tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/electricity-usage-7013/articleselectricity usage – The Conversation2024-03-17T19:01:24Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2253462024-03-17T19:01:24Z2024-03-17T19:01:24ZSmart meters haven’t delivered the promised benefits to electricity users. Here’s a way to fix the problems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582098/original/file-20240315-18-3y4x18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C311%2C3642%2C2419&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-modern-smart-grid-residential-digital-108664646">Pi-Lens/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/advanced-metering-infrastructure-market">Billions of dollars</a> are being spent worldwide to modernise electricity grids with smart meters. These meters promise to save households money by making it easier for us to understand and manage our energy use. However, our <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(24)00055-9">new research</a> suggests these promises might not be fully delivered due to a lack of access to high-resolution, real-time energy data.</p>
<p>Smart meters are the enabling technology of modern smart electricity grids. Smart grids can use digital technology to fine-tune the management of electricity supply and demand. This ensures the grid can deliver low-cost and reliable power. </p>
<p>Countries like Australia are racing to install smart meters extensively. Last year the Australian Energy Market Commission <a href="https://www.aemc.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-08/emo0040_-_metering_review_-_final_report.pdf">recommended</a> a goal of 100% uptake among small customers by 2030. In response, an Australian Energy Council <a href="https://www.energycouncil.com.au/analysis/rushing-to-the-finish-line-can-we-clear-the-hurdles-on-the-way-to-100-smart-meters-by-2030/">article</a> suggested these meters aren’t living up to their potential. </p>
<p>This isn’t just an Australian problem – it’s a global challenge. <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(24)00055-9">Our research</a> offers a solution to unleash the promised benefits of smart meters at least cost. From improving data transmission to protecting our privacy, there’s a lot we can do to make our energy systems smarter and fairer for everyone.</p>
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<h2>Why do we need a truly smart grid?</h2>
<p>Our demand for electricity is set to soar as the push to electrify everything gains momentum. The Victorian government, for instance, has <a href="https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0027/691119/Victorias-Gas-Substitution-Roadmap-Update.pdf">banned gas in new homes</a> from 2024. </p>
<p>The International Energy Agency <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/02/green-energy-electricity-demand-growth-iea-report/">forecasts a 3.4% annual rise</a> in electricity consumption from 2024 to 2026. As transportation electrifies, electricity’s share could increase <a href="https://www.irena.org/Energy-Transition/Technology/Transport">from 1% in 2018 to 49% by 2050</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cooking-and-heating-without-gas-what-are-the-impacts-of-shifting-to-all-electric-homes-210649">Cooking (and heating) without gas: what are the impacts of shifting to all-electric homes?</a>
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<p>To meet this growing demand while cutting carbon emissions, we must ramp up renewable energy production. However, the unpredictable nature of wind and solar power presents challenges for the grid.</p>
<p>To manage highly variable supply and demand, we need to digitise our grid. Advanced technologies such as sensors, machine-learning algorithms and cloud computing will enable us to optimise electricity generation, distribution and consumption. </p>
<p>Smart meters are the cornerstone of such a system. They can provide the detailed, real-time data needed for smart grid applications. </p>
<p>Smart meter deployment has surged globally. The smart meter market is <a href="https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/advanced-metering-infrastructure-market">forecast</a> to grow from US$17.5 billion ($A26.6 billion) in 2024 to US$31.8 billion by 2028.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(24)00055-9">Our research</a> sheds light on this global deployment and its significant challenges. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582087/original/file-20240314-24-3y4x18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582087/original/file-20240314-24-3y4x18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582087/original/file-20240314-24-3y4x18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582087/original/file-20240314-24-3y4x18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582087/original/file-20240314-24-3y4x18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582087/original/file-20240314-24-3y4x18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582087/original/file-20240314-24-3y4x18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582087/original/file-20240314-24-3y4x18.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A summary of the rollout of smart meters in selected countries. (Data for Australia and US from 2023, Canada, China, Japan and UK from 2022, and Sweden, Estonia and Denmark from 2020. DSO = distribution service operator, IESO = independent electricity system operator)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(24)00055-9">Rui Yuan et al 2024</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-successful-energy-transition-depends-on-managing-when-people-use-power-so-how-do-we-make-demand-more-flexible-213079">A successful energy transition depends on managing when people use power. So how do we make demand more flexible?</a>
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<h2>What will better data allow us to do?</h2>
<p>Grid modernisation and smart meters came with big promises of saving money for consumers. This hasn’t happened. The reason is that many direct benefits to consumers require high-resolution data – and the required level of fine detail in real time isn’t being provided. </p>
<p>For example, as a direct benefit to consumers, <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8322199">some machine-learning techniques</a> can help households optimise their energy use by providing insights into exactly how much electricity each appliance is using and when. This information could enable them to lower their electricity bill. These tools can also detect abnormal usage patterns, allowing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/int.22876">timely intervention and maintenance</a> of faulty appliances. </p>
<p>However, these applications and <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(24)00055-9">other smart grid benefits</a> for consumers all require high-resolution data. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-national-electricity-market-wasnt-made-for-a-renewable-energy-future-heres-how-to-fix-it-215067">The National Electricity Market wasn't made for a renewable energy future. Here's how to fix it</a>
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<h2>What obstacles must be overcome?</h2>
<p>We found three major reasons for the current limitations of smart-metering infrastructure. </p>
<p><em>Data transmission</em> is the first big challenge. High-resolution and more frequent data means a higher volume of numbers, which leads to more delays or disruptions to data transmission. </p>
<p>The second challenge is the <em>data warehousing</em> needed for huge volumes of data. It’s expensive too. </p>
<p>Building and running a data warehouse costs <a href="https://ilsr.org/utilities-customer-data-portability-ler155/">US$19,000–$25,000 per terabyte</a> each year. Upgrading from hourly data to every two seconds requires 1,800 times the storage, at an extra cost of US$36 million! And that’s not counting maintenance, backups, or sharing the data.</p>
<p>The third major issue is <em>data privacy</em>. The data can also be exploited by attackers. They could figure out what appliances you have, your home setup, or even your habits. </p>
<p>This can lead to criminal activities or serious invasion of privacy. For example, people could be tracked based on their vehicle-charging patterns. </p>
<p>Even law enforcement uses electricity data in court cases. One case involved the detection of <a href="https://www.csoonline.com/article/546876/microsoft-subnet-are-smart-meters-real-time-surveillance-spies.html">indoor marijuana growing</a>.</p>
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<h2>A way forward at the cheapest cost</h2>
<p>Ideally, we need a solution that tackles all the issues using the smart meters we already have. <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(24)00055-9">Our solution</a> is based on discovering repeated patterns within electricity usage data, then dividing these data into two parts. </p>
<p>It’s like a book divided into piles of papers and page numbers, with each then handed to different parties. Neither the page alone nor the page numbers make sense until they are combined. </p>
<p>Similarly, we suggest dividing detailed data into smaller patterns called codewords and their daily representations. We’d send only representations to the data centre, letting users keep their codewords to ensure their privacy. </p>
<p>Patterns of energy use often repeat. By using a single codeword to represent multiple days of similar consumption, we can greatly reduce the amount of data that needs to be transmitted. This would cut data communication and warehousing costs. </p>
<p>Continuous research on software, hardware and regulations is needed to refine the proposed framework for the stages of data collection, transmission, storage and analysis. </p>
<p>It’s important for modern energy consumers to be aware that as well as consuming and generating energy (from rooftop solar systems), they also generate data through their smart meters. This data asset is becoming increasingly valuable in the transition to the net-zero era.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225346/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ali Pourmousavi Kani receives funding from Future Battery Industry Cooperative Research Centre (FBICRC) and Watts AS (from Denmark) for his research. He also has done and is currently involved with consulting jobs that are available in his resume. None are related to the topic of this article. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rui Yuan receives funding from the Australian Government Research Training Program and Watts AS (Denmark) for his PhD research. He currently affiliates with Watts AS. </span></em></p>The amount of detailed real-time data a smart grid needs to manage the push for electrification and renewables presents challenges – but there’s an affordable solution.Ali Pourmousavi Kani, Senior Lecturer of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, University of AdelaideRui Yuan, Industry PhD Candidate, School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2160672023-10-26T19:03:10Z2023-10-26T19:03:10ZMost data lives in the cloud. What if it lived under the sea?<p>Where is the text you’re reading, right now? In one sense, it lives “on the internet” or “in the cloud”, just like your favourite social media platform or the TV show you might stream tonight.</p>
<p>But in a physical sense, it’s stored and transmitted somewhere in a network of <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1228433/data-centers-worldwide-by-country/">thousands of data centres</a> across the globe. Each of these centres is whirring, buzzing and beeping around the clock, to store, process and communicate vast amounts of data and provide services to hungry consumers. </p>
<p>All this infrastructure is expensive to build and run, and has <a href="https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-staggering-ecological-impacts-of-computation-and-the-cloud/">a considerable environmental impact</a>. In search of cost savings, greater sustainability and better service, data centre providers are looking to get their feet wet.</p>
<p>Tech giant Microsoft and other companies want to relocate data centres into the world’s oceans, submerging computers and networking equipment to take advantage of cheap real estate and cool waters. Is this a good thing? What about the environmental impact? Are we simply replacing one damaging practice with another?</p>
<h2>Which companies are doing this?</h2>
<p>Microsoft’s <a href="https://natick.research.microsoft.com/">Project Natick</a> has been pursuing the idea of data centres beneath the waves since 2014. The initial premise was that since many humans live near the coast, so should data centres.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Microsoft’s underwater data centre: Project Natick.</span></figcaption>
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<p>An initial experiment in 2015 saw a <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/features/microsoft-research-project-puts-cloud-in-ocean-for-the-first-time/">small-scale data centre</a> deployed for three months in the Pacific Ocean. </p>
<p><a href="https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/sustainability/project-natick-underwater-datacenter/">A two-year follow-up experiment</a> began in 2018. A total of 864 servers, in a 12 by 3 metre tubular structure, were sunk 35 metres deep off the Orkney Islands in Scotland.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Microsoft’s Project Natick 2.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Microsoft is not the only company experimenting with moving data underwater. <a href="https://www.subseacloud.com/">Subsea Cloud</a> is another American company doing so. China’s Shenzhen HiCloud Data Center Technology Co Ltd has <a href="https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202303/31/WS642636b9a31057c47ebb7952.html">deployed centres in tropical waters</a> off the coast of Hainan Island.</p>
<h2>Why move data centres under the waves?</h2>
<p>Underwater data centres promise several advantages over their land-locked cousins.</p>
<p><strong>1) Energy efficiency</strong></p>
<p>The primary benefit is a significant cut in electricity consumption. According to the International Energy Agency, data centres <a href="https://www.iea.org/energy-system/buildings/data-centres-and-data-transmission-networks">consume around 1–1.5%</a> of global electricity use, of which some 40% is used for cooling.</p>
<p>Data centres in the ocean can dissipate heat in the surrounding water. Microsoft’s centre uses a small amount of electricity for cooling, while Subsea Cloud’s design has an entirely passive cooling system.</p>
<p><strong>2) Reliability</strong></p>
<p>The Microsoft experiment also found the underwater centre had a boost in reliability. When it was brought back to shore in 2020, the rate of server failures was less than 20% that of land-based data centres.</p>
<p>This was attributed to the stable temperature on the sea floor and the fact oxygen and humidity had been removed from the tube, which likely decreased corrosion of the components. The air inside the tube had also been replaced with nitrogen, making fires impossible.</p>
<p>Another reason for the increased reliability may have been the complete absence of humans, which prevents the possibility of human error impacting the equipment.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-environmental-cost-of-data-centres-is-substantial-and-making-them-energy-efficient-will-only-solve-half-the-problem-202643">The environmental cost of data centres is substantial, and making them energy-efficient will only solve half the problem</a>
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<p><strong>3) Latency</strong></p>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-prisms-coastal-futures/article/population-development-as-a-driver-of-coastal-risk-current-trends-and-future-pathways/8261D3B34F6114EA0999FAA597D5F2E2">one third</a> of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometres of a coast. Locating data centres close to where people live reduces the time taken for data to reach them, known as “latency”.</p>
<p>Offshore data centres can be close to coastal consumers, reducing latency, without having to pay the high real-estate prices often found in densely populated areas. </p>
<p><strong>4) Increased security and data sovereignty</strong></p>
<p>Moving data centres into the ocean makes them physically more difficult for hackers or saboteurs to access. It can also make it easier for companies to address “data sovereignty” concerns, in which certain countries require certain data to be stored within their borders rather than transmitted overseas. </p>
<p><strong>5) Cost</strong></p>
<p>Alongside savings due to reduced power bills, fewer hardware failures, and the low price of offshore real estate, the way underwater data centres are built may also cut costs. </p>
<p>The centres can be made in a modular, mass-produced fashion using standardised components, and shipped ready for deployment. There is also no need to consider the comfort or practicality for human operators to interact with the equipment.</p>
<h2>What about the environmental impact?</h2>
<p>At present there is no evidence placing data centres in the world’s oceans will have any significant negative impact. Microsoft’s experiments showed <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/want-an-energyefficient-data-center-build-it-underwater">some localised warming</a>, but “the water just metres downstream of a Natick vessel would get a few thousandths of a degree warmer at most”.</p>
<p>The Microsoft findings also showed the submerged data centre provided habitat to marine life, much like a shipwreck: </p>
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<p>[…] crabs and fish began to gather around the vessel within 24 hours. We were delighted to have created a home for those creatures.</p>
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<p>If underwater data centres go ahead, robust planning will be needed to ensure their placement follows best practise considering <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221149944">cultural heritage</a> and environmental values. There are also opportunities to enhance the environmental benefits of underwater data centres by incorporating <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105198">nature-positive features</a> in the design to enhance marine biodiversity around these structures.</p>
<h2>What’s next?</h2>
