-says">many commentators</a> expect them to drop rapidly in price.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/households-to-get-2000-subsidy-for-batteries-under-shorten-energy-policy-107417">Households to get $2000 subsidy for batteries under Shorten energy policy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>More recently, my colleagues and I have lamented the Victorian government’s return to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/state-governments-can-transform-australias-energy-policy-from-major-fail-to-reliable-success-105740">bad old days</a> of solar subsidies. Its Solar Homes program promises A$1.24 billion in subsidies over 10 years and would roughly triple the level of household solar in Victoria. Yet most households will be financially better off installing solar even without this subsidy. If fully implemented, it will be a great waste of taxpayers’ money. </p>
<p>The case for public subsidies for household batteries is stronger than for household solar panels. Batteries are better able to help cut the cost of the entire energy system and so don’t just benefit the people who install them – they also benefit electricity consumers more generally. By releasing stored power when most needed, batteries can reduce reliance on expensive “peaking” power plants that operate only at times of high demand. And they can reduce the cost of expanding network capacity to supply all customers at peak times. </p>
<p>By contrast, solar primarily eats into midday demand, which is already low due to the output of the large existing fleet of solar panels. While solar has historically reduced peak demand to some degree, the Australian Energy Market Operator considers that this effect is reducing as solar has pushed peak demand later in the day. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/slash-australians-power-bills-by-beheading-a-duck-at-night-27234">Slash Australians’ power bills by beheading a duck at night </a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246810/original/file-20181122-182068-vb2wo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246810/original/file-20181122-182068-vb2wo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246810/original/file-20181122-182068-vb2wo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246810/original/file-20181122-182068-vb2wo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246810/original/file-20181122-182068-vb2wo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246810/original/file-20181122-182068-vb2wo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246810/original/file-20181122-182068-vb2wo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246810/original/file-20181122-182068-vb2wo7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Impact of rooftop solar PV on peak demand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AEMO 2018, The NEM Reliability Framework</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a perfect world, households would have enough private incentive to install batteries when they benefit the entire system. If households faced higher electricity prices at times of peak demand, they would be rewarded for reducing system-wide costs by installing batteries. </p>
<p>But we do not live in this perfect world. Governments are reluctant to mandate that households pay higher prices during peak periods, and retailers find it hard to convince households to accept these more complex tariffs. Cost-reflective pricing is unlikely to become widespread any time soon, meaning there is a case for public subsidy to household batteries – provided the subsidies are capped, and end when battery prices inevitably fall. </p>
<p>Using smart controls to coordinate multiple batteries can maximise their benefits. These so-called “virtual power plants” allow the controller to reduce a household’s draw on the grid at peak times, thus reducing costs for both the household and the system. Federal Labor should increase the benefits of its policy by mandating that people who receive a subsidy participate in such a scheme, and by targeting installations to areas where the network most needs support. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/virtual-power-plants-are-in-vogue-but-they-can-be-like-taking-a-sledgehammer-to-a-nut-92579">Virtual power plants are in vogue, but they can be like taking a sledgehammer to a nut</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>On balance, federal Labor’s policy appears to be a sensible step towards a smarter, lower-emissions electricity grid. It can be tweaked to maximise benefits to the whole system, not just to the lucky households that get government assistance. And its cost is capped, which reduces the risk of the sort of cost blowouts that have plagued solar subsidy schemes. </p>
<p>Unlike some of the Coalition’s policies, such as its plan to <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/energy/underwritingnewgeneration">underwrite new generation</a>, Labor’s battery policy is likely to help rather than hinder Australia’s energy transition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107434/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the Federal and Victorian Governments, $4 million from BHP Billiton, and $1 million from NAB. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and contribute to funding Grattan Institute's activities. Grattan Institute also receives funding from corporates, foundations, and individuals to support its general activities as disclosed on its website.</span></em></p>Federal Labor has promised to give rebates of up to $2,000 to 100,000 households to install batteries to store power from solar panels. Is this good energy policy, or just middle-class welfare?Guy Dundas, Energy Fellow, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/907282018-10-04T10:28:10Z2018-10-04T10:28:10ZNew materials are powering the battery revolution<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238736/original/file-20181001-195256-1e68x0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research is finding better ways to make batteries both big and small.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/charging-batteries-elecric-motor-disassembling-battery-753568081">Romaset/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/there-are-officially-more-mobile-devices-than-people-in-the-world-9780518.html">more mobile phones in the world</a> than there are people. Nearly all of them are powered by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-018-0048-6">rechargeable lithium-ion batteries</a>, which are the single most important component enabling the portable electronics revolution of the past few decades. None of those devices would be attractive to users if they didn’t have enough power to last at least several hours, without being particularly heavy.</p>
<p>Lithium-ion batteries are also useful in larger applications, like electric vehicles and <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1212741">smart-grid energy storage systems</a>. And <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-018-0048-6">researchers’ innovations in materials science</a>, seeking to improve lithium-ion batteries, are paving the way for even more batteries with even better performance. There is already demand forming for <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aak9991">high-capacity batteries that won’t catch fire or explode</a>. And many people have dreamed of smaller, lighter batteries that charge in minutes – or even seconds – yet store <a href="http://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12647">enough energy to power a device for days</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=boDNTDwAAAAJ&hl=en">Researchers like me</a>, though, are thinking even more adventurously. Cars and grid-storage systems would be even better if they could be <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-my-phone-battery-die-so-fast-98367">discharged and recharged tens of thousands of times</a> over many years, or even decades. Maintenance crews and customers would love batteries that could monitor themselves and send alerts if they were damaged or no longer functioning at peak performance – or even were able to fix themselves. And it can’t be too much to dream of dual-purpose batteries integrated into the structure of an item, helping to shape the form of a smartphone, car or building while also powering its functions.</p>
<p>All that may become possible as my research and others’ help scientists and engineers become ever more adept at controlling and handling matter at the scale of individual atoms.</p>
<h2>Emerging materials</h2>
<p>For the most part, advances in energy storage will rely on the continuing development of materials science, pushing the limits of performance of existing battery materials and developing entirely new battery structures and compositions. </p>
<p>The battery industry is already working to reduce the cost of lithium-ion batteries, including by removing expensive cobalt from their positive electrodes, called cathodes. This would also reduce the <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/alternatives-to-cobalt-the-blood-diamond-of-batteries/">human cost of these batteries</a>, because many mines in Congo, the world’s leading source of cobalt, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/01/technology/cobalt-congo-child-labor-car-smartphone-batteries/index.html">use children to do difficult manual labor</a>.</p>