<p>Several companies are actively exploring, or indeed constructing, underwater data centres. While the average end-user will have no real awareness of where their data are stored, organisations may soon have opportunities to select local, underwater cloud platforms and services.</p>
<p>Companies with a desire to shout about their environmental credentials may well seek out providers that offer greener data centres – a change that is likely to only accelerate the move to the ocean.</p>
<p>So far, it looks like this approach is practical and can be scaled up. Add in the environmental and economic savings and this may well be the future of data centres for a significant proportion of the planet.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-are-ignoring-the-true-cost-of-water-guzzling-data-centres-167750">We are ignoring the true cost of water-guzzling data centres</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216067/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>Could the data centres that power the internet be moved to the bottom of the ocean? It’s not as crazy as it soundsPaul Haskell-Dowland, Professor of Cyber Security Practice, Edith Cowan UniversityKathryn McMahon, Deputy Director, Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, and Associate Dean of Research, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag: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>
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<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">
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<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>
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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>
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<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/1488232020-11-05T12:10:03Z2020-11-05T12:10:03ZFour energy-saving lessons from the first lockdown which may help us through the winter<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367031/original/file-20201102-23-17rqrm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lockdown disrupted our daily routines – and lowered their carbon footprint.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sipeta / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The gold standard of research in science is the randomised controlled trial. The COVID-19 restrictions may at times seem random and most certainly feel like a trial. But are they controlled enough to learn from?</p>
<p>For scientists like me who are interested in <a href="https://www.energy-use.org/about.php#team">our energy use</a>, the lockdown is a social science experiment of unprecedented scale and opportunity. No ethics committee would ever have approved it. Never before has an entire society been told to abandon its normal routines from one day to the next.</p>
<p>With the help of detailed activity and energy records, we can learn a lot about ourselves and our energy use habits. It turns out that changing some of our routines due to the pandemic really can have significant benefits for ourselves and the planet.</p>
<p>Here are four lessons from the first lockdown which may help us through the winter.</p>
<h2>1. Getting the timing right saves money and carbon</h2>
<p>Before the first lockdown in March, life followed well-established rhythms and routines. Energy system operators could rely on the British public to come home between 5pm and 6pm, start cooking, put on a wash and perhaps watch a bit of TV with a cup of tea. This pattern was so well established that power stations are routinely put on standby to meet peak demand between 5pm and 7pm. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, these “<a href="https://squireenergy.co.uk/peak-power-plants-explained/">peaking plants</a>” are among the most expensive and polluting ones we have. So much so that utilities, economists and engineers have long wondered if and how some of this peak demand could be reduced or shifted to another time with cleaner, cheaper electricity.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367915/original/file-20201106-21-160kd92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Electricity demand in the UK has been falling for years due to improved energy efficiency and high carbon industries moving overseas." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367915/original/file-20201106-21-160kd92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367915/original/file-20201106-21-160kd92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=234&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367915/original/file-20201106-21-160kd92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=234&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367915/original/file-20201106-21-160kd92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=234&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367915/original/file-20201106-21-160kd92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=294&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367915/original/file-20201106-21-160kd92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=294&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367915/original/file-20201106-21-160kd92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=294&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: Electricity demand fell in 2020 (green), especially in the morning peak. Electricity demand in the UK has been falling for years due to improved energy efficiency and high carbon industries moving overseas. Right: activity reporting frequency in lockdown (green) and at all other times (grey)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Phil Grunewald</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then came the first lockdown. With almost immediate effect, the pattern that had seemed so stable was upturned. Many people allowed themselves an extra hour in the morning, saving time from the usual commute and the peak evening period got redistributed. Chores such as laundry could now be performed in the middle of the day. The result, less electricity use at most expensive and polluting times of the day.</p>
<p>Working from home resulted in time shifts that reduced emissions and costs. We may not have seen those reductions in our bills yet, but smart meters and time-of-use tariffs can make that happen, too.</p>
<h2>2. The ‘old normal’ is not our natural rhythm</h2>
<p>Activity patterns have changed, quite fundamentally in some cases. Our data on self-reported levels of enjoyment suggest that <a href="https://beta.ukdataservice.ac.uk/datacatalogue/doi/?id=8634#!#1">many people prefer the new routine</a>. The early evening rush, which leads to peak electricity demand, was in fact a very stressful period. Moving some of the jobs and chores to earlier in the day results in higher levels of enjoyment overall. Just because everybody followed a certain rhythm, doesn’t mean that this is the best rhythm for us – nor for the environment.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Cars in a traffic jam." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367035/original/file-20201102-15-oufgfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367035/original/file-20201102-15-oufgfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367035/original/file-20201102-15-oufgfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367035/original/file-20201102-15-oufgfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367035/original/file-20201102-15-oufgfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367035/original/file-20201102-15-oufgfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367035/original/file-20201102-15-oufgfb.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">Just because we all do something at the same time doesn’t mean this is the best time to do it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">MagicBones / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. We all need flexibility - even power systems</h2>
<p>There are more than 240 gigawatts-worth of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/household-electricity-survey">household appliances in the UK</a>, but the combined electricity generated by the country’s power stations covers merely a quarter of this. The lights stay on so long as we can be trusted not to turn all appliances on at the same time.</p>
<p>Even a well-synchronised moment of turning on kettles, such as during the ad break of Coronation Street, can put a strain on the system. Luckily, on-demand television has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629618301051#!">helped to diffuse</a> these moments of social synchronisation somewhat.</p>
<p>There is a certain irony that the lockdown gave some people more flexibility over their day. Without any further prodding, activity patterns became less synchronised and less peaky. The overall demand reduction meant that no coal needed to be burned, while the shift in timing allowed more electricity from renewable sources to be used.</p>
<h2>4. Now is the time to improve our homes</h2>
<p>It may not have felt it at the time, but the timing of the first lockdown was fortunate. Last time when everyone was asked to stay at home, the heating season had just come to an end. Better still, the UK experienced a period of warm and pleasant weather. This winter will be different. Homes which need to be heated throughout the day will see significant increases in their bills. </p>
<p>Much of this could be avoided with better insulated and refurbished housing. Any government that wants to support the economy and citizens would do well to invest in the efficiency of our housing stock now.</p>
<p>This winter will be challenging for many. You can help my colleagues and I observe the effects of current restrictions by joining the study at <a href="https://www.JoyMeter.uk">JoyMeter.uk</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-environmental-case-for-keeping-the-clocks-on-summer-time-all-the-time-93973">The environmental case for keeping the clocks on summer time – all the time</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148823/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philipp Grünewald works for University of Oxford (no financial gain).
My work is funded by EPSRC EP/M024652/1
I am a FICE</span></em></p>Spreading electricity demand throughout the day is much better for the environment.Philipp Grünewald, EPSRC Fellow, Department of Engineering Science, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1440392020-09-10T09:56:50Z2020-09-10T09:56:50ZFive cost-effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint at home<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356562/original/file-20200904-14-jwdifc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=268%2C79%2C6239%2C3403&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/eco-friendly-house-concept-moss-covered-675099481">Shutterstock/Stockcreations</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The Conversation made a correction in this article in the section on home heating after an error was noticed in the calculations comparing air source heat pumps and gas boilers.</em></p>
<p>Since the pandemic struck, most people have been spending the majority of their time in the house. Those working from home have become ever more reliant on electricity for running office essentials, including computers, printers, phones and broadband. </p>
<p>Others may be furloughed from work (or out of work entirely) and find themselves using domestic home appliances more heavily than usual. Hoovers, cookers, washing machines, kettles and televisions are constantly on and guzzling power. Whichever way you look at it, this adds up and contributes to both our carbon footprint and rising domestic energy bills.</p>
<p>Our new research project developed the <a href="https://act4eco.eu/">Act4Eco learning platform</a>. The aim of the platform is to help consumers use energy more efficiently and to save money. So here are five quick tips on how this can be achieved.</p>
<h2>1. Reading the electricity bill</h2>
<p>Not enough people understand all of the details on their electricity bill. For example, it is important to know if and when your tariff changes. In a fixed-rate deal the price you pay is locked for a set period. When you reach the end of this period, electricity charges can roll into a <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/key-term-explained/standard-variable-tariff-0">standard variable rate</a>, which will be more expensive. <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3662969">Research shows</a> that changing electricity suppliers on an annual basis is a good way to get the best deal. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d15TWD2anUA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<h2>2. Energy intensive appliances</h2>
<p>Most people understand that the largest home appliances consume the greatest amount of electricity. The Energy Saving Trust, for example, <a href="https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/reports/PoweringthenationreportCO332.pdf">estimates that</a> electric cookers consume 317kWh and cost £46 per year to run. But many people don’t realise that smaller appliances can guzzle a disproportionate amount of energy – kettles consume 167kWh per year, for instance. That means people are spending 7.5p on electricity for every 10 minutes spent boiling the kettle.</p>
<p>Charging cables for the likes of phones and laptops can also continue to siphon electricity even after they have been disconnected from a device. Left idle in a plug socket, a charger can consume between <a href="https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/reports/PoweringthenationreportCO332.pdf">343kWh and 591kWh</a> per year and cost £50 to £85 annually. </p>
<h2>3. Home heating and thermostats</h2>
<p>People tend to inherit heating systems after moving into a new home. Unfortunately, these systems are not always the most efficient or carbon-friendly. To tick these boxes, householders might want to consider switching to a modern <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/ground-and-air-source-heat-pumps/article/air-source-heat-pumps-explained#How">air source heat pump</a>.</p>
<p>These pumps look like an air conditioning unit. They take heat from the air and boost it to a higher temperature using the heat pump. The electricity used to run the pump is less than the heat produced. An air source heat pump consumes 4,000kWh a year. Based on average <a href="https://www.ukpower.co.uk/home_energy/tariffs-per-unit-kwh">electricity prices</a> of 14p per kWh, that comes out at about £560. </p>
<p>This is still around £100 more expensive than gas central heating, however, and air source heat pumps can also be expensive to install. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that installation ranges from £6,000 to £8,000. But the big advantage is that the carbon emissions of air source heat pumps are at least <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:hkMeXFX3st0J:researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/POST-PN-0523/POST-PN-0523.pdf+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk">a third lower</a> than a gas boiler, and will keep falling as the electricity network gets greener. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A thermostat set at 19C" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356565/original/file-20200904-18-184m6k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Turning down home heating by just 1°C can make a big difference to bills and energy usage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hand-turning-home-thermostat-knob-set-519476797">Shutterstock/OlivierLeMoal</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>All the same, not everyone can afford to buy such a pricey item. Luckily, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/128720/6923-how-much-energy-could-be-saved-by-making-small-cha.pdf">studies show</a> that doing something as simple as turning down the thermostat from 20°C to 18°C can save as much as 3,090kWh a year. Even turning down a thermostat by just 1°C can significantly cut your bill. </p>
<h2>4. Draught-proofing</h2>
<p>Now that we are coming into autumn, draughts will be on our minds and round our ankles. However, notwithstanding the advantages of insulating roofs and lofts or investing in external wall insulation, the initial outlay to improve home insulation can prove very expensive.</p>
<p>Fortunately, cheaper options exist. Foam, brush or wiper strips fixed around internal doors can <a href="https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-insulation/draught-proofing">cut draughts significantly</a> and self-adhesive foam strips for windows can also reduce air pushing through the gaps. Doing this could save around £20 a year.</p>
<h2>5. Make small changes and stick to them</h2>
<p>Okay, so you’ve read your bill, checked your appliance use, reduced your thermostat settings and insulated against draughts. What next? Unfortunately, <a href="https://research.birmingham.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/digital-behaviour-change-interventions-to-break-and-form-habits(765f57ae-bde7-4aee-a0a3-9b283a0a7491).html">research shows</a> that people tend to fall into repeating habits unless they make a conscious decision to change and sustain the effort.</p>
<p>People can make a much larger impact on their lives if they change one small habit at a time over the duration of a year. And <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14786451.2014.936867">studies show</a> that these small changes can make a difference. The cumulative effect of our efforts could see a substantial reduction in our carbon footprint. </p>
<p>So for some, “going green” may seem unattainable right now due to economic concerns. But free and cheap actions that reduce our carbon footprint <a href="https://act4eco.eu/">do exist</a> and do make a difference – to our pockets and the planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>ACT4ECO is funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme - one of the biggest EU funding programmes for research and innovation.
Nine European partners are involved in this project:
The Danish Board of Technology Foundation, Arnold Nielsens Boulevard 68E, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark.
Business Information Systems, Cork University Business School, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Deco Proteste, Lisbon, Portugal.
Hebes Intelligence, Athens, Greece.
Knowledge Economy Forum, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Sinergie Formazione e Innovazione, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Strategic Design Scenarios, Brussels, Belgium.
The Applied Research and Communications Fund (ARC Fund), Sofia, Bulgaria.
The University of Helsinki, Centre for Consumer Society Research, Helsinki, Finland.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Lynch and Stephen McCarthy 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>As the UK heads into a recession, here are some simple - and cheap - tips to reduce utility bills and make less of an impact on the planet.Wendy Rowan, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Business Information Systems, University College CorkLaura Lynch, Research Support Officer, Project Manager, University College CorkStephen McCarthy, Lecturer and researcher in the Department of Business Information Systems, University College CorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1322612020-02-23T19:42:17Z2020-02-23T19:42:17ZElectricity market transforming apace but security a worry: Energy Security Board<p>The transformation of the national electricity market has “progressed at a remarkable pace and scale” over the last year as it moves towards renewables, but security is a critical issue, according to the Energy Security Board.</p>
<p>In its latest report on “The Health of the National Electricity Market”, released Monday, the board also notes affordability improved slightly over the year for retail customers, with more relief to come.</p>
<p>A government report, also released Monday, shows Australian emissions (on a seasonally adjusted and weather-normalised basis) in the September quarter were unchanged compared with the previous quarter, while on an annual basis they were down 0.3%.</p>
<p>The ESB, an independent body chaired by Kerry Schott which reports to the Council of Australian Governments’ energy council, says in 2018-19 about 16% of electricity consumed in the NEM was from wind and solar (up from 14%), and this is forecast to rise to about 27% by 2022 and above 40% by 2030.</p>
<p>The 16% does not include rooftop solar, which is now about 5% of NEM generation and is expected to be 10% by 2030.</p>
<p>Different states are at different stages of transition to renewables. Tasmania, with hydro and wind, is close to 100%, South Australia is operating at about 53%; other states in the NEM (which doesn’t cover Western Australia) are on 10-20% though increasing rapidly.</p>
<p>“The issue of most concern in the NEM is security. This is a critical issue at present and for the future,” the ESB says.</p>
<p>“While there has been understandable concern about reliability, and whether or not there is sufficient supply or demand response when wind and solar is not available, the more immediate worry is maintaining security.</p>
<p>"To be secure the electricity system must operate within defined limits of frequency, voltage, inertia and system strength and be able to maintain that through disturbances.</p>
<p>"Failure to do so can seriously damage a power system and lead to significant supply interruptions.”</p>
<p>The Australian Energy Market Operator has had to intervene more than twice as much this year as the year before. </p>
<p>The report says reliability has been rated as critical, a worse rating than last year, and maintaining it has been a challenge. While there has been an improvement in reliability since last year summer supply is very tight in Victoria, NSW and South Australia.</p>
<p>Issues include the more severe summer weather conditions and ageing generators.</p>
<p>On affordability, the slight improvement was due to falls in average energy use as rooftop solar increased, and some energy efficiency.</p>
<p>“Both electricity and gas prices fell slightly against income levels and the consumer price index in 2018-19. The modest decrease was largely related to a decline in retail margins and a fall in wholesale costs.</p>
<p>"Retail prices remained largely steady across the NEM, with only modest improvement in affordability. The improvement was related to falls in average energy usage with growing distributed energy (rooftop solar) and energy efficiency. The decline in energy usage is most remarkable in Queensland and South Australia where there is a high penetration of rooftop solar”.</p>
<p>But the report says the overall trends hide the impact on particular consumers of high energy costs, notably those on low incomes, who spend 8-10% of their income on energy compared with the 2-4% spent by an average household. Low income households are less likely to see the benefit of investing in solar or energy efficiency.</p>
<p>On a national basis household electricity bills are likely to reduce by 7.1% or $97 over the period 2018-19 to 2021-22. This is primarily driven by wholesale costs falling as new low cost renewable capacity comes in.</p>
<p>The report stresses “the need for significant investment over the next decade in both transmission and distribution networks”.</p>
<p>The September update of “Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory”, from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, says the 0.3% fall over the year to September reflects annual decreases from the electricity, transport and agriculture sectors. These falls were partly offset by increases in emissions from stationary energy, fugitive, and land use, land use change and forestry sectors.</p>
<p>There was an increase over the year in emissions from total export industries of 3.5%, mainly reflecting a 17.4% rise in LNG exports.</p>
<p>A 2% decrease in emissions from the electricity sector was largely due to a 2.7% fall in coal generation, a 4.3% fall in gas generation and a 14.1% increase in renewables in the NEM.</p>
<p>Transport emissions fell 0.7% over the year, reflecting a reduction in petrol consumption of 3.2%.</p>
<p>The decline of 5.8% in emissions in the agriculture section came from the drought, with fewer livestock and less fertiliser being used.</p>
<p>Meanwhile former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has again weighed into the climate debate, to support strongly a target of having Australia carbon neutral by 2050.</p>
<p>Anthony Albanese last week recommitted Labor to the target of net zero emissions by 2050, which the ALP took to the last election.</p>
<p>Turnbull tweeted on Sunday, “a policy which opposes net zero by 2050 is a policy of 3 degrees plus global warming and an uninhabitable planet”.</p>
<p>The Coalition has improved its position slightly in the latest Newspoll, published in Monday’s Australian, now trailing Labor in two-party terms 49-51%, compared with 48-52% three weeks ago.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132261/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan 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 transformation of the national electricity market has “progressed at a remarkable pace and scale” over the last year as it moves towards renewables, but security remains a critical issue.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1281252019-12-16T19:02:37Z2019-12-16T19:02:37ZFor a greener future, we must accept there’s nothing inherently sustainable about going digital<p>Digital technologies are often put forward as a solution to environmental dilemmas.</p>
<p>The spread of the internet came with claims of a huge reduction in printing, and by replacing paper with bytes, we thought we’d reduce our negative environmental impact </p>
<p>But this early promise of solving environmental problems may not be delivering because digital devices, like most technologies, also have environmental impacts. </p>
<p>Devices are powered by electricity – often produced in coal-fired plants – and are manufactured from materials such as metals, glass and plastics. These materials also have to be mined, made or recycled.</p>
<p>So, while digital technologies can facilitate environmental benefits, we shouldn’t assume they always do. <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030283063">My research</a> published this year shows much more needs to be done to debunk such myths. </p>
<h2>Measuring digital eco-footprints</h2>
<p>It’s difficult to measure the environmental impacts of our digital lives, partly because the digital ecosystems that facilitate the internet are complex. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-shopping-the-eco-friendly-guide-to-online-christmas-shopping-88252">Sustainable Shopping: the eco-friendly guide to online Christmas shopping</a>
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<p>The United Nations Environment Assembly defines a <a href="https://un-spbf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Digital-Ecosystem-final-2.pdf">digital ecosystem</a> as “a complex distributed network or interconnected socio-technological system”. </p>
<p>Simply, digital ecosystems are the result of humans, digital infrastructure and devices interacting with one another. They rely on energy consumption at multiple scales. </p>
<p>The term “digital ecosystem” relates to ecological thinking, specifically in terms of how human-technological systems work. </p>
<p>However, there’s nothing <em>inherently</em> environmentally sustainable about digital ecosystems. </p>
<p>It’s worthwhile considering digital ecosystems’ environmental impacts as they grow.</p>
<p>In 2017, it was reported in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06610-y">Nature</a> that internet traffic (to and from data centres) was increasing at an exponential rate. At that stage, it had reached 1.1 zettabytes (a zettabyte equals one trillion gigabytes). </p>
<p>As our digital use continues, so do our carbon emissions. </p>
<h2>Dangers of data centres</h2>
<p>Data centres majorly contribute to the carbon emissions of digital ecosystems. They are basically factories that store, backup and recover our data. </p>
<p>In April last year, it was estimated data centres around the world used more than 2% of the world’s electricity, and generated the <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/energy-hogs-can-huge-data-centers-be-made-more-efficient">same amount of carbon emissions</a> as the global airline industry (in terms of fuel use). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-shopping-is-it-possible-to-fly-sustainably-88636">Sustainable shopping: is it possible to fly sustainably?</a>
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<p>While there is debate about the impact of flying on climate change, we’re less likely to evaluate our digital lives the same way. </p>
<p>According to British Open University <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/26/trouble-with-bitcoin-big-data-huge-energy-bill">Professor John Naughton</a>, data centres make up about 50% of all energy consumed by digital ecosystems. Personal devices use another 34%, and the industries responsible for manufacturing them use 16%.</p>
<p>Tech giants <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/9/17216656/apple-renewable-energy-worldwide-climate-change">such as Apple</a> <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/4/17197342/google-renewable-energy-climate-change">and Google</a> have committed to 100% renewable targets, but they’re just one part of our giant digital ecosystem. </p>
<p>Also, on many occasions, they rely on carbon offsets to achieve this. Offsets involve people and organisations <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/sep/16/carbon-offset-projects-carbon-emissions">investing in environmental projects</a> to balance their carbon emissions from other activities. For instance, people can buy carbon offsets when booking flights. </p>
<p>Offsets have been critiqued for not effectively reducing the carbon footprints of wealthy people, while absolving guilt from continued consumption. </p>
<h2>A carbon-filled road ahead</h2>
<p>With more digital technologies emerging, the environmental impacts of digital ecosystems are probably going to increase. </p>
<p>Apart from the obvious <a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-could-be-a-force-for-good-but-were-currently-heading-for-a-darker-future-124941">social and economic impacts</a>, artificial intelligence’s (AI) environmental implications should be seriously considered. </p>
<p><a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1906.02243.pdf">A paper published in June</a> by University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers revealed training a large AI machine could produce five times as much carbon as what one car (including fuel) emits over a person’s lifetime, on average. </p>
<p>Also, this figure only relates to training a large AI machine. There are various other ways these machines suck energy.</p>
<p>Similarly, bitcoin mining (an application of blockchain) continues to consume large amounts of energy, and is increasing on a global scale. According to the <a href="https://www.iea.org/newsroom/news/2019/july/bitcoin-energy-use-mined-the-gap.html">International Energy Agency</a>, bitcoin mining uses more energy than some countries, including Austria and Colombia.</p>
<h2>Putting the ‘eco’ back in digital ecosystem</h2>
<p>The digital ecosystem that supports our devices includes storage systems and networks that aren’t in our homes or workplaces, such as “the cloud”. But we should still take responsibility for the impact of such systems.</p>
<p>Satellites are in space. Wires run beneath footpaths, roads and oceans. </p>
<p>All the while, the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/05/13/simple-explanation-internet-things-that-anyone-can-understand/">Internet of Things</a> is creeping into old technologies and transforming how we use them. These underground and distant aspects of digital ecosystems may partly explain why the growing environmental impacts of digital are sidelined. </p>
<p>There are some ways people can find out more about responsible tech options. <a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/planet4-international-stateless/2017/01/35f0ac1a-clickclean2016-hires.pdf">A 2017 guide</a> by Greenpeace rated digital tech companies on their green credentials. It assessed a range of corporations, including some managing digital platforms, and others hosting data centres. </p>
<p>But while the guide is useful, it’s also limited by a lack of transparency, because corporations aren’t obliged to share information on how much energy is needed or supplied for their data centres. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/high-tech-consumerism-a-global-catastrophe-happening-on-our-watch-43476">High-tech consumerism, a global catastrophe happening on our watch</a>
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<h2>Holding big tech accountable</h2>
<p>The responsibility to make our digital lives more sustainable shouldn’t lie solely with individuals. </p>
<p>Governments should provide a regulatory environment that demands greater transparency on how digital corporations use energy. And holding these corporations accountable should include reporting on whether they are improving the sustainability of their practices.</p>
<p>One immediate step could be for corporations that produce digital devices to move away from planned obsolescence. One example of this is when companies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/24/apple-samsung-fined-for-slowing-down-phones">including Apple and Samsung</a> manufacture smartphones that are not designed to last. </p>
<p>Digital sustainability is a useful way to frame how digital technologies affect our environmental world. </p>
<p>We need to acknowledge that technology isn’t just a source of environmental solutions, but also has the potential for negative environmental impact. </p>
<p>Only then can we start to effectively transition to a more sustainable future that also includes digital technologies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128125/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica McLean 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>Last year, it was estimated data centres around the world generated the same amount of carbon emissions as created by the global airline industry’s fuel usage.Jessica McLean, Senior Lecturer in Geography, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/920292018-02-26T19:14:08Z2018-02-26T19:14:08ZSmart electricity meters are here, but more is needed to make them useful to customers<p>Across most of Australia, the electricity industry is in the midst of a <a href="https://www.aemc.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/29328539-8eb5-4c34-952d-2a44ab5d12c5/Information-sheet-consumer-benefits.PDF">major rollout</a> of so-called “smart meters” led by retailers – your household may very well have one already. </p>
<p>With the exception of Western Australia and the Northern Territory (and Victoria which <a href="http://www.smartmeters.vic.gov.au/">has them already</a>), all new and replacement meters will now be smart. This means that instead of simply recording electricity use for later checking, they can give retailers detailed consumption data, measured at 30-minute intervals or less – and also allow the supply to be turned on or off remotely.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/smart-meters-dont-make-us-any-smarter-about-energy-use-23057">Smart meters don't make us any smarter about energy use