<p>Researchers are finding ways to replace the cobalt-containing materials with cathodes made mostly of nickel. Eventually they may be able to <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/alternatives-to-cobalt-the-blood-diamond-of-batteries/">replace the nickel with manganese</a>. Each of those metals is cheaper, more abundant and safer to work with than its predecessor. But they come with a trade-off, because they have <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3b72645a-91cc-11e8-bb8f-a6a2f7bca546">chemical properties that shorten their batteries’ lifetimes</a>.</p>
<p>Researchers are also looking at <a href="https://phys.org/news/2018-09-high-capacity-sodium-ion-lithium-rechargeable-batteries.html">replacing the lithium ions that shuttle between the two electrodes</a> with ions and electrolytes that may be cheaper and potentially safer, like those based on sodium, magnesium, zinc or aluminum.</p>
<p><a href="https://research.mse.ncsu.edu/augustyn/">My research group</a> looks at the possibilities of using two-dimensional materials, essentially extremely thin sheets of substances with useful electronic properties. <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2018/graphene-insulator-superconductor-0305">Graphene</a> is perhaps the best-known of these – a sheet of carbon just one atom thick. We want to see whether stacking up layers of various two-dimensional materials and then <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2017.09.008">infiltrating the stack with water</a> or other conductive liquids could be key components of batteries that recharge very quickly.</p>
<h2>Looking inside the battery</h2>
<p>It’s not just new materials expanding the world of battery innovation: New equipment and methods also let researchers see what’s happening inside batteries much more easily than was once possible. </p>
<p>In the past, researchers ran a battery through a particular charge-discharge process or number of cycles, and then removed the material from the battery and examined it after the fact. Only then could scholars learn what chemical changes had happened during the process and infer how the battery actually worked and what affected its performance.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238731/original/file-20181001-195260-rjw9jj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238731/original/file-20181001-195260-rjw9jj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238731/original/file-20181001-195260-rjw9jj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238731/original/file-20181001-195260-rjw9jj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238731/original/file-20181001-195260-rjw9jj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238731/original/file-20181001-195260-rjw9jj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238731/original/file-20181001-195260-rjw9jj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238731/original/file-20181001-195260-rjw9jj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">X-rays generated by a synchotron can illuminate the inner workings of a battery.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/60066150@N04/5718398619">CLS Research Office/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But now, researchers can watch battery materials as they undergo the energy storage process, analyzing even their atomic structure and composition in real time. We can use sophisticated spectroscopy techniques, such as X-ray techniques available with a type of particle accelerator called a <a href="https://www.esrf.eu/about/synchrotron-science/synchrotron">synchrotron</a> – as well as electron microscopes and scanning probes – to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.8b02273">watch ions move and physical structures change</a> as energy is stored in and released from materials in a battery.</p>
<p>Those methods let researchers like me imagine new battery structures and materials, make them and see how well – or not – they work. That way, we’ll be able to keep the battery materials revolution going.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90728/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Veronica Augustyn receives funding from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and Research Corporation for Science Advancement. </span></em></p>Is it too much to dream of batteries that are part of the structure of an item, helping to shape the form of a smartphone, car or building while also powering its functions?Veronica Augustyn, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/983672018-07-24T10:27:01Z2018-07-24T10:27:01ZWhy does my phone battery die so fast?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228292/original/file-20180718-142428-m8rlfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Already out of charge – again?!</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-young-angry-woman-holding-cellphone-521627047">fizkes/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Why do batteries die? And, why can they only be recharged so many times before they won’t hold a useful amount of charge? My young son asked me about that years ago when his battery-powered toy car stopped moving, wondering about what he called an “everlasting battery.” And this same question has probably crossed the mind of every cellphone user trying to send one last text before the screen blinks off.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LYNGYrgAAAAJ&hl=en">Research, like mine</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1142/9487">continues around the world</a> to make batteries that charge faster, last longer, and can be recharged and discharged many more times than today’s. But as much as you and I would like, it’s impossible to make a truly everlasting battery. I have taught thermodynamics for more than 30 years. So far, there is nothing that suggests we can break the fundamental laws of science to get that elusive battery.</p>
<p>Battery scientists and engineers call the main problem “capacity fade.” Regular people wonder about it with questions like “Why won’t my battery hold a charge?” and complaints like “I just recharged this thing and it’s already out again!” </p>
<p>It’s a result of the <a href="https://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/thermo2.html">second law of thermodynamics</a>, which states that whenever some real process happens, it creates a certain amount of wasted energy along the way that can never be recovered. Any time a battery is charged or discharged, there’s a little bit of wasted energy – a little bit of wasted capacity in the battery that cannot be recovered.</p>
<p>To envision how this works, think about battery use like transferring water between two cups. Using a battery is like emptying the water from one cup into the other, and charging the battery involves pouring the water back into the first cup. Even if you do it one or two times without spilling a drop, there’s always just a little tiny bit left in each cup that you can’t pour out.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pVbaRYoSBYk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">There’s always at least a little left over.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Now imagine pouring back and forth hundreds or even thousands of times over a period of two or three years (for a cellphone battery) or 10 to 20 years (for an electric car). Over time, all the thousands of little and big things that go wrong add up to quite a bit of water going missing. Even spilling a barely visible drop – say one-tenth of a milliliter – adds up to an entire liter if it happens 10,000 times. That doesn’t even include the possibility of one cup failing in some way that loses even more water – like springing a leak or heating up and causing evaporation.</p>
<p>Just as water inevitably goes missing when pouring from one cup to another, more energy is required to charge the battery than it actually stores, and less energy comes out than is stored in it. The proportion of wasted energy to stored energy grows over time.</p>
<p>In fact, the more you use a battery, the more energy gets wasted, and the sooner the battery will reach a point where it’s dead and can’t usefully be recharged. I and others are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814651905_0014">studying ways to have those discharging-recharging cycles run more smoothly</a> to reduce the amount of waste, but the second law of thermodynamics will always make sure that there’s no way to get rid of it entirely.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98367/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve W. Martin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Emptying and refilling a battery is a lot like pouring water from one glass to another, over and over again.Steve W. Martin, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/987072018-06-26T19:48:28Z2018-06-26T19:48:28ZNew coal doesn’t stack up – just look at Queensland’s renewable energy numbers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224853/original/file-20180626-112604-2hl3vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As the name suggests, Windy Hill near Cairns gets its fair share of power-generating weather.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leonard Low/Flickr/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the federal government aims to ink a deal with the states on the National Energy Guarantee in August, it appears still to be negotiating within its own ranks. Federal energy minister Josh Frydenberg has reportedly told his partyroom colleagues that he would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/26/energy-minister-would-welcome-new-coal-fired-power-plant">welcome a new coal-fired power plant</a>, while his former colleague (and now Queensland Resources Council chief executive) Ian Macfarlane <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/coalition-elders-fire-up-for-coalfired-power-seek-to-end-infighting/news-story/939186e79f2dcb63ebacc6ca9c3c1e5c">urged the government</a> to consider offering industry incentives for so-called “clean coal”.</p>