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<p>Retailers can also offer to upgrade select customers’ existing meters to smart meters (again with the exception of Victoria, which has a blanket rollout), and consumers are free to accept or decline (except where a broken or ageing meter is being replaced).</p>
<p>This is an important testing ground for the soon-to-be legislated <a href="https://ministers.pmc.gov.au/taylor/2017/australians-own-their-own-banking-energy-phone-and-internet-data">Consumer Data Right</a>, which aims to give consumers better access to their own data, which in turn will help them save money.</p>
<p>But our <a href="http://geography.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2685643/Smart-er-meter-policy-230218.pdf">research</a> has found that under the current policy settings consumers are not getting the full range of benefits from the smart meter rollout, for a few main reasons. </p>
<h2>Getting smart on bills</h2>
<p>The main consumer benefit of a smart meter is to reduce electricity bills. But to do this, consumers need easy access to their daily electricity usage data, which can then be translated into useful information that enables them to compare tariffs. Consumers ought to be able choose such value-added services from third party providers by granting access to this data. </p>
<p>But consumers cannot currently access their daily electricity usage data <a href="http://www.drmartingill.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Ensuring-Consumers-Benefit-from-Smart-Meters-v01.pdf">when they need it free of charge</a>. There is no common data format nor a simple way to authorise third-party access to the data, thus creating extra costs for third parties. </p>
<p>Retailers can charge a fee to access consumer data, effectively blocking rival companies that might be offering cheaper retail tariffs. But if consumers themselves could allow third parties to access their metering data, subject to security and <a href="https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/submissions/data-availability-and-use-submission-to-productivity-commission-issues-paper">privacy</a> protections, it would give those consumers a much wider choice of tariffs and services.</p>
<p>Currently the federal government’s <a href="https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/about-us">Energy Made Easy</a> website (run by the Australian Energy Regulator) does not let consumers compare tariffs and services in a timely and user-friendly way. There are <a href="http://energyconsumersaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Electricity-Meter-Data-Portability-Discussion-Paper.pdf">proposals</a> to reform the website, and there is no shortage of good existing examples on which it might be modelled, such as the Victorian government’s <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/news/switch-on.html">Switch On</a> and the <a href="http://www.greenbuttondata.org/">North American Green Button initiative</a>.</p>
<h2>Getting involved</h2>
<p>It is not enough that these tools simply exist; consumers must be actively encouraged to use them. This involves a wide-ranging, effective and ongoing consumer education campaign. </p>
<p>While there are highly active energy “prosumers” who generate and sell their own power and actively monitor and manage their energy use, most households <a href="https://www.aemc.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/b7474c0b-8f1b-4e62-87ed-6aa551f3649d/2017-retail-competition-infographic-2-FINAL.pdf">do not fall into this category</a>. </p>
<p>Most customers <a href="http://energyconsumersaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Energy-Consumer-Sentiment-Survey-Key-Findings-June2017.pdf">need information</a> and encouragement to take up opportunities arising out of smart meter data. This will require much better communications by governments, retailers, networks, consumers and community organisations as an integral part of the smart meter rollout.</p>
<h2>No one left behind</h2>
<p>Electricity is an essential service, and policymakers need to ensure that the benefits of smart meters flow to everyone, not just the most switched-on customers. </p>
<p>Even with the help of the tools and campaigns described above, there are those who may still miss out on the benefits – such as, for example, vulnerable consumers who engage with smart meters but end up making poor choices through a lack of financial or digital literacy. </p>
<p>What’s more, remotely read meters make it <a href="https://www.vinnies.org.au/content/Document/VIC/2016-June-Households-in-the-dark2.pdf">easier to disconnect users</a>, which again is likely to disproportionately affect the most vulnerable members of the community. Adequate consumer protections need to be built into the smart meter rollout. This involves ensuring that hardship provisions in the <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/government-priorities/energy-markets/national-energy-customer-framework">National Energy Customer Framework</a>, concessions, and information provision keeps pace with developments in the metering market. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/smart-meters-dumb-policy-the-victorian-experience-47685">Smart meters, dumb policy: the Victorian experience</a>
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<p>The retailer-led rollout is likely to be slow and could lead to a highly uneven patchwork of meters across Australia, and therefore uneven customer benefits. There are many reasons for this. Existing “dumb” meters have a long useful life and regularly last more than 30 years (some are more than 40 years old!); there is a lack of scale in the deployment by retailers who do not have contracts with all customers in a local area; certain customer groups may be deemed “uneconomic” by retailers and not offered new meters; and households in areas with poor mobile network coverage (most likely rural and regional areas) are unlikely to be offered a smart meter. </p>
<p>Such a large-scale rollout of new meters, which is piecemeal in some places and not in others, is bound to be difficult and there is no perfect model. The market for smart meters is in its infancy and needs careful monitoring and evaluation as it develops. But policymakers nevertheless need to get on the front foot and guarantee simple access to smart meter data and services for all consumers; actively encourage and demonstrate to consumers how these services can lower their electricity costs; and most of all ensure that no one is left behind in this emerging market. </p>
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<p><em>This article was coauthored by Gavin Dufty, Policy and Research Manager, <a href="https://www.vinnies.org.au/page/Our_Impact/Incomes_Support_Cost_of_Living/Energy/VINNIES_NATIONAL/">St Vincent de Paul</a>, and <a href="http://www.drmartingill.com.au/">Dr Martin Gill</a>, an independent energy consultant and consumer advocate who has previously developed smart metering products.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92029/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Martin Gill has previously developed electricity metering products.
</span></em></p>You may already have a smart meter at home, which monitors your electricity use at 30-minute intervals. But until you can access that data yourself, you could be missing out on the best power deals.Sangeetha Chandrashekeran, Lecturer in Geography and Deputy Director Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/822522017-08-14T20:14:19Z2017-08-14T20:14:19Z‘Smart home’ gadgets promise to cut power bills but many lie idle – or can even boost energy use<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181906/original/file-20170814-28467-p2bbyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cutting energy use takes more than just the flick of a smartphone.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">3dfoto/shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Smart” home control devices promise to do many things, including helping households reduce their energy bills.</p>
<p>Devices such as <a href="http://www.belkin.com/au/Products/home-automation/c/wemo-home-automation/">“connected” lightbulbs and smart plugs</a> let you operate or automate lights and other appliances from your smartphone, and are widely available from major retailers and online. </p>
<p>They are one of many innovative technologies advocated by the energy sector, and the recent <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/energy/publications/electricity-market-final-report">Finkel Review</a> of the energy market, to help consumers manage their energy use.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b38874b25e686137780eb836e/files/5d00ecfb-2098-4148-89dc-49b72b98d0aa/ECA_SHC_Final_Report_CURRENT.pdf">our research published today</a> suggests that these devices are not the “easy” answer to energy management. In our trial, we found that households can use them in ways that increase energy use rather than reduce it, and that many people find them too complicated to get up and running.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dream-homes-of-the-future-still-stuck-in-the-past-21169">Dream homes of the future still stuck in the past</a>
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<h2>Smart home techs on trial</h2>
<p>In our study, funded by <a href="http://energyconsumersaustralia.com.au/">Energy Consumers Australia</a>, we supplied 46 volunteer households in Victoria and South Australia with a couple of market-leading smart control devices to try out. We made sure we included a broad range of households – not just tech-savvy, early adopter types.</p>
<p>The results were surprising. A quarter of the households didn’t even attempt to install the devices; another quarter tried but failed to install them, and a further quarter successfully installed them but then abandoned them because they were considered inconvenient or not useful. </p>
<p>That left one quarter who were actively using the devices on an ongoing basis.</p>
<p>Unsuccessful installations weren’t just thwarted by the devices themselves or by a lack of persistence or knowledge. Householders who tried but gave up on the devices did so for a range of reasons, including smartphone compatibility issues, unreliable WiFi or Internet access, forgotten passwords, device app problems including recurring error messages, and concern over requests to hand over personal information.</p>
<h2>Who used the devices?</h2>
<p>The people most likely to successfully set up and continue using the devices were technology enthusiasts – and most often male. This is consistent with <a href="http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2370292&dl=ACM&coll=DL&CFID=796124584&CFTOKEN=79485464">previous studies</a> which have found that men are more likely to be interested in home automation.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181926/original/file-20170814-23846-dnrk2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181926/original/file-20170814-23846-dnrk2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181926/original/file-20170814-23846-dnrk2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181926/original/file-20170814-23846-dnrk2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181926/original/file-20170814-23846-dnrk2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181926/original/file-20170814-23846-dnrk2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=825&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181926/original/file-20170814-23846-dnrk2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=825&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181926/original/file-20170814-23846-dnrk2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=825&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Older users in particular can struggle with smart home technology.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Energy-vulnerable households (those at higher risk of difficulty paying energy bills) were more interested in the devices than “regular” households, possibly because they placed greater value on the promised energy savings, or had more time to persist with the installation process. However, energy-vulnerable households are less likely to have the necessary technology infrastructure to use smart home control devices successfully, such as high-end smartphones and fast, reliable home internet connection.</p>
<p>Older participants in our study (those over 55) rarely used the devices. Households with children were concerned about the entry of more digital technology into their lives. Smart home control can also be inconvenient if some occupants continue to use the manual switches on lights or appliances (such as children without their own smartphones), as this can deactivate smart control for the rest of the household.</p>
<h2>Lifestyle improvements beat energy savings</h2>
<p>The households we interviewed were very interested in the potential for smart home control to improve their lifestyles, through improved security and safety, better comfort, conveniences such as turning lights off from bed, and aesthetic features such as “mood lighting”.</p>
<p>Yet while our study did not measure energy consumption, it was clear from the results that the ways households were using (or wanted to use) their devices could both decrease and increase energy consumption. </p>
<p>While some households reduced the operating time of lights or small appliances, others used smart control to <em>increase</em> their operating time, for instance by switching their heater on before getting home. </p>
<p>Pre-heating or pre-cooling homes, or running appliances when not at home to give the house a “lived-in” look intended to deter burglars, can be beneficial for health, comfort or well-being but can also increase energy consumption.</p>
<p>Tellingly, no household in our study used their smart devices to shift the timing of their energy use, even though most said their electricity rates were cheaper at night. When asked if smart plugs could help shift energy use to off-peak periods, many respondents said they did not see these devices as a necessary or convenient way to do it. They were more interested in simple timers and automation functions on the appliances themselves.</p>
<h2>Doing more with smart home control</h2>
<p>Six of the 46 households involved in our trial said they were interested in doing more with smart home control. However, they were mainly interested in lifestyle improvements rather than saving energy. This is consistent with the way these products are being <a href="http://cur.org.au/cms/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/smart-home-control-briefing-paper-final-compressed.pdf">marketed</a> to households by technology companies.</p>
<p>Our findings are also consistent with another <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09613218.2017.1286882">recent trial</a> of smart home technologies in the UK. That study found that participants made either limited or no use of similar devices to manage their energy use. Like us, the research team raised concerns about the potential for smart control to generate new forms of energy demand.</p>
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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>
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<p>These findings call for more caution in how smart home control is promoted by the energy sector. We need to be realistic about how these products are marketed, how the media influences the way the products are used, and how the other benefits of smart home control may affect home energy consumption.</p>
<p>The extent of technical and usability issues also needs to be acknowledged. There is a real risk that householders could spend considerable time and money on devices that don’t deliver energy savings. The devices are not equally accessible for everyone, and older users in particular might need help in using them effectively.</p>
<p>The danger is in assuming that lower power bills can come neatly packaged in a box – the reality, as always, is more complicated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82252/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yolande Strengers receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Energy Consumers Australia, electricity utilities and consumer advocacy organisations. She is a member of the Australian Sociological Association (TASA).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Larissa Nicholls receives funding from Energy Consumers Australia and Victorian Council of Social Service. She also works on projects funded by the Australian Research Council and electricity utilities.
She is a member of the non-profit organisations, Alternative Technology Association and the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ECEEE).</span></em></p>Smart appliances, which let you control lights and power outlets via your phone, promise to cut energy bills. But research suggests these gadgets are confusing, and can just as easily raise power use.Yolande Strengers, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT UniversityLarissa Nicholls, Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/699802016-12-16T01:37:40Z2016-12-16T01:37:40ZFactCheck: Are Australians paying twice as much for electricity as Americans?<blockquote>
<p>Business here and households here, already we’re paying twice the cost of the US for electricity. <strong>– Craig Kelly MP, chair of the backbench environment and energy committee, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/kelly/8095266">ABC Radio National Breakfast interview</a>, December 6, 2016.</strong> (Listen from 7.38)</p>
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<p>Environment and energy minister Josh Frydenberg recently <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-05/government-to-consider-carbon-price-for-power-generators/8091912">left open</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/dec/05/direct-action-review-coalition-leaves-carbon-trading-option-open">the possibility</a> of some form of carbon trading in the <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/review-climate-change-policies">electricity sector</a>. He later <a href="https://theconversation.com/turnbull-government-rules-out-an-emissions-intensity-scheme-70039">ruled out that option</a>, saying he wanted to keep electricity prices down.</p>
<p>Following Frydenberg’s initial comments, Liberal MP Craig Kelly said businesses and households in Australia are already paying twice as much as Americans for their electricity.</p>
<p>Is that true?</p>
<h2>Checking the source</h2>
<p>When asked for sources to support his statement, Craig Kelly referred The Conversation to a <a href="http://theconversation.com/full-response-from-craig-kelly-70215">range of sources</a>, saying that:</p>
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<p>… a report titled <a href="http://www.aemc.gov.au/getattachment/02490709-1a3d-445d-89cd-4d405b246860/2015-Residential-Electricity-Price-Trends-report.aspx">2015 Residential Electricity Price Trends</a> lists [on page 212] the average Australian price at 28.72 cents per kilowatt hour for 2014/2015. </p>
<p>In comparison, the <a href="http://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/">US Energy Information Administration</a> lists the average price for residential electricity [in the US] at 10.44 cents for 2014.</p>
<p>Converting 10.44 US cents at A$1/US$0.74 – is the equivalent of 14.11 cents Australia.</p>
<p>So using these sources (in Australian cents) we have 14.11 cents in the USA and 28.72 cents in Australia. Therefore I think to say that “we’re paying twice the cost of the US for electricity” (on average) is pretty much right on the money.</p>
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<p>You can read Craig Kelly’s full response <a href="http://theconversation.com/full-response-from-craig-kelly-70215">here</a>. </p>
<h2>Do Australians pay more?</h2>
<p>It’s definitely true that Australians pay much more for their electricity than US citizens do (and Australian prices are <a href="http://www.aemc.gov.au/Markets-Reviews-Advice/2016-Residential-Electricity-Price-Trends/Final/AEMC-Documents/2016-Electricity-Price-Trends-Report">set to rise even further</a>, according to the Australian Energy Market Commission. </p>
<p>Using OECD data, there’s one measure that says it is twice as much – or at least it was twice as much as recently as 2014. Another measure – a better measure, in my view – shows Australians pay about 50% more than US citizens do for their electricity. </p>
<p>As Craig Kelly notes in his <a href="http://theconversation.com/full-response-from-craig-kelly-70215">full response</a>, there is significant variation in electricity prices across states and territories in Australia and in the United States, so comparing the two is not a simple matter. The Australian Energy Market Commission’s annual <a href="http://www.aemc.gov.au/Markets-Reviews-Advice/2016-Residential-Electricity-Price-Trends/Final/AEMC-Documents/2016-Electricity-Price-Trends-Report">Electricity Price Trends</a> report shows that retail prices in Australia vary from 18.44 c/kWh in the Australian Capital Territory to 29.75 c/KWh in South Australia.</p>
<p>But we can use Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (<a href="http://www.oecd.org/">OECD</a>) data on <a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/energy/data/end-use-prices/wholesale-and-retail-indices-of-energy-prices_data-00445-en">wholesale and retail indices energy prices</a> to check Craig Kelly’s statement. </p>
<p>The wholesale price is the cost of generating the energy that is sent to the grid. Retail prices are what householders are more used to talking about. Retail prices factor in extra costs like transmission and distribution (“poles and wires”), retailer margins and other levies (such as Feed-in Tariff and Renewable Energy Target costs). In other words, it’s what we’re paying on our power bill. </p>
<p>Let’s examine the data. </p>
<h2>A tale of two measures</h2>
<p>The two measures I have used to compare prices in the US and Australia are called “market exchange rates” and “purchasing power parities”. Craig Kelly’s calculations rely on market exchange rates, so we will start with that one. </p>
<p>Market exchange rates simply means converting the price in one country’s currency to that of another country’s currency, as Kelly <a href="http://theconversation.com/full-response-from-craig-kelly-70215">did</a>. This measure of comparison is <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2007/03/basics.htm">more volatile</a> than purchasing power parity exchange rates.</p>
<p>Using market exchange rates, OECD <a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/energy/data/end-use-prices/energy-prices-in-us-dollars_data-00442-en">data</a> show that Australian electricity prices have, in recent years, been approximately twice as high as electricity prices in the US. Recently, the gap has narrowed. In 2015, using market exchange rates, electricity prices in Australia were about 70.3% higher than in the US. </p>
<p>The Australian Energy Market Commission projects that Australian prices will <a href="http://www.aemc.gov.au/Mark%E2%80%8Bhttp://www.aemc.gov.au/Markets-Reviews-Advice/2016-Residential-Electricity-Price-Trends/Final/AEMC-Documents/2016-Electricity-Price-Trends-Reportets-Reviews-Advice/2016-Residential-Electricity-Price-Trends/Final/AEMC-Documents/2016-Electricity-Price-Trends-Report">rise even further</a> in coming years.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149380/original/image-20161209-31391-1fhqr9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149380/original/image-20161209-31391-1fhqr9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149380/original/image-20161209-31391-1fhqr9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149380/original/image-20161209-31391-1fhqr9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149380/original/image-20161209-31391-1fhqr9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149380/original/image-20161209-31391-1fhqr9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149380/original/image-20161209-31391-1fhqr9n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149380/original/image-20161209-31391-1fhqr9n.png?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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">By converting Australian electricity prices into US dollars (market exchange rates), we can see Australian electricity prices have been an average of twice as high as in the US over the past four years – though the gap narrowed in 2015, down to a 70% difference.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/energy/data/end-use-prices/wholesale-and-retail-indices-of-energy-prices_data-00445-en">Chart provided by author, using data from the OECD.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That broadly supports what Kelly said. But if we use purchasing power parity exchange rates, the data show that Australia’s prices are approximately 50% higher than the US. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.oecd.org/std/prices-ppp/purchasingpowerparitiespppsdata.htm">Purchasing power parity exchange rates</a>, or PPP, factor in inflation and the cost of living in a particular country, and eliminate differences in price levels between countries. This measure allows a cleaner, less volatile comparison between the US and Australia.</p>
<p>The chart below compares the retail prices of electricity in Australia and the United States when adjusted for cost of living differences using purchasing power parity.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149379/original/image-20161209-31352-16tb5w7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149379/original/image-20161209-31352-16tb5w7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149379/original/image-20161209-31352-16tb5w7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149379/original/image-20161209-31352-16tb5w7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149379/original/image-20161209-31352-16tb5w7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149379/original/image-20161209-31352-16tb5w7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149379/original/image-20161209-31352-16tb5w7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149379/original/image-20161209-31352-16tb5w7.png?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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Using purchasing power parity exchange rates, OECD data shows household prices of electricity are approximately 50% higher in Australia than in the US.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/energy/data/end-use-prices/wholesale-and-retail-indices-of-energy-prices_data-00445-en">Chart by author, using data from the OECD.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As the above chart of the OECD <a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/energy/data/end-use-prices/energy-prices-in-us-dollars_data-00442-en">data</a> shows, household prices of electricity are about 50% higher in Australia than in the US when you use purchasing power parity data. </p>
<h2>Why are the prices so different?</h2>
<p>As this chart shows, data from OECD indicate there has been a substantial divergence between Australian and American electricity prices since about 2008.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149381/original/image-20161209-31396-11kpet0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149381/original/image-20161209-31396-11kpet0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149381/original/image-20161209-31396-11kpet0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149381/original/image-20161209-31396-11kpet0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149381/original/image-20161209-31396-11kpet0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149381/original/image-20161209-31396-11kpet0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149381/original/image-20161209-31396-11kpet0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149381/original/image-20161209-31396-11kpet0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Retail price index: average power prices for householders in the US and Australia. The year 2000 is indexed to 100 (that is, 2000 = 100)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/energy/data/end-use-prices/wholesale-and-retail-indices-of-energy-prices_data-00445-en">Author provided, using data from the OECD</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149382/original/image-20161209-31352-1jhlhwt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149382/original/image-20161209-31352-1jhlhwt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149382/original/image-20161209-31352-1jhlhwt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149382/original/image-20161209-31352-1jhlhwt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149382/original/image-20161209-31352-1jhlhwt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149382/original/image-20161209-31352-1jhlhwt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149382/original/image-20161209-31352-1jhlhwt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149382/original/image-20161209-31352-1jhlhwt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wholesale price index: the average price the generators charge to the retailers (or distributors) for the power they put into the grid. The year 2000 is indexed to 100 (that is, 2000 = 100)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/energy/data/end-use-prices/wholesale-and-retail-indices-of-energy-prices_data-00445-en">Author provided, using data from the OECD.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As noted in the <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/energy/publications/energy-market-preliminary-report">preliminary report</a> of the Australian chief scientist Alan Finkel’s <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/energy/national-electricity-market-review">review</a> of the National Electricity Market, household energy bills in Australia increased 61% on average between 2008 and 2014. </p>
<p>The main reason for this is the cost of maintaining the electricity network – essentially, the poles and wires that deliver the power. Network costs represent between 45% and 55% of a typical electricity bill. This has been the largest contributor to Australia’s increasing prices over the past six years. </p>
<p>Some observers have said that the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/bringing-an-end-to-electricity-network-gold-plating-40830">gold-plating</a>” of the network came about because of a regulatory regime that encouraged <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/federal-politics/editorial/power-to-the-people--at-the-lowest-price-20120808-23ugb.html">over-investment</a> in poles and wires. This was been partly driven by an effort to shore up electricity supply and an overestimation of demand.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/low-oil-prices-are-here-to-stay-as-the-us-shale-oil-revolution-goes-global-48100">US shale gas revolution</a> has also helped keep energy more affordable there than in Australia. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/inquiry/electricity/report">Productivity Commission</a> reported that, in New South Wales, network costs accounted for 80% of price rises in 2010-11 and 50% of price rises in 2011-12.</p>
<h2>Is it really that simple?</h2>
<p>Not really. Energy economics is far more complicated than can come across in Kelly’s quick quote or this short FactCheck.</p>
<p>While the Australian <em>price</em> is higher, this doesn’t necessarily mean the <em>cost</em> is higher: Australians use much less energy than Americans. This is because as prices increase, energy productivity and energy efficiency also tend to increase. In total, most countries actually spend a similar proportion of GDP on energy costs. </p>
<p>This holds surprisingly consistent across a range of countries. For example, Japan has high energy prices, but also has high energy efficiency and productivity. Consequently, it spends practically the same amount of GDP on energy cost as the US. </p>
<p>So <em>prices</em> may be higher for individuals, but that doesn’t mean the economy-wide costs are higher. All that said, Kelly was talking about the prices for individuals and business, so that’s what this FactCheck is focused on.</p>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>If we compare Australian and American electricity prices using market exchange rates, Craig Kelly’s comment is correct: Australia’s electricity prices were essentially double those of the United States as recently as 2014. In 2015, using market exchange rates, Australian prices were about 70.3% higher. </p>
<p>If we compare the prices using purchasing parity power exchange rates – which I’d argue is the more accurate reflection of the costs of living in each of the countries – Australia’s prices are about 50% higher than the US. </p>
<p>Overall, Craig Kelly’s broader point is correct: Australians pay a much higher price for their electricity than Americans do. <strong>– Dylan McConnell.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Review</h2>
<p>I agree with the author’s position that purchasing power parity comparisons are less volatile and more representative of the relativity based on actual living costs. It is true Australian households pay a much higher electricity price than Americans.</p>
<p>There’s one important point I’d add. There is a baseline cost of having a house or business connected to electrical supply, regardless of how much electricity is used. This is called the fixed supply cost. The more electricity a household or business uses, the more the fixed supply cost is diluted in the overall electricity bill. This brings down the cost per kilowatt-hours (kWh).</p>
<p>American households use about twice as much electricity as Australian households. <a href="http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3">According to the US EIA</a>, average US household electricity consumption in 2015 was 10,812 kWh. <a href="http://www.energyrating.gov.au/document/report-residential-baseline-study-technical-appendix">2014 data for Australia</a> shows average Australian household electricity consumption was 5,772 kWh (down from 6,819 kWh in 2008. At 25 cents/kWh that is a saving of $307 for Australians for using less electricity over time). </p>