<p>Last month, it emerged that One Nation had asked for a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-22/pauline-hanson-effectively-withdraws-support-for-company-tax-cut/9785774">new coal-fired power plant in north Queensland</a> in return for supporting the government’s business tax reforms.</p>
<p>Is all this pro-coal jockeying actually necessary for our energy or economic future? Our analysis suggests that renewable energy is a much better choice, in terms of both costs and jobs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/solar-pv-and-wind-are-on-track-to-replace-all-coal-oil-and-gas-within-two-decades-94033">Solar PV and wind are on track to replace all coal, oil and gas within two decades</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Renewables and jobs</h2>
<p>Virtually all new generation being constructed in Australia is <a href="https://www.aemo.com.au/Electricity/National-Electricity-Market-NEM/Planning-and-forecasting/Generation-information">solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind energy</a>. New-build coal power is <a href="http://www.co2crc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/LCOE_Report_final_web.pdf">estimated</a> to cost A$70-90 per megawatt-hour, increasing to more than A$140 per MWh with carbon capture and storage. </p>
<p>Solar PV and wind are now cheaper than new-build coal power plants, even without carbon capture and storage. Unsubsidised contracts for wind projects in Australia have recently been signed for <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/stockyard-hill-wind-farm-locks-in-finance-after-setting-record-low-price-82932/">less than A$55 per MWh</a>, and PV electricity is being produced from very large-scale plants at <a href="https://theconversation.com/solar-is-now-the-most-popular-form-of-new-electricity-generation-worldwide-81678">A$30-50 per MWh</a> around the world.</p>
<p>Worldwide, solar PV and wind generation now account for <a href="https://theconversation.com/solar-pv-and-wind-are-on-track-to-replace-all-coal-oil-and-gas-within-two-decades-94033">60% of global net new power capacity</a>, far exceeding the net rate of fossil fuel installation. </p>
<p>As the graph below shows, medium to large (at least 100 kilowatts) renewable energy projects have been <a href="http://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/RET/About-the-Renewable-Energy-Target/Large-scale-Renewable-Energy-Target-market-data">growing strongly in Australia since 2017</a>. Before that, there was a slowdown due to the policy uncertainty around the Renewable Energy Target, but wind and large scale solar are now being installed at record rates and are expected to grow further.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224834/original/file-20180626-19421-1dnb1qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224834/original/file-20180626-19421-1dnb1qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224834/original/file-20180626-19421-1dnb1qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224834/original/file-20180626-19421-1dnb1qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224834/original/file-20180626-19421-1dnb1qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224834/original/file-20180626-19421-1dnb1qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224834/original/file-20180626-19421-1dnb1qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224834/original/file-20180626-19421-1dnb1qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Left axis/block colours: renewable energy employment by generation type in Australia; right axis/dotted lines: installed wind and large-scale solar generation capacity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ABS/Clean Energy Council/Clean Energy Regulator</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As the graph also shows, this has been accompanied by a rapid increase in employment in the renewables sector, with roughly 4,000 people employed constructing and operating wind and solar farms in 2016-17. In contrast, employment in biomass (largely sugar cane bagasse and ethanol) and hydro generation have been relatively static.</p>
<p>Although employment figures are higher during project construction than operation, high employment numbers will continue as long as the growth of renewable projects continues. As the chart below shows, a total of 6,400MW of new wind and solar projects are set to be completed by 2020.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224835/original/file-20180626-19375-9oynft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224835/original/file-20180626-19375-9oynft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224835/original/file-20180626-19375-9oynft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224835/original/file-20180626-19375-9oynft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224835/original/file-20180626-19375-9oynft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224835/original/file-20180626-19375-9oynft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224835/original/file-20180626-19375-9oynft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224835/original/file-20180626-19375-9oynft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Renewable energy projects expected to be delivered before 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/RET/About-the-Renewable-Energy-Target/Large-scale-Renewable-Energy-Target-market-data">Clean Energy Regulator</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The Queensland question</h2>
<p>Australia’s newest coal-fired power plant was opened at <a href="https://www.csenergy.com.au/what-we-do/generating-energy/kogan-creek-power-station">Kogan Creek, Queensland</a> in 2007. Many of the political voices calling for new coal have suggested that this investment should be made in Queensland. But what’s the real picture of energy development in that state?</p>
<p>There has been no new coal for more than a decade, but developers are queuing up to build renewable energy projects. Powerlink, which owns and maintains Queensland’s electricity network, <a href="https://www.powerlink.com.au/news-media/renewables-flow-queensland">reported in May</a> that it has received 150 applications and enquiries to connect to the grid, totalling 30,000MW of prospective new generation – almost all of it for renewables. Its statement added:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A total of more than A$4.2 billion worth of projects are currently either under construction or financially committed, offering a combined employment injection of more than 3,500 construction jobs across regional Queensland and more than 2,000MW of power.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As the map below shows, 80% of these projects are in areas outside South East Queensland, meaning that the growth in renewable energy is set to offer a significant boost to regional employment.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224836/original/file-20180626-19408-qycm22.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224836/original/file-20180626-19408-qycm22.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224836/original/file-20180626-19408-qycm22.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=791&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224836/original/file-20180626-19408-qycm22.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=791&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224836/original/file-20180626-19408-qycm22.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=791&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224836/original/file-20180626-19408-qycm22.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=994&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224836/original/file-20180626-19408-qycm22.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=994&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224836/original/file-20180626-19408-qycm22.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=994&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Existing and under-construction (solid) and planned (white) wind and solar farms in Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://maps.dnrm.qld.gov.au/electricity-generation-map/">Qld Dept of Resources, Mines & Energy</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tropical North Queensland, in particular, has plenty of sunshine and relatively little seasonal variation in its climate. While not as windy as South Australia, it has the advantage that it is generally <a href="https://arena.gov.au/assets/2017/02/Kennedy-Park-FinClose-Report-Windlab.pdf">windier at night than during the day</a>, meaning that wind and solar energy would complement one another well.</p>