<p>So we would expect Australian household electricity prices to be higher, because an average Australian household uses less electricity and the large fixed supply costs must be spread across a smaller amount of consumption. This raises the cost per kWh. But because Australians use less, their annual bill may be lower. </p>
<p>Further, in recent years, Australian energy retailers have been raising their fixed supply (or baseline) charges. So small users pay much more overall per unit of electricity they use.</p>
<p>Lastly, it’s worth noting that larger businesses often negotiate much better deals on their electricity prices than householders can. <strong>– Alan Pears.</strong></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>This article was corrected on February 9 to replace the line “In 2015, using market exchange rates, the US prices were about 70.3% higher” with “In 2015, using market exchange rates, Australian prices were about 70.3% higher”. The Conversation apologises for the error, which was introduced in the editing process.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><div class="callout"> Have you ever seen a “fact” worth checking? The Conversation’s FactCheck asks academic experts to test claims and see how true they are. We then ask a second academic to review an anonymous copy of the article. You can request a check at checkit@theconversation.edu.au. Please include the statement you would like us to check, the date it was made, and a link if possible.</div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69980/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dylan McConnell has received funding from the AEMC's Consumer Advocacy Panel and Energy Consumers Australia.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Pears has worked for government, business, industry associations public interest groups and at universities on energy efficiency, climate response and sustainability issues since the late 1970s. He is now an honorary Senior Industry Fellow at RMIT University and a consultant, as well as an adviser to a range of industry associations and public interest groups. His investments in managed funds include firms that benefit from growth in clean energy.</span></em></p>Liberal MP Craig Kelly said businesses and households in Australia are paying twice as much as Americans for their electricity. Is that true?Dylan McConnell, Researcher at the Australian German Climate and Energy College, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/589052016-07-18T10:17:10Z2016-07-18T10:17:10ZCurbing the marijuana industry’s voracious energy appetite<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130578/original/image-20160714-23365-1pw0eql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indoor marijuana farms are becoming one of the most energy-intensive industries in the United States</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?searchterm=marijuana&keyword_search=1&page=1&inline=421629436">www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As voters go to the polls this November, at least four states will consider ballot questions on marijuana legalization. Pending proposals in [Nevada](https://ballotpedia.org/Nevada_Marijuana_Legalization_Initiative,<em>Question_2</em>(2016), [Maine](https://ballotpedia.org/Maine_Marijuana_Legalization_Initiative_(2017) and [California](https://ballotpedia.org/California_Marijuana_Legalization_Initiative,<em>Proposition_64</em>(2016) would authorize recreational marijuana use, while [Floridians](https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_Right_to_Medical_Marijuana_Initiative,<em>Amendment_2</em>(2016) will vote on whether to allow medical marijuana use. </p>
<p>Legalization of marijuana in the United States has spread rapidly over the last few years. <a href="http://www.governing.com/gov-data/state-marijuana-laws-map-medical-recreational.html">Half of the states</a> have already legalized marijuana in some form. Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia have legalized it for recreational use. And the Democratic Party platform committee recently <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/07/09/democrats-call-for-pathway-to-marijuana-legalization/?wpisrc=nl_wemost&wpmm=1">voted 81 to 80</a> to amend the federal Controlled Substances Act to remove marijuana from the list of Schedule 1 drugs. The stated purpose of this proposed amendment is to “provid[e] a reasoned pathway for future legalization.”</p>
<p>States with some form of legalized marijuana have implemented stringent regulatory and licensing schemes with regard to the who, what, where and how of marijuana possession, cultivation, and distribution. But policymakers have failed to address an important area: the marijuana industry’s energy and climate impacts. Although marijuana is a plant, it is not a “green” product when grown indoors. As more states – and, potentially, Congress – consider legalizing the marijuana industry, they should also adopt rules to make it more environmentally sustainable.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130586/original/image-20160714-23327-1bkz6jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130586/original/image-20160714-23327-1bkz6jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130586/original/image-20160714-23327-1bkz6jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130586/original/image-20160714-23327-1bkz6jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130586/original/image-20160714-23327-1bkz6jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130586/original/image-20160714-23327-1bkz6jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130586/original/image-20160714-23327-1bkz6jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Edible marijuana products for sale in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kkanouse/12997503633/in/photolist-kNxB1e-n1X8zB-tUyeGH-rg5HiJ-pyekQm-rNJsNL-7PW1Um-bAf769-9E9Ydf-7jTSZg-8G6cMn-kNxuaR-myKN7e-e4a3mg-7PSHbT-iQi9jw-bnsgZh-74pNuM-e4fEzS-9tbaa6-7jTSGv-8mKhzk-nA1kYd-gaC4xa-7jTSEp-e4a2fr-s9J1VN-e4a2n2-izB69N-e4a2t8-qPymPp-7jXLJj-edtyYe-dzKJAn-8B4uXT-7jTSMv-gaCaTq-7jXLHs-7V8maW-7jTSNp-7jTT34-e4gekf-pgKVGt-7jXM5J-7jTSUD-7jXLQj-7jXLVh-kNyToy-7PW2kh-7jXLCL">Kent Kanouse/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Indoor marijuana farms are energy hogs</h2>
<p>Indoor marijuana cultivation is one of the most energy-intensive industries in the United States, generating nearly <a href="https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2016/02/18/812060/10160191/en/US-Marijuana-Production-Energy-Costs-Exceed-6-Billion.html">US$6 billion</a> in energy costs annually. According to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, which carries out energy planning for the Columbia River Basin states (Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon), growing marijuana indoors consumes <a href="http://www.nwcouncil.org/media/7130334/p7.pdf">up to 5,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity</a> per kilogram of output. For comparison, aluminum production requires about 16 kilowatt-hours per kilogram.</p>
<p>Colorado’s experience demonstrates marijuana’s large energy footprint. Since the state legalized recreational marijuana in 2014, the industry has expanded rapidly there. In 2015 legal marijuana businesses in Colorado made <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/02/11/marijuana-billion-dollars-colorado/">nearly $1 billion in sales</a>, up 42 percent from the previous year. And as marijuana businesses become more competitive and specialized, growers are moving their farms indoors to get a more controlled product. </p>
<p>Indoor cultivation requires electricity to power high-intensity lights, frequent air exchanges and ventilation, and to maintain consistent temperatures and humidity levels day and night. As a result, the state now has numerous indoor warehouses that consume huge quantities of electricity. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060036287">Experts estimate</a> that a 5,000-square-foot indoor marijuana facility in Colorado consumes six times more electricity per square foot than an average commercial business, and 49 times more than an average residence. Last year Denver officials <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/2015/07/01/marijuana-growing-spikes-denver-electric-demand-challenges-clean-power-plan/">sought guidance from the Department of Energy</a> on ways to curb the industry’s power requirements. Electricity use in Denver is rising by 1.2 percent yearly, and marijuana farms account for nearly half of the increase.</p>
<p>Colorado has set a <a href="http://energy.gov/savings/renewable-energy-standard">goal</a> of generating 30 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Currently, however, only <a href="http://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=CO">18 percent of its electricity</a> comes from renewable sources. The rest is generated from coal and natural gas. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130591/original/image-20160714-23350-1b6ke24.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130591/original/image-20160714-23350-1b6ke24.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130591/original/image-20160714-23350-1b6ke24.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130591/original/image-20160714-23350-1b6ke24.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130591/original/image-20160714-23350-1b6ke24.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130591/original/image-20160714-23350-1b6ke24.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130591/original/image-20160714-23350-1b6ke24.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/energyoffice/electricity-overview">Colorado Energy Office</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On-site generation systems, such as rooftop solar arrays, and community-scale energy projects cannot produce enough electricity to meet marijuana growers’ energy needs. As a result, the marijuana industry is indirectly increasing Colorado’s reliance on fossil fuel.</p>
<p>Legalization provides some energy benefits. For example, it allows indoor cultivators to connect to existing electricity grids instead of relying on carbon-intensive gasoline and diesel generators. However, these benefits are swamped by the industry’s fast-growing electricity requirements. </p>
<p>Experts estimate that nationwide, indoor marijuana cultivation accounts for nearly <a href="http://evanmills.lbl.gov/pubs/pdf/cannabis-carbon-footprint.pdf">15 million metric tons</a> of carbon emissions annually – more than the annual <a href="http://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/state/analysis/pdf/table1.pdf">energy-related emissions</a> of South Dakota, Delaware, Rhode Island and Vermont, or the District of Columbia. Public utility commissioners across the nation are <a href="http://www.utilitydive.com/news/pot-power-how-utilities-and-regulators-are-dealing-with-the-budding-mariju/409172/">discussing strategies</a> for managing power demand from indoor pot growers. </p>
<h2>Legalize and regulate</h2>
<p>When states legalize marijuana cultivation, they establish detailed regulatory and licensing schemes governing who may sell, possess and cultivate the plant, where they may do so, and how much they must pay for licenses. Policymakers should also seize this opportunity to enact rules governing the industry’s climate and energy impacts. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130590/original/image-20160714-23323-1j2sirk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130590/original/image-20160714-23323-1j2sirk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130590/original/image-20160714-23323-1j2sirk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130590/original/image-20160714-23323-1j2sirk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130590/original/image-20160714-23323-1j2sirk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130590/original/image-20160714-23323-1j2sirk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130590/original/image-20160714-23323-1j2sirk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">California medical marijuana bottle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gazeronly/26270258070/in/photolist-G2pWtY-Hg1qbx-HfZMsx-GinkRS-Grwx1n-Hd5ugh-H7FRPu-GQLexL-GkFSkt-GQN8Y5-GkwQJ3-Hg1gSi-Hg14Qn-GkDQwz-Hd7ks1-GQLWRY-GkEJSg-GkvYNm-Hk6cN8-Hoe5Uj-Hrb9rM-HhHyXj-Hrb98v-Hoe2US-Hoe2Eo-GvCDRu-GvHH4a-Hk6cf4-Hoe4U3-Hrb9C8-Hoe4pA-HhHzmA-Hrb9fK-Hoe2xu-GvHGGP-EUfYzb-Hoe3kw-usoGJp-Hg2Cxe-Gkw9BE-Hd7xbS-Hd65VN-H7G8mm-Ha1dyM-GkwWhh-GkFpJe-Gkv8Vm-GQMXDN-Hg1HYB-H9XCB2">Scott Richard/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since indoor growers consume such enormous amounts of electricity, policymakers should start by requiring indoor cultivators to consume only carbon-free energy sources or to pay a carbon fee until such measures can be implemented. </p>
<p>Boulder, Colorado is addressing this issue by implementing <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2501126">city and county licensing schemes</a> that require indoor marijuana cultivators to use energy monitoring technology and routinely report their energy use. Growers must offset their energy use by utilizing 100 percent renewable energy, purchasing renewable energy credits, or paying a carbon fee. However, few other states or localities have followed Boulder’s lead. </p>
<p>Oregon has established <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/marijuana/index.ssf/2016/06/task_force_looks_at_energy_wat.html">a task force</a> to study energy and water use for marijuana production. The group is scheduled to report its findings to the state legislature later this summer. Preliminary indications are that the task force will call on growers to follow energy best practices, but it is unclear whether it will recommend making this policy mandatory or merely a suggestion. </p>
<p>States that do not have enough renewable energy generation to meet the industry’s electricity demands, such as in Colorado, should take a <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2501126">two-pronged approach</a>. First, they should require indoor growers to pay escalating carbon fees based on their electricity consumption. These funds should be used to support development of more efficient technology and climate-friendly electricity facilities. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130583/original/image-20160714-23342-ajsiin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130583/original/image-20160714-23342-ajsiin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130583/original/image-20160714-23342-ajsiin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130583/original/image-20160714-23342-ajsiin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130583/original/image-20160714-23342-ajsiin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1136&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130583/original/image-20160714-23342-ajsiin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1136&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130583/original/image-20160714-23342-ajsiin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1136&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Growing marijuana in greenhouses is one strategy to reduce electricity use.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/s/marijuana+farm/search.html?page=1&inline=348706922">www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Second, legislators should also require an exponential increase in the percentage of energy consumed by indoor growers from renewable energy sources via on site generation – such as rooftop solar – or community renewable energy facilities. This two-pronged approach would ensure growers do not become complacent just paying the fee. </p>
<p>The best time to address impacts of this magnitude is before they occur, not after a major industry is already established. Marijuana production is rapidly developing into an extremely lucrative industry that can afford to manage its impacts on the environment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gina Warren 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>As more states legalize marijuana, growing pot indoors is consuming massive quantities of energy. Rules for this new industry should include requirements to use clean power or pay carbon fees.Gina Warren, Associate Professor of Law, University of HoustonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/399252015-04-10T04:19:49Z2015-04-10T04:19:49ZAustralia’s energy productivity plan: great idea, but is it ambitious enough?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77592/original/image-20150410-15265-veul2c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C17%2C3843%2C2504&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The long view: Australia is bidding to boost energy productivity by 40% by 2030, but other countries are already doing more.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mattingbn/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The three main elements of the government’s vision in its <a href="http://ewp.industry.gov.au/">Energy White Paper</a>, released this week, are <a href="https://theconversation.com/energy-white-paper-promises-privatisation-and-lower-prices-experts-respond-39853">competition, energy productivity and investment</a>. One significant new proposal is a National Energy Productivity Plan to “lower costs, improve energy use and stimulate economic growth”. </p>
<p>This will cover the built environment, equipment and appliances, and vehicles, and aims to “improve national energy productivity by up to 40% by 2030”.</p>
<p>Energy productivity, which includes energy efficiency but also goes beyond it, is a way of doing more with less. When it works, it means Australia could be using less energy – which is good news for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, and for energy security.</p>
<p>But how quickly can such as plan be developed and put in place? And is the government’s upper limit of a 40% improvement by 2030 ambitious?</p>
<h2>What is energy productivity?</h2>
<p>The most common indicator of energy productivity is the amount of economic output per unit of energy input: the higher the value the better. This is similar to other productivity indicators. </p>
<p>One way to think of energy productivity is to look at gross domestic product (GDP) per unit of primary energy. Primary energy is the raw energy that is harvested, mined or extracted. Typically some of this energy is “lost” through processing, conversion and delivery to the meter or fuel pump. </p>
<p>This is different to “final” or “end use” energy such as when you flick a switch at home. For instance, heating a room with an electric fan heater uses fewer units of metered electric energy than if gas is used, as the gas appliance has combustion losses on the consumer side of the meter. But in terms of primary energy, the electric fan heater uses much more energy, as three units of fossil fuel are used to create each unit of electricity. So despite the losses from gas combustion, the gas heater uses half as much primary energy as the electric one.</p>
<h2>Productivity could focus business</h2>
<p>In the white paper, the government seems to use a different energy productivity indicator, the “cost of energy” per unit of GDP, although this is not clearly defined. This means that any reduction in energy prices – through competition, flexible electricity prices, or privatisation as recommended in the paper – will increase energy productivity. So the way the government has defined energy productivity may not deliver a reduction in primary energy use, or the associated environmental benefits.</p>
<p>Energy productivity has become a buzzword over the past few years for several reasons.</p>
<p>First, it has proved increasingly difficult to drive overall productivity improvement by focusing on labour and capital productivity, the two traditionally dominant factors. </p>
<p>Second, while energy is a relatively small input to the economy, it plays a key role as the “engine of development”, as industry and business can’t deliver products and services without energy, and can have large impacts on overall productivity of labour and capital. </p>
<p>Third, increasing economic output while lowering costs is attractive for policy makers and businesses. With the major role of energy as a driver of climate change, and concerns about energy security in many parts of the world, energy productivity can help us focus on energy issues. </p>
<p>For instance, I commonly encounter businesses across all sectors who reject energy efficiency measures that pay back costs immediately or within five years, despite the clear benefits of pursuing them. But by showing that energy efficiency is very profitable in comparison with other investments, I hope to encourage businesses will begin to take advantage of their amazing benefits.</p>
<h2>How can we improve energy productivity?</h2>
<p>If our aim is to extract more economic output from each unit of primary energy, we can do this in several ways. The <a href="http://a2se.org.au/">Australian Alliance to Save Energy</a> has <a href="http://a2se.org.au/files/2XEP_Foundation%20Concepts.PDF">suggested</a>: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>improving traditional energy efficiency: more energy efficient buildings, appliances and vehicles, smarter operation of equipment, avoiding waste;</p></li>
<li><p>optimising energy supply and use across the supply chain: increasing utilisation of equipment, minimising energy losses in conversion and delivery of energy, and choosing energy sources and prices wisely;</p></li>
<li><p>transforming business models, by replacing physical products with virtual services, or shifting from producing commodity products to high-value products. </p></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.climateworksaustralia.org/sites/default/files/documents/publications/climateworks_energy_productivity_report_20150310.pdf">ClimateWorks Australia</a> has presented similar options, but separate out electrification (such as using energy efficient electric cars plugged into renewable energy), and energy conversion and distribution. </p>
<p>In the white paper the government’s approach allows competition, privatisation and cost-reflective pricing to improve energy productivity under its broader definition. </p>
<h2>Could Australia do more?</h2>
<p>Neither Australia’s present level of energy productivity, nor its rate of improvement, rate all that highly in comparison to other countries, as shown in a <a href="http://a2se.org.au/files/2XEP_Foundation%20Concepts.PDF">study</a> by the Australian Alliance for Saving Energy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77591/original/image-20150410-15244-15ch310.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77591/original/image-20150410-15244-15ch310.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77591/original/image-20150410-15244-15ch310.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77591/original/image-20150410-15244-15ch310.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77591/original/image-20150410-15244-15ch310.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77591/original/image-20150410-15244-15ch310.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77591/original/image-20150410-15244-15ch310.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77591/original/image-20150410-15244-15ch310.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia doesn’t stack up particularly well against other countries on energy productivity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian Alliance for Saving Energy</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some countries are aiming high. The US target is to double its energy productivity relative to 2005 by 2030. At the same time, both the Alliance and <a href="http://www.climateworksaustralia.org/sites/default/files/documents/publications/climateworks_energy_productivity_report_20150310.pdf">ClimateWorks</a> studies have concluded that it is feasible and worthwhile for Australia to near double its energy productivity by 2030. </p>
<p>The government uses a broader definition of energy productivity, and admits in the white paper that business as usual would deliver a 25% improvement by 2030. So its 40% improvement upper limit for a target seems lacking in ambition. </p>
<p>Given the lengthy and complex process proposed to develop (let alone implement) the energy productivity plan, and the lack of detail on resources, funding and institutional processes, maybe that’s just realistic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39925/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Pears AM has carried out consulting work for many sustainable energy organisations and provides policy advice to a variety of organisations. At present he has no paid roles for such organisations. He is an honorary adviser to the Energy Efficiency Council, Climate Alliance and Alternative Technology Association</span></em></p>Australia’s federal government wants to boost ‘energy productivity’ by 40% by 2030. A good idea, but the plan needs to cut energy use, not just deliver more economic bang for the energy buck.Alan Pears, Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/333372014-11-04T06:07:04Z2014-11-04T06:07:04ZTime for a celebrity regulator as Britain faces winter power cuts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63539/original/qzwmhcvd-1415017135.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=93%2C40%2C683%2C423&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Powering into the night. The Drax plant in Yorkshire.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/yorkshiregeek/159860550/in/photolist-f8jYo-4MjXi9-7zaRr9-dgc8bs-dRyGR3-nfwojF-o69pV5-dvjQMh-6Zay6h-zb1yj-e5FBes-gJ19B1-ms9S2r-9E7nh-7HpveD-mJJV7P-aLKvn-6juvZH-ahieBK-6RGMBa-hM7fX1-gJb1L-hM7Vw2-d6u4HJ-otfHry-Koe7V-9L6VwV-nfKBC-fhQ6zk-fhQb28-hM6EQS-hM6kzu-bpnHNo-fskp4k-6QbmvN-6iZHR-78d6Q3-7xM7C6-75L5MT-dXKVMe-aRCPJK-hM7drX-6PNYma-jAPEp9-hM6Unv-hM6gjf-iJAQMB-hM6zFq-cxYhGC-7TgkT2">Gareth Davies</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Winter is coming. And the UK has a real chance of [brownouts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownout_(electricity) or even blackouts from lack of power. The long predicted capacity crunch in electric power generation is likely to hit us earlier than expected after the fires in <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/11173723/Didcot-fire-raises-risk-of-winter-blackouts-and-soaring-prices.html">Didcot</a>, <a href="http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2014/09/03/ironbridge-power-station-fire-blamed-for-energy-crunch/">Ironbridge</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-28588714">Ferrybridge</a> power stations, and the discovery of cracks at <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2797966/fears-winter-blackouts-repairs-mend-boiler-cracks-shut-edf-nuclear-plants-two-years.html">Hartlepool and Heysham</a> nuclear plants. But there are structural problems in both senses of the word and a serious and powerful regulator needs to unpick a policy tangle if we are to make sure the nation’s TVs stay on for the Queen’s Christmas speech.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/electricity-capacity-assessment-2014">Capacity</a> was always going <a href="http://www.timera-energy.com/uk-power/the-uk-generation-capacity-crunch-in-numbers/">to fall short</a> in the winters of 2016 to 2020, for the reasons given below. Some have <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/11156113/Scrap-the-Climate-Change-Act-to-keep-the-lights-on-says-Owen-Paterson.html">blamed climate policy</a> for this, as policy makers put carbon dioxide emissions ahead of more prosaic concerns, like keeping the lights on.</p>
<p>But policies designed to reduce acidification of soil and water are more important. The UK has run out of exemptions under the <a href="http://www.defra.gov.uk/industrial-emissions/eu-international/lcpd/">Large Combustion Plants Directive</a>, which aims to control acid rain. This means Britain’s old coal-fired power plants have to close because they emit too much sulphur and too many particulates. Using <a href="http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/en/2734/rwe/innovation/projects-technologies/power-generation/fossil-fired-power-plants/co2-scrubbing/">CO<sub>2</sub> scrubbing technology to clean up old power plants</a> makes no economic sense, so the plants will be <a href="http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2013/08/the-uk%E2%80%99s-power-plant-graveyards-what,-where,-and-why/">shut down or mothballed</a>.</p>
<h2>A strange business</h2>
<p>So, because fears of acid rain grabbed policy makers’ attention in the 1970s and 1980s, we will see blackouts in the 2010s. Indeed, regulation moves slowly and power plants last for decades. </p>
<p>This has been hard to grasp for the average politician focused on the next election. Although the current capacity crunch <a href="http://www.dieterhelm.co.uk/node/491">has long been foreseen</a>, nothing was done about it. Again, the reasons lie in the remote past.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63542/original/6cmn6s6p-1415018601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63542/original/6cmn6s6p-1415018601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63542/original/6cmn6s6p-1415018601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63542/original/6cmn6s6p-1415018601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63542/original/6cmn6s6p-1415018601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63542/original/6cmn6s6p-1415018601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63542/original/6cmn6s6p-1415018601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63542/original/6cmn6s6p-1415018601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jam tomorrow?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/clada74/2363869595/in/photolist-4ATs5k-dmt5jx-GuKbc-4AXK5C-4AVQqf-83VoDE-7MvBAM-4b9zbk-3d7fwL-4KXGu7-hMEXoC-62ckAd-Fqzqq-abFMDQ-bvtBz4-5zYita-gPAxxn-fmajrp-4GVMu8-EZpN3-k6Tqkd-4t5xPn-5V8dNg-29tq7U-4ARz9t-6Didif-6mtFZm-83Shjz-gPAxY2-4863rC-4owQ2S-Kawk5-xA9Mu-7zehET-9tSL3u-2FNuYp-7pwZoy-9LShzy-6dECKE-99k4nd-e9tJdp-8MMNKQ-6NroFd-93KuW1-6vcEW1-6v8u2z-6vcE8Q-6vcFMQ-6v8tD2-6v8vH2">Ann@74</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Electricity is a strange business. Compare it to peanut butter. The demand for peanut butter equals its supply, but only roughly. We store some in our fridges, some on supermarket shelves and in warehouses. That is fine. Electricity, however, cannot be stored. Supply must meet demand at every moment. This means that the electricity market has to be much more tightly regulated.</p>
<h2>Uneven demand</h2>
<p>Demand for electricity typically <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-of-changing-energy-use-patterns-on-peak-electricity-demand">peaks</a> a few days before Christmas, between 5pm and 7pm, because it is cold and dark, there are Christmas parties taking place everywhere, and people are working overtime before the holidays. Some power plants operate only a few hours per year in order to meet that extraordinary demand – but they still need to be maintained throughout the year.</p>
<p>Power plants break down all the time. To make sure demand is met, there are also a few power plants running in reserve. Typically, these plants are superfluous. They do not sell electricity. But they need be paid for their effort nonetheless. <a href="http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=1519729">Electricity markets</a> therefore must have some <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988306000508">system of cross-subsidies</a> to reward providers of all this peak and reserve capacity.</p>
<h2>Power games</h2>
<p>When the UK power market was liberalised, the first regulator <a href="http://www.dieterhelm.co.uk/node/1362">designed a market</a>, centred on long-term bilateral contracts, that worked well in theory. It did not work so well in practice. Utilities have been <a href="http://www.ice.org.uk/topics/energy/About">“sweating”, or overusing, their assets</a>: make money; don’t invest; let old plants crumble. This is a short-sighted strategy.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63543/original/6dnp2nxg-1415018792.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63543/original/6dnp2nxg-1415018792.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/63543/original/6dnp2nxg-1415018792.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63543/original/6dnp2nxg-1415018792.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63543/original/6dnp2nxg-1415018792.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63543/original/6dnp2nxg-1415018792.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63543/original/6dnp2nxg-1415018792.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/63543/original/6dnp2nxg-1415018792.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">Jean Tirole told us how to take on the titans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/imfphoto/8659456588/in/photolist-6YPqTv-9zSBF5-9v1HtC-pypdZz-pypdZV-pQY1RY-oU6kLD-88Tkdh-88Q7dx-eccYKE-ec7jkc-eccYKy-eccYLS-ec7jiZ-pBFQLT-88Q7ja-8DHobC-88Q7hr-9zSBCE-9zSBHJ-88Tkiu-92zhhX-88TkaL-88Q7gn-88Q7kZ-3ptr2T-3pxZcY-3pxZuS-3ptqnZ-3py131-3BuA7C-3pz1SE-6TgACT-4YB1YR-aEd4Xd-6TkB3S-oHxyWR-pEmjYe-pLDtxu-pDUiZE-3GVAyu-aZbNvx-iiooW4-9uXS2F-3Kzmuu-9v1Tyj-9v1Nk3-bWxK5B-dWVa2w-dWVay9">IMF</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Politicians have only recently realised that blackouts may hit the country while they are in office. The focus has been on the retail side. But the market is dominated by a <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/41322605">few large sellers</a>. Jean Tirole won the <a href="https://theconversation.com/nobel-rewards-economist-who-told-us-how-to-tame-the-big-firms-which-run-our-lives-32908">Nobel Prize</a> for showing just how counterintuitive and counterproductive regulation of oligopolies can be. </p>
<p>The Labour government decreed that all clients should be treated the same. Companies <a href="http://competitionpolicy.wordpress.com/2013/09/25/price-regulation-is-not-the-solution-to-unaffordable-energy-prices/">promptly withdrew</a> offers for new customers. Fewer customers decided to switch supplier. The average price of electricity went up. </p>
<p>The current government decreed that everyone should be put on the cheapest tariffs. The <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/11181402/Ofgem-chief-signals-u-turn-over-energy-tariff-cap.html">best offers</a> were <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/household-bills/10404883/Fix-energy-tariff-before-deals-disappear-say-experts.html">promptly withdrawn</a>, and again, the average price of electricity went up. </p>
<p>In 2013, Ed Miliband announced a price freeze after the next election. What happened? The average price of electricity <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/11181446/Second-energy-firm-blames-Labour-for-failure-to-cut-prices.html">promptly</a> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/aug/22/npower-blames-labour-energy-price-freeze">went up</a>.</p>