<p>Renewable energy projects that incorporate both solar and wind in the same precinct operate for a greater fraction of the time, thus reducing the relative transmission costs. This is improved still further by adding storage in the form of pumped hydro or batteries – as at the new renewables projects at <a href="http://www.genexpower.com.au/">Kidston</a> and <a href="https://kennedyenergypark.com.au/">Kennedy</a>.</p>
<p>Remember also that Queensland is linked to the other eastern states via the National Electricity Market (NEM). It makes sense to build wind farms across a range of climate zones from far north Queensland to South Australia because – to put it simply – the wider the coverage, the more likely it is that it will be windy somewhere on the grid at any given time.</p>
<p>This principle is reflected in our work on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544217309568">100% renewable electricity for Australia</a>. We used five years of climate data to determine the optimal location for wind and solar plants, so as to reliably meet the NEM’s total electricity demand. We found that the most cost-effective solution required building about 10 gigawatts (GW) of new wind and PV in far north Queensland, connected to the south with a high-voltage cable.</p>
<h2>Jobs and growth</h2>
<p>This kind of investment in northern Queensland has the potential to create thousands of jobs in the coming decades. An <a href="https://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/dam/cec/policy-and-advocacy/reports/2012/Wind-Farm-Investment-Employment-and-Carbon-Abatement-in-Australia/Wind%20Farm%20Investment%2C%20Employment%20and%20Carbon%20Abatement%20in%20Australia-1.pdf">SKM report</a> commissioned by the Clean Energy Council estimated that each 100MW of new renewable energy would create 96 direct local jobs, 285 state jobs, and 475 national jobs during the construction phase. During operation those figures would be 9 local jobs, 14 state jobs and 32 national jobs per 100MW of generation. </p>
<p>Spreading 10GW of construction over 20 years at 500MW per year would therefore deliver 480 ongoing local construction jobs and 900 ongoing local operation jobs once all are built, and total national direct employment of 2,400 and 3,200 in construction and operations, respectively.</p>
<p>But the job opportunities would not stop there. New grid infrastructure will also be needed, for transmission line upgrades and investments in storage such as batteries or pumped hydro. The new electricity infrastructure could also tempt energy-hungry industries to head north in search of cheaper operating costs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-is-right-to-fund-energy-storage-a-100-renewable-grid-is-within-reach-72353">The government is right to fund energy storage: a 100% renewable grid is within reach</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One political party with a strong regional focus, Katter’s Australia Party, understands this. Bob Katter’s seat of Kennedy contains two large renewable energy projects. In late 2017, he and the federal shadow infrastructure minister Anthony Albanese took a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-04/katter-and-albo-take-bromance-to-the-bush-on-power-trip/8869016">tour of renewables projects</a> across far north Queensland’s “triangle of power”. </p>
<p>Katter, never one to hold back, asked “how could any government conceive of the stupidity like another baseload coal-fired power station in North Queensland?” Judging by the numbers, it’s a very good question.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98707/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Stocks receives funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Blakers receives funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency</span></em></p>There are calls from the backbench and elsewhere for the federal government to safeguard the future of coal. But do those calls make economic sense? A look at Queensland’s energy landscape suggests not.Matthew Stocks, Research Fellow, ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian National UniversityAndrew Blakers, Professor of Engineering, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/844162017-09-28T01:44:33Z2017-09-28T01:44:33ZA year since the SA blackout, who’s winning the high-wattage power play?<p>It’s a year to the day since the entire state of South Australia was <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-caused-south-australias-state-wide-blackout-66268">plunged into darkness</a>. And what a year it’s been, for energy policy geeks and political tragics alike. </p>
<p>Parked at the western end of the eastern states’ electricity grid, South Australia has long been an outlier, in energy policy as well as geography. Over the past decade it has had a tempestuous relationship with the federal government, be it Labor or Coalition. As with <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-broken-81613">water policy</a>, the South Australians often suspect they are being left high and dry by their upstream neighbours. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-australias-energy-plan-gives-national-regulators-another-headache-74541">South Australia's energy plan gives national regulators another headache</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The policy chaos over the carbon price left the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/renewable-energy-target-8912">Renewable Energy Target</a> as a far more prominent investment signal than it would otherwise have been. South Australia carried on attracting wind farms, which earned <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/how-gas-profited-from-s-a-market-dominance-and-blamed-renewables-75801">more than their fair share of the blame</a> for high electricity prices.</p>
<p>On September 28, 2016, a “<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/south-australia-blackout-once-in-50year-storm-lashes-state-20160928-grqpks.html">once-in-50-year storm</a>” blew over a string of electricity pylons, tripping the whole state’s power grid. While the blackout, which lasted 5 hours in Adelaide and longer elsewhere, was still unfolding, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2016/s4547620.htm">critics of renewables took a leap into the dark</a> as part of a wider <a href="https://marchudson.net/2016/09/29/blame-games-and-framing-battles-over-renewables-in-south-australia/">blame game</a>.</p>
<p>Despite being described as a “<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629617301238?via%3Dihub">confected conflict</a>”, the skirmish was serious enough to prompt the federal government to commission Chief Scientist Alan Finkel’s <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/energy/national-electricity-market-review">landmark review of the entire National Electricity Market</a>, with a deadline of mid-2017.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in early December, federal environment minister Josh Frydenberg was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/dec/06/josh-frydenberg-backtracks-on-emissions-trading-comments">forced to backtrack</a> after saying the Coalition was prepared to consider an emissions intensity scheme. SA Premier Jay Weatherill was unamused by the flip-flop and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/dec/08/south-australia-says-states-could-go-it-alone-after-turnbull-rules-out-carbon-tax">threatened to get together with other states to go it alone on carbon pricing</a>. </p>
<p>February saw a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-15/sa-power-aemo-report-into-rolling-blackouts-during-heatwave/8273836">series of “load shedding” events</a> during a heatwave, which left some Adelaide homes once more without power and saw the grid wobble in NSW too. (It should be noted that the now infamous Liddell power station was unable to increase its output during the incident.)</p>
<h2>Policy by tweet</h2>
<p>It was then that Twitter entered the fray. The “accidental billionaire” <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Cannon-Brookes">Mike Cannon-Brookes</a> was asking Solar City chief executive Lyndon Rive how quickly a battery storage system might be up and running. Rive’s cousin, a certain <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk">Elon Musk</a>, intervened with his famous offer: </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"840032197637685249"}"></div></p>
<p>Within days, both Weatherill and Turnbull had had conversations with Musk, and Turnbull announced <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/16/turnbull-2bn-snowy-hydro-electric-expansion">a “Snowy Hydro 2.0” storage proposal</a>. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Weatherill unveiled his <a href="http://ourenergyplan.sa.gov.au/">SA Energy Plan</a>, which the Guardian called a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/14/jay-weatherills-big-energy-call-is-a-survivalist-fix-of-last-resort">survivalist fix of last resort</a>”. We now know that the plan <a href="http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/frontier-economics-led-by-power-expert-danny-price-paid-over-1m-to-advise-on-premiers-energy-plan/news-story/ff3cb71281fe9c238384a929f3d71d67">cost A$1 million to produce</a>.</p>
<p>Then, on March 16, at the launch of a <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/agl-goes-live-with-virtual-power-plant-linking-household-battery-storage-16810/">5-megawatt “virtual power plant”</a> in Adelaide, Weatherill had some choice words for Frydenberg who, entertainingly enough, was standing right next to him: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve got to say, it is a little galling to be standing here, next to a man that’s been standing up with his prime minister, bagging South Australia at every step of the way over the last six months… And for you to then turn around, in a few short months, when there’s a blackout, and point the finger at SA for the fact that our leadership in renewable energy was the cause of that problem is an absolute disgrace.“</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Frydenberg kept a notably low profile for a while after this.</p>
<h2>Finkel fires up</h2>
<p>In June, Finkel <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/21/chief-scientist-defends-electricity-market-review-against-claims-of-political-motivation">released his keenly awaited review</a>. A significant number of <a href="https://www.crikey.com.au/2017/06/16/who-are-the-liberal-mps-worried-about-malcolm-turnbulls-clean-energy-target/">Liberals</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/13/barnaby-joyce-ill-support-a-clean-energy-target-if-coal-is-included">Nationals</a> didn’t like his suggested Clean Energy Target, and immediately set about trying to insert coal into it.</p>
<p>Despite being conceived as an acceptable compromise, the Clean Energy Target was bashed from both sides. It was criticised as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/30/finkel-clean-energy-target-too-weak-for-paris-climate-goal-analysis-shows">too weak to reach Australia’s emissions target</a> and <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/finkels-clean-energy-target-little-more-than-states-business-as-usual-82074">little more than "business as usual”</a>, but was also “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/20/a-clean-energy-target-is-not-unconscionable-tony-abbott-wrecking-climate-policy-is">unconscionable</a>” to former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.</p>
<p>Weatherill’s next major stand-alongside was an even bigger deal than the Frydenberg stoush. On July 7, he and Musk announced that part of his earlier energy SA plan would become reality: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/07/tesla-to-build-worlds-biggest-lithium-ion-battery-in-south-australia">a 129-megawatt-hour lithium-ion battery farm</a>, to be built alongside a wind farm in Jamestown.</p>
<p>Speaking at a book launch, Weatherill <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/weatherill-lets-fly-at-right-wing-attack-against-renewables-46736/">used the f-word to describe specific media opponents of renewables</a>, earning himself opprobrium in the pages of The Australian, and admiration in more progressive areas of social media.</p>
<p>Federal treasurer Scott Morrison <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/07/27/sas-big-battery-just-another-big-thing">returned fire</a>, deriding the battery farm as “a <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-big-problem-what-to-do-with-our-ageing-super-sized-statues-83424">Big Banana</a>”.</p>
<p>However, there was another big announcement in Weatherill’s locker: a <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/aurora-what-you-should-know-about-port-augustas-solar-power-tower-86715/">A$650-million concentrated solar thermal power plant</a> to be built near Port Augusta, with potential for more.</p>
<p>Quietly, the “energy security target” component of the SA plan, which had been <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/sas-energy-policy-five-steps-forward-two-steps-back-25987/">rubbished</a>, was <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/s-a-puts-energy-security-target-on-back-burner-after-aemo-steps-in-86049">deferred</a>, while a renewables-based “<a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/30mw-battery-to-create-renewables-based-mini-grid-in-south-australia-63304">minigrid</a>” on the Yorke peninsula was announced. </p>
<h2>Whatever next?</h2>
<p>What will happen now? “Events, dear boy, events,” as Harold MacMillan <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3577416/As-Macmillan-never-said-thats-enough-quotations.html">didn’t say</a>. Musk is back in Adelaide <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-21/elon-musk-plans-adelaide-return-to-detail-revised-mars-mission/8732562">to talk about his Mars mission</a>, with an appearance <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/tesla-plans-big-battery-party-still-waiting-on-victoria-tender-56468/">scheduled for Jamestown</a>. Would anyone bet against another SA government announcement? More batteries? Electric cars? Space planes…?</p>
<p>The Jamestown battery should come online in December (or it’s free!). Weatherill will presumably be hoping that Turnbull’s government staggers on, bleeding credibility and beefing up the anti-Liberal protest vote until the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Australian_state_election,_2018">March 2018 state election</a>, and that they continue to make themselves look a like a rabble over Finkel’s Clean Energy Target. </p>
<p>At the same time, he will also fervently hope there isn’t another big power crisis, and that the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-24/sa-energy-plan-advertising-spend-waste-of-money-opposition-says/8738846">A$2.6 million of public money he spent making sure everyone knows about his energy plans</a> provides effective insulation from any shocks.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-can-teslas-giant-south-australian-battery-achieve-80738">Explainer: what can Tesla's giant South Australian battery achieve?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The whole saga shows how policy windows can open up in unexpected ways. An attempt to blast a new technology fails, and a politician at state level sees no option but to act because of federal inadequacy. It’s happening in <a href="http://mashable.com/2017/06/06/governor-brown-china-climate-change/#6vkbDvPWrsqU">California too</a>.</p>
<p>Judging by his interviews with <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/jay-weatherill-on-hydrogen-load-shedding-community-activism-and-his-critics-60337/">me</a> and the Guardian’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/22/jay-weatherill-renews-warning-labor-states-could-go-it-alone-on-energy-policy">Katharine Murphy</a>, Weatherill has found his signature issue – making lemonade from the huge lemon he was served last September. As another <a href="https://indaily.com.au/opinion/2017/08/17/richardson-bad-news-good-labor/">commentator wrote</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Far from being the last nail in the Weatherill government’s electoral coffin, the power crisis has perversely breathed new life into Labor’s re-election hopes… It is turning its own failures on energy security into a single-issue platform on which to campaign.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Weatherill is trying to build an <a href="https://hbr.org/2012/12/how-to-create-an-innovation-ec">innovation ecosystem</a> for clean energy technology. Announcing a tender last month, <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/s-calls-tender-next-generation-renewables-storage-23440/">Weatherill said</a> his government is “looking for the next generation of renewable technologies and demand-management technologies to maintain our global leadership”.</p>
<p>And when do applications for that tender close? Well, it may be a coincidence, but the <a href="https://service.sa.gov.au/cdn/ourenergyplan/assets/call-for-proposals-bulk-energy-storage-4-sept-2017.pdf">deadline is 5pm today</a> – exactly a year since his state’s darkest hour.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84416/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
What a year it’s been for fans of energy politics. And 12 months after the blackout, the policy heat is still being generated.Marc Hudson, PhD Candidate, Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/768662017-05-01T20:04:31Z2017-05-01T20:04:31ZThe solar panel and battery revolution: how will your state measure up?<p>A <a href="http://www.energynetworks.com.au/sites/default/files/entr_final_report_summary_april_2017.pdf">new roadmap</a> for Australia’s electricity networks outlines a national plan to keep the lights on, make sure bills are affordable, and decarbonise our electricity industry by mid-century.</p>
<p>The plan, by CSIRO and <a href="http://www.energynetworks.com.au/">Energy Networks Australia</a>, sets out measures that could save households A$414 a year on average, by generating their own electricity through “distributed” technologies such as solar panels and batteries. It envisages that Australia could save a total of A$101 billion by 2050, while also bringing net greenhouse emissions to zero.</p>
<p>As described in an <a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-can-have-zero-emission-electricity-without-blowing-the-bill-69869">earlier draft report last December</a>, Australia’s electricity networks can be transformed to give millions of customers more choice and control over their energy, while also meeting Australia’s international climate change commitments.</p>
<p>The roadmap calls for a coordinated approach, but how will that play out in practice?</p>
<h2>Regional analysis</h2>
<p>While it is a national plan, each state and territory will play its own distinct role. </p>
<p>Each faces different circumstances in terms of electricity demand growth, renewable resources, state renewable energy policies, and the age and fuel mix of their existing electricity infrastructure. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.energynetworks.com.au/sites/default/files/entr_final_report_april_2017.pdf">full report</a> outlines what each state and territory can expect.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167337/original/file-20170501-29380-8mht56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167337/original/file-20170501-29380-8mht56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167337/original/file-20170501-29380-8mht56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167337/original/file-20170501-29380-8mht56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167337/original/file-20170501-29380-8mht56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167337/original/file-20170501-29380-8mht56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167337/original/file-20170501-29380-8mht56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167337/original/file-20170501-29380-8mht56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Regional analysis snapshot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CSIRO/ENA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>New South Wales</strong></p>
<p>The renewable electricity generation share in NSW is expected increase steadily to 28% by 2030. Thereafter, new generation capacity building is expected to accelerate to fill the gap left by more rapid coal capacity retirement.</p>
<p>NSW’s rooftop solar panel capacity will increase by more than 400% by 2030, with more than 6,000 megawatt hours in small-scale battery storage. These changes will be driven largely by falling costs, which will encourage wider customer adoption and the use of larger system sizes.</p>
<p>NSW customers will become a significant player in Australia’s overall energy system, with the capacity of the state’s rooftop solar panels projected to exceed 11,000MW by 2030 - more than the state’s coal-fired capacity today.</p>
<p><strong>Queensland</strong></p>
<p>Similarly to NSW, were the lack of coal plant retirement to be the main driver, Queensland’s renewable electricity share would lag other states at only 12% by 2030, with more rapid transformation occurring in the period between 2030 and 2050. However, state government renewable energy schemes could modify this outcome.</p>
<p>Queensland will see a huge increase in rooftop solar panels, of more than 500% by 2030. By then, it is also forecast to have more than 10,000MWh of small-scale battery storage capacity – the equivalent of 760,000 residential battery storage systems. That will rise to the equivalent of more than 2 million household battery systems by 2050.</p>
<p>High levels of rooftop solar and other distributed generation will create challenges for Queensland’s electricity network. There is the potential for “reverse flow” (where local generation exceeds consumption) in many parts of the Queensland power system within 15 years.</p>
<p><strong>Victoria</strong></p>
<p>Victoria is assumed to meet its target of 40% renewable share of generation by 2025 and maintain that share for next 15 years before investment accelerates again in the 2040s.</p>
<p>Victoria is also set for a 500% increase in rooftop solar panels by 2030, and more than 6,000MWh in small-scale battery storage. These batteries would represent the equivalent of 440,000 residential battery storage systems installed by 2030, and more than 1 million by 2050.</p>
<p><strong>South Australia</strong></p>
<p>South Australia has the second highest share of renewables of all states at around 40% and is expected to steadily improve that position until other states accelerate their own building programs in the 2030s.</p>
<p>South Australia’s rooftop solar panels will increase by more than 300% by 2030, with 4,000MWh of small-scale battery storage.</p>
<p>While South Australia already leads the nation in the installation of new large-scale renewable generation and is set to become a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-30/new-solar-project-announced-for-sa-riverland/8400952">leading installer of large-scale battery capacity</a>, small-scale renewables and batteries will also play an important part in its future energy mix, as in other states.</p>
<p><strong>Western Australia</strong></p>
<p>WA’s rooftop solar power capacity will triple by 2030, combined with a forecast 2,000MWh of small-scale battery storage.</p>
<p>More than 40% of the states’s electricity is projected to come from renewable sources by 2030, as is the case in South Australia today.</p>
<p><strong>Tasmania</strong></p>
<p>Tasmania is the leading renewable generation state and its hydro generation and storage capacity could support grid stability in the broader National Energy Market into the future.</p>
<p>Residential battery storage would play a small but significant role in supporting the energy transformation in Tasmania. More than 1,000MWh in onsite battery capacity could be installed in Tasmania by 2030, and more than 2,000MWh by 2050.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76866/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Graham has received funding throughout his career from electricity generators, electricity networks, federal and state government departments, non-government non-profit organisations and energy consulting and engineering companies.</span></em></p>A new report predicts a boom in household solar and batteries as Australia’s electricity networks move to a more sustainable footing, with some states poised for a 500% boost in rooftop solar.Paul Graham, Chief economist, CSIRO energy, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/745222017-03-14T19:15:38Z2017-03-14T19:15:38ZSouth Australia makes a fresh power play in its bid to end the blackouts<p>South Australia’s government has unveiled its keenly anticipated new <a href="http://ourenergyplan.sa.gov.au/">energy plan</a>, with the aim of making itself more self-sufficient.</p>
<p>Against the backdrop of repeated crises such as the blackouts of last month and September last year, and a dramatic offer from Tesla founder Elon Musk to fix the state’s energy security problems, the new plan proposes a range of measures to fix what Premier Jay Weatherill has described as the “failures” of national electricity regulation.</p>
<p><strong>Battery storage</strong></p>
<p>First, as almost universally anticipated, there will be a tender for a battery storage facility capable of delivering 100 megawatts of power, to be funded from a A$150 million Renewable Technology Fund. The <a href="http://ourenergyplan.sa.gov.au/assets/our-energy-plan-sa-web.pdf">plan document</a> says this project will “modernise South Australia’s energy grid and begin the transformation to the next generation of renewable-energy storage technologies”. </p>
<p>Neither the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/national-electricity-market-2810">National Electricity Market</a> rules nor any other federal policy provides any specific mechanism to encourage battery installation. Nor do the existing regulations allow battery operators to be rewarded for other services they could provide, including responding rapidly to price spikes or to sudden drops in voltage on the grid. </p>
<p>Large battery installations, if appropriately configured, would be capable of providing large injections of energy to the grid over short periods, as a way to offset extreme volatility. Both SA and Queensland have been plagued by such volatility in recent months, causing a rash of short-term price spikes indicative of markets without enough competition. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.aemc.gov.au/">Australian Energy Market Commission</a> (AEMC) is currently considering a Rule change, termed the 30 minute/5 minute trading interval change, proposed by a large electrolytic zinc smelter in Townsville. The change is ferociously opposed by established generators, but supported by almost everyone else. If and when the AEMC ever gets around to approving the rule change, large battery installations would be able to compete directly with generators, thereby both gaining a new source of revenue and helping to keep wholesale prices within reasonable limits. </p>
<p><strong>Taking back control</strong></p>
<p>The second component of the plan is to introduce legislation that would allow the state government to override the NEM’s market dispatch process for generation in the event of an emergency such as the demand peaks that triggered last month’s blackouts. </p>
<p>This is an obvious response to what is widely seen, at least in SA, as the reluctance of the federal regulator to use its powers to suspend the market. Many observers consider that such reluctance was most evident in the morning of the statewide blackout last September, and believe that earlier intervention could have prevented it, despite the massive storm damage to the state’s transmission infrastructure.</p>
<p>The new proposal could be interpreted as a challenge to the federal government over who controls SA’s electricity.</p>
<p><strong>Energy security</strong></p>
<p>Third, the plan will require all new generators with more than 5MW of capacity to demonstrate how they will contribute to the state’s energy security, by providing what are called ancillary services, such as frequency control, so-called inertia, or short-term storage. This is another clear statement that the state government believes the NEM rules, which establish markets for some frequency control services but not the other services mentioned above, fail to offer the state enough of a guarantee of reliable power supply.</p>
<p><strong>Build a new gas plant</strong></p>
<p>The government plans to become a power station owner, 20 years after the Liberal state government sold off the last publicly owned plant, by building a new open cycle (peaking) gas turbine plant. This decision is most obviously a reaction to the load-shedding blackout amid last month’s heatwave, when the operators of the Pelican Point gas power station were either unable or unwilling to increase output. Had they done so, load shedding could have been avoided. </p>
<p>At A$360 million, this seems a rather expensive way to avoid another load-shedding blackout, presumably justified on the basis of avoided political cost. It could be seen as a missed opportunity to provide more support for a far more innovative (though well proven in other countries) project to integrate solar thermal generation, gas generation and <a href="http://reneweconomy.com.au/molten-salt-storage-for-rooftop-solar-sa-invention-wins-eureka-prize-99882/">molten salt storage</a>. </p>
<p>Solar thermal generation may gain support from the tender for new generation to supply the government’s own electricity requirements, and possibly some from the Renewable Technology Fund, but that remains to be seen.</p>
<p><strong>Energy security target</strong></p>
<p>Finally, the government will introduce a requirement, called an energy security target, requiring electricity retailers to source a minimum percentage of their wholesale requirements from local generators, rather than from Victorian coal-fired stations. </p>
<p>This will provide a guaranteed amount of revenue to local generators, thus reducing dependence on supply through the interconnectors with Victoria, with their associated security risks. </p>
<p>In a direct, though entirely unsurprising confrontation with the Commonwealth, the plan document states that “South Australia’s energy security target will transition to an EIS or Lower Emissions Target (LET) if or when national policy changes in the future”.</p>
<h2>The wider context</h2>
<p>In the policy document, Weatherill writes that the NEM is “failing South Australia and the nation”. Taken together, the various elements of the plan can be read as a list of how exactly the SA government considers it to be failing, and what powers the state proposes to assume in order to get it fixed.</p>
<p>Although the plan’s objectives are not stated explicitly, it is clear that they are threefold, and seen of equal priority:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>suppress retail price rises by introducing more competition into the wholesale market</p></li>
<li><p>enhance the physical security of electricity supply</p></li>
<li><p>encourage renewable generation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These priorities neatly match the three components of what the <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/97a4f50c-24ac-4fe5-b3e5-5f93066543a4/files/independent-review-national-elec-market-prelim.pdf">preliminary report</a> of the forthcoming Finkel Review calls the “energy trilemma”, which is the need to “simultaneously provide a high level of energy security and reliability, universal access to affordable energy services, and reduced emissions.”</p>
<p>With the review’s final version set to be delivered to the Commonwealth government in the coming months, it remains to be seen whether federal energy policy will become similarly proactive in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74522/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hugh Saddler is a member of the Board of the Climate Institute. </span></em></p>South Australia has unveiled its keenly awaited energy plan, featuring battery storage, a state-owned gas power station, and a thumb of the nose to the federal electricity rules.Hugh Saddler, Honorary Associate Professor, Centre for Climate Economics and Policy, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/745412017-03-14T19:15:19Z2017-03-14T19:15:19ZSouth Australia’s energy plan gives national regulators another headache<p>The keenly awaited <a href="http://ourenergyplan.sa.gov.au/">new energy policy</a> unveiled by South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill features a range of headline-grabbing items, such as a plan to spend A$150 million on a 100-megawatt battery storage facility to help stave off the danger of future blackouts.</p>
<p>On page 7 of the <a href="http://ourenergyplan.sa.gov.au/assets/our-energy-plan-sa-web.pdf">policy document</a>, Weatherill explains part of his underlying rationale:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The national market is now widely considered to be failing and in need of urgent reform. The ability of governments to influence the industry requires cooperation within and across state borders and at a Federal level – cooperation that needs to transcend politics and self-interest.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Noble words, but the new policy doesn’t “transcend politics and self-interest”. Quite the contrary – it is a unilateral move by a state government understandably keen to safeguard itself after suffering vicious criticism at a federal level. </p>
<p>There are rules for how SA and the east coast states that make up the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/national-electricity-market-2810">National Electricity Market</a> (NEM) are supposed to behave, yet member states seem to be able to flaunt them, systematically undermining the NEM along the way.</p>
<p>Rightly or wrongly, the NEM does not account for schemes such as renewable energy targets or solar feed-in tariffs. This means that when states pursue them, they can distort the market in the process.</p>
<p>There is conjecture about how much blame the Weatherill government should shoulder for the reliability issues that have beset SA’s electricity network. Either way, the decision has been made to fix it with yet more unilateral state government intervention in what is supposed to be a federated electricity market.</p>
<p>As a result, the new policy is likely to cause major headaches for the NEM and its operators. The announcement includes plans to give the state’s energy minister Tom Koutsantonis the power to override the NEM’s operating rules, allowing him to order generators to supply extra power when he deems it necessary.</p>
<p>This might help avert another South Australian blackout, but it will also undermine the role of the <a href="https://www.aemo.com.au/">Australian Energy Market Operator</a> (AEMO), which is responsible for managing the supply of electricity within the NEM. I will be fascinated to see how the SA government deals with the complex issue of what price they will pay for such power.</p>
<p>If the NEM is experiencing a peak in demand and South Australia is facing a shortage, will the South Australian Minister be able to override AEMO and demand private power generators in SA deliver power at a price determined by the minister? Or will the price be the one dictated at that moment by the market?</p>
<p>It is unlikely that the predominantly Labor-run states that now constitute the NEM will allow any adverse action against South Australia. In fact, the SA Parliament is the body through which rules of the NEM are legislated, so it will be nigh-on impossible to toss SA out of the NEM, lest the whole house of cards collapses.</p>
<h2>Going it alone</h2>
<p>Two other interesting aspects from the South Australian “energy intervention” is the construction of a new A$360 million gas-fired power plant, courtesy of SA taxpayers, and the A$150 million battery bank.</p>
<p>Presumably the SA government would like this new power plant to be able to sell electricity into the NEM, but to reserve the right to commandeer its output when circumstances dictate. It is not at all clear that the NEM rules allow this. </p>
<p>Consider the circumstances during last month’s heatwave, when both SA and New South Wales were facing power shortages. Under SA’s proposed new rules, NSW would be on its own (unless it develops a similar policy of its own). Hardly an example of cooperation.</p>
<p>The same issue will apply to the battery bank. Will it only be on standby for power shortages in SA, or will it be able to discharge into the NEM to take advantages of peak pricing? Could this result in SA finding its batteries empty when the wind stops blowing?</p>
<p>The SA government is correct to point out the deficiencies in the NEM, and even perhaps to claim that it is failing the nation. But an interstate scheme cannot be fixed by the unilateral actions of one state government – in this case, it is likely to be worsened.</p>
<p>The most worrying prospect of all, as far as the NEM is concerned, is the possibility that this will increase investment uncertainty still further, making it even less likely that the interstate grid will attract the new investment it needs.</p>
<p>If that happens, we might well see a few more states deciding to follow SA’s lead and plan sweeping energy reforms of their own.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74541/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeffrey Sommerfeld is involved with an energy analytic consultancy he established with two other persons with PhD expertise in energy. He/they are not doing this research on behalf of a client and will receive no direct benefit from it. He was an adviser to former Queensland LNP energy minister Mark McArdle from April 2012 to July 2013.</span></em></p>South Australia is investing $550 million in a plan to improve the reliability of its electricity. But the side-effect is that the National Electricity Market will now be even harder to run.Jeffrey Sommerfeld, Doctorate and Researcher in Energy Policy, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/736042017-02-26T19:03:14Z2017-02-26T19:03:14ZWhy we need an ‘energy Landcare’ to tackle rising power prices<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158247/original/image-20170224-32692-1tle6t8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This array in Indiana is one of a growing number of "community solar gardens" in the US.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AThe_Tipmont_REMC_Community_Solar_Array.jpg">Robford15/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rising electricity prices have become a <a href="https://theconversation.com/rising-power-bills-signal-the-end-of-an-era-for-australias-electricity-grid-70402">fact of life in Australia</a> – and are likely to be so for a few years to come. </p>
<p>However, while the cost of generating electricity will rise as <a href="http://aglblog.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/No-43-energy-only-and-renewable-targets-FINAL.pdf">cheap but ageing coal power stations go offline</a>, that doesn’t mean your electricity bills need to follow suit. </p>
<p>Households and businesses can take greater control of their energy future and slash their power bills in a range of cost-effective ways. Solar panels and battery storage are among the most obvious strategies. But not everyone can afford them, which is why we are seeing the rise of community projects that aim to give more people access to clean energy.</p>
<p>Australia now has more than 1.6 million solar roofs. Last year 6,750 battery storage systems were installed, up from just 500 in 2015. </p>
<p>Yet many households and businesses are still effectively “locked out” of this energy revolution. Many renters, apartment-dwellers and lower-income households face a series of market barriers that make these options hard to access.</p>
<p>Renters often find that their landlord does not want to invest in solar. Those living in apartments can have the same problem with their strata or body corporate, with the added problem of not always having access to their own roof.</p>
<p>Poorer households typically can’t afford solar panels or batteries, even if they would save money over the longer term. On top of the expense, buying solar panels and other clean energy products can be complicated and confusing.</p>
<h2>Club together</h2>
<p>The good news is that there are several initiatives around Australia that aim to get around these barriers. One example is <a href="http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/darebin-solar-savers-5440/">Darebin Solar $avers</a>, a collaboration between local government, community and industry that has installed solar panels on 300 low-income households in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. There was no upfront cost to these households, ensuring they were financially better off from day one.</p>
<p>Another example is the community solar gardens model, which has become popular in the United States. Solar gardens work by installing a central solar array, generally near a population centre. Energy customers are invited to buy (or subscribe to) a share in a handful of the array’s solar panels. The electricity generated is then credited on the customer’s electricity bill. Often, poorer households are offered discounts to be able to participate.</p>
<p>One issue with these kinds of schemes, however, is that they are complicated to set up. They usually involve many partner organisations – at least one of which has to have an interest in ensuring that users are better off. It is hard to see how the market can deliver these schemes on its own.</p>
<p>Where markets fail, it is typically governments’ job to step in and help. So how can governments go about helping people get access to affordable clean energy?</p>
<p>In the United States, the Obama administration set a national target of 1 gigawatt of solar panels to be installed on low- to moderate-income homes by 2020 as part of the <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/07/19/fact-sheet-obama-administration-announces-clean-energy-savings-all">Clean Energy Savings for All</a> program. The <a href="https://energy.gov/eere/solarpoweringamerica/national-community-solar-partnership">National Community Solar Partnership</a> brought together 68 organisations to help set up community solar gardens and make them easier to access. </p>
<p>This week, Australia’s second national <a href="http://c4ce.net.au/congress/">Community Energy Congress</a> in Melbourne will hear from Barack Obama’s climate and energy adviser, Candace Vahlsing, who will outline how these policies can help ensure wider access to green energy.</p>
<p>In Australia, a proposal to establish a network of 50 Regional Energy Hubs is gaining traction. The federal <a href="http://www.laborsclimatechangeactionplan.org.au/">Labor</a> Party, <a href="http://greens.org.au/community-renewables">Greens</a> and <a href="http://www.solarcitizens.org.au/scorecardexplainer">Nick Xenophon Team</a> all made commitments in the lead-up to the 2016 federal election.</p>
<p>The Regional Energy Hubs proposal is modelled on the <a href="http://www.mefl.com.au/">Moreland Energy Foundation</a>, a non-profit organisation in inner-north Melbourne set up in 2000 in the wake of Victoria’s energy privatisation. The foundation has a team of energy and engagement experts working with households, businesses, community groups and governments on innovative approaches to implementing sustainable energy supply – the Darebin Solar $avers program being one example. The idea would be to set up dozens more similar organisations, all linked together across the nation.</p>
<p>The program can be thought of as like <a href="https://landcareaustralia.org.au/">Landcare</a> but for clean energy. Landcare is a nationwide network of volunteers who care for our land and water, with the aim of boosting both environmental protection and agricultural productivity. Similarly, energy hubs would aim both to make energy more environmentally friendly, and to make clean energy more affordable and accessible. </p>
<p>This is why we have to move past just talking about “costs” and start thinking about investment. <a href="http://cpagency.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/MJA-Report-to-CCE-Final-14Jun13.pdf">Modelling by Marsden Jacobs and Associates</a> shows that every dollar of government investment in community energy can leverage A$10-17 of community investment. At the same time, this delivers many other benefits to communities: closer connections between neighbours; opportunities to learn new skills or access new income streams; easing social inequity; and improving health.</p>
<p>Given the myriad possible solutions to our energy challenges, we need to nut out what works best, and where. The best way to do this is by putting all of our heads together – local government, state government, federal government, private enterprise, innovators in the clean energy sector, and the communities that stand to benefit. That way we can make the clean energy transition fairer and more accessible to all.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The second national <a href="http://c4ce.net.au/congress/">Community Energy Congress</a> is taking place in Melbourne on February 27-28.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73604/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicky Ison is a Research Associate at the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) at the University of Technology Sydney and a Founding Director of Community Power Agency. ISF undertakes paid sustainability research for a wide range of government, corporate and NGO clients. Community Power Agency is a not-for-profit organisation working to grow a vibrant community energy sector in Australia.</span></em></p>Without help, lower-income people could miss out on the clean energy revolution – hence the arrival of community projects aiming to boost access to solar panels, batteries and other green technology.Nicky Ison, Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.