<h2>Celebrity regulator?</h2>
<p>On the supply side, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jul/12/chris-huhne-energy-market-invest">dithering over market reform</a> and frequent changes in direction in climate policy have left investors nervous. A power plant lasts for 50 years. The details of future policies and regulations determine whether this investment returns a profit or not. When he was minister for energy, Ed Miliband announced that ten new nuclear power plants will be operational in 2020. We <a href="http://www.carboncommentary.com/2014/10/22/cambridge-nuclear-engineer-casts-doubt-on-whether-hinkley-point-epr-nuclear-plant-can-be-constructed/">may have one</a> by 2030. A senior energy executive once lamented to me that Venezuela has a more dependable and credible energy policy than the UK.</p>
<p>Fortunately, the European Union has decreed that the <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/energy/gas_electricity/internal_market_en.htm">power market be reformed</a>. It will be based on the <a href="http://www.agienergia.it/Notizia.aspx?idd=1140&id=64&ante=0">Scandinavian model</a>, which does not work so well in theory but has proven to be pretty robust in practice. The Scandinavian model relies on both spot markets and day-ahead markets for electricity, as well as auctions for reserve and peak capacity.</p>
<p>The energy regulator has to become more like the Bank of England. Mark Carney is a household name and an internationally respected banker. But who has heard of his energy counterpart, Dermot Nolan? Ofgem employs many capable people, including its chief executive, but does not have the stature and independence necessary to stand up to the political whims of the day. Energy is one of those sectors where politicians should strike the balance between potentially conflicting goals – affordable, reliable, clean energy – but technocrats are best placed to fill in the details.</p>
<p>For now, we should pray for a mild winter and stock up on candles and firewood. We should also argue hard in Brussels for one final exemption to keep our old coal-fired power plants running for a few more years.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/33337/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Tol makes his money teaching economics at the University of Sussex and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He receives research funding from 7th Framework Programme of CEC DG Research & Innovation. He is an independent adviser to a wide range of organisations, including the governments of Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the USA, multilateral organisations (e.g., European Commission, World Bank), investment banks, energy companies (both renewable and fossil), engineering companies, political parties across the spectrum (from Freedom Party to Greens), activist groups (e.g., both pro- and anti-wind power), charities (e.g., the Global Warming Policy Foundation) and academic organisations (e.g., Royal Irish Academy, Global Trade Analysis Project). He is a Member of the Academia Europaea, a Fellow of the Tinbergen Institute, and a Fellow of CESifo.</span></em></p>Winter is coming. And the UK has a real chance of [brownouts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownout_(electricity) or even blackouts from lack of power. The long predicted capacity crunch in electric power…Richard Tol, Professor of Economics, University of Sussex Business School, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/281962014-07-08T20:14:27Z2014-07-08T20:14:27ZHow pushing water uphill can solve our renewable energy issues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53272/original/w3hwy737-1404800436.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C24%2C2704%2C1762&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Water storage is used to smooth the output from hydroelectric power - but it can be used with other renewables too.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASnowyHydro-Murray-1.jpg">Martin Kraft/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More and more renewable energy sources are being plugged into Australia’s electricity grids. South Australia, for example, will get 40% of its electricity from wind and solar once the <a href="https://www.trustpower.co.nz/our-assets-and-capability/power-generation/snowtown">Snowtown wind farm</a> is completed later this year.</p>
<p>But if renewable energy is ultimately to dominate the market, we will need ways to store the energy so we can use it round the clock. The good news is that it is easy to store energy. All you need is two small reservoirs – one high, one low – and a way to pump water between them.</p>
<p>This technique, called “off-river pumped hydro energy storage”, can potentially provide the energy storage that Australia needs to embrace renewables fully. It’s cheap, too. </p>
<h2>How pumped hydro works</h2>
<p>When there is excess electricity, water is pumped through a pipe or tunnel, to the upper reservoir. The energy is later recovered by letting the water flow back down again, through a turbine that converts it back into electricity. Efficiencies of 90% in each direction are possible.</p>
<p>Pumped hydro is by far the most widely used form of energy storage, representing 99% of the total. Worldwide, pumped hydro storage can deliver about 150 gigawatts, mostly integrated with hydroelectric power stations on rivers. </p>
<p>In an “off-river” system, the same water circulates in a closed loop between the upper and lower reservoirs, eliminating the need for the facility to be built on a river. The amount of energy stored is proportional both to the elevation difference between the upper and lower reservoirs (typically between 100 and 1000 m), and to the volume of water stored in the upper reservoir.</p>
<p>Electricity storage systems need to be able to deliver instant power output for periods of a few hours. This covers short-term fluctuations in wind and solar outputs, peaks in consumer demand (such as very hot summer afternoons), and unplanned outages of generation and transmission infrastructure. Using stored energy also helps to keep power lines from wind and solar facilities in use for more of the time.</p>
<p>Of the available electricity storage options, such as batteries and flywheels, pumped hydro is by far the cheapest. It has no standby losses while the water waits in the reservoir, and can reach full power in 30 seconds.</p>
<h2>Time to go off-river</h2>
<p>There is little opportunity for Australia to develop on-river hydroelectric power, because of environmental and other constraints. But, there are vast opportunities for short-term off-river energy storage. A typical site would comprise a pair of small reservoirs connected by a pipe through which water would be cycled daily, together with a pump and turbine, powerhouse and power lines. </p>
<p>Australia has thousands of excellent potential sites in hilly areas outside conservation reserves, with typical elevation differences of 750 m. They don’t need to be near a wind or solar farm.</p>
<p>Off-river electricity storage has several advantages over typical on-river facilities:</p>
<ul>
<li> There are vastly more potential sites</li>
<li> Sites can be selected that do not clash with environmental and other values</li>
<li> The upper reservoir can be placed on top of a hill rather than in a valley, allowing the elevation difference to be maximised</li>
<li> No provision needs to be made for floods (typically a major cost).</li>
</ul>
<p>A system comprising twin 10-hectare reservoirs, each 30 m deep, with a 750 m elevation difference, can deliver about 1,000 megawatts for five hours. </p>
<p>Between 20 and 40 of these systems would be enough to stabilise a 100% renewable Australian electricity system. </p>
<h2>How much does it cost?</h2>
<p>As the reservoirs are tiny (just a few hectares) compared with typical hydro reservoirs, they are a minor component of the cost. Most of the cost is in the power components (pipes, pumps, turbines, transformers and transmission). Initial estimates suggest that the cost of an off-river system at a good site is around A$1,000 per kilowatt of installed capacity.</p>
<p>Here is a hypothetical case study. A 200 megawatt solar power facility delivers a maximum of half of its power output to the grid in real time, and stores the rest for the evening. Now, instead of peaking at the sunniest time of day, the solar power output extends from 8am to 10pm (depending on season and cloud cover), with a maximum power output to the grid and the pump each being 90 megawatts (after allowing for losses). The reservoir can be recharged at night using wind energy to cover the morning demand peak. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51629/original/c4m8cfc5-1403156475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51629/original/c4m8cfc5-1403156475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51629/original/c4m8cfc5-1403156475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51629/original/c4m8cfc5-1403156475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51629/original/c4m8cfc5-1403156475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51629/original/c4m8cfc5-1403156475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51629/original/c4m8cfc5-1403156475.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Smoothing the peaks: how energy storage can make solar power last into the evening.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The stand-alone costs of the solar power system and the short-term hydro storage system are A$2,000 and A$1,000 per kilowatt, respectively. After accounting for storage losses balanced by savings from sharing of the transformer and transmission costs between the two systems, and the fact that the hydro storage rating is half that of the PV system, that puts the total system cost at about A$2500 per kilowatt. </p>
<p>In other words, using pumped hydro storage to smooth out the peaks in output from a solar power station only adds an extra 25% to the cost. That’s much cheaper than using batteries.</p>
<h2>Location, location, location</h2>
<p>Spend some time with a map or Google Earth and you can spot dozens of excellent potential sites, in hilly farmland or along existing powerline routes. Australia has thousands of candidate sites throughout most inhabited parts of the country. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="http://www.snowyhydro.com.au/energy/hydro/mini-hydro-developments/mini-hydro-tumut-3-micro-hydro-generators">Tumut 3</a> hydroelectric station has Australia’s largest pumped hydro storage capacity (1500 megawatts), an elevation difference of 151 m, and a substantial lake that must cope with major floods. But a small off-river system could be built nearby, comprising twin 13-hectare reservoirs with an altitude difference of 700 m, connected by a 5 km pipe traversing a powerline route. This system would store enough water to deliver 1,500 megawatts for three hours, and would cost much less.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51631/original/4gr5nwbk-1403156580.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51631/original/4gr5nwbk-1403156580.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51631/original/4gr5nwbk-1403156580.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51631/original/4gr5nwbk-1403156580.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51631/original/4gr5nwbk-1403156580.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51631/original/4gr5nwbk-1403156580.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51631/original/4gr5nwbk-1403156580.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A 5 km pipe between two pumped hydro storage lakes (blue dots) could improve the output of Snowy Hydro’s Tumut 3 power station, at relatively modest cost (Google Earth image)</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>* This article was co-authored by <a href="http://nz.linkedin.com/pub/roger-fulton/9/98a/547">Roger Fulton</a> from Jacobs/SKM, who has worked in the hydroelectric industry since 1975 as an engineer and project manager.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28196/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Blakers 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>More and more renewable energy sources are being plugged into Australia’s electricity grids. South Australia, for example, will get 40% of its electricity from wind and solar once the Snowtown wind farm…Andrew Blakers, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSES) , Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/258162014-04-22T20:06:38Z2014-04-22T20:06:38ZEnergy-smart appliances cut Australian power bills by billions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46808/original/4gvwwz5m-1398151331.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C3000%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Better appliances and energy-efficiency rules saved Australians more than A$3 billion on electricity last year alone.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The latest review of <a href="http://www.energyrating.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/Energy_Rating_Documents/Library/General/Equipment_Energy_Efficiency_Program_%28E3%29/Impacts-of-the-E3-Program.pdf">Australia’s energy-saving appliance scheme</a> has delivered a rare trifecta: a good news story for the economy, the community and the environment. </p>
<p>According to my estimates from data in the <a href="http://www.energyrating.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/Energy_Rating_Documents/Library/General/Equipment_Energy_Efficiency_Program_%28E3%29/Impacts-of-the-E3-Program.pdf">Department of Industry review</a>, the value of energy saved in Australia last year alone was around A$3.2 billion. Of this, some A$2.7 billion was saved by households.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.energyrating.gov.au/">Equipment Energy Efficiency</a> (E3) program aims to reduce energy use by household and business appliances, through the use of energy labels and enforceable standards for energy use.</p>
<p>This latest review found that in 2013, the E3 program <a href="http://www.energyrating.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/Energy_Rating_Documents/Library/General/Equipment_Energy_Efficiency_Program_%28E3%29/Impacts-of-the-E3-Program.pdf">reduced Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 13.5 million tonnes</a> at a cost of minus A$119 per tonne: in other words, it <em>saved</em> money to cut emissions. Overall, the savings delivered by embracing efficient appliances were three times greater than the costs. </p>
<p>The savings in energy use were equivalent to 7% of all Australian electricity consumption – a fact that certainly helps to explain the <a href="https://theconversation.com/another-summer-on-the-nem-24451">recent declines</a> in electricity consumption.</p>
<p>By 2030, the program is forecast to be saving 34.4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year, at a cost of minus A$118 per tonne and a benefit/cost ratio of 4.6. That means for every A$1 we spend, we get A$4.60 of benefits back.</p>
<p>Not a bad result for a program with little political commitment and a low public profile. Imagine what it could achieve if it was taken more seriously.</p>
<h2>Energy efficiency can cover a carbon price</h2>
<p>An average Australian household saves about A$6 per week from appliance energy efficiency.</p>
<p>When Australia’s carbon price was announced in 2011, <a href="http://archive.treasury.gov.au/documents/2118/PDF/Modelling_carbon_price_household.pdf">Treasury modelling</a> estimated that a A$23-per-tonne carbon price would cost households A$9.90 per week, of which energy and water was A$4.60. So even without the financial compensation given out by the government, the energy-efficiency program has offset more than 60% of the estimated impact of carbon pricing on households. </p>
<p>What’s more, <a href="http://climatechange.gov.au/sites/climatechange/files/files/reducing-carbon/carbon-pricing-policy/households-cost-ets.pdf">Treasury estimates</a> suggest that moving from the fixed carbon price to a globally-linked trading scheme (assuming a carbon price of A$6 per tonne) would reduce household weekly carbon costs by A$7.30. On this basis, Australia’s appliance efficiency program would already more than offset the total cost impact of an ongoing emissions trading scheme, even if international carbon prices doubled. </p>
<p>Of course, appliances have been growing more efficient all the time, but the savings estimated here are on top of the “business as usual” trend. Without the incentive provided by the program, households would be using more energy and paying higher bills.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46828/original/wqp5h6jp-1398167602.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46828/original/wqp5h6jp-1398167602.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46828/original/wqp5h6jp-1398167602.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=169&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46828/original/wqp5h6jp-1398167602.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=169&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46828/original/wqp5h6jp-1398167602.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=169&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46828/original/wqp5h6jp-1398167602.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=213&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46828/original/wqp5h6jp-1398167602.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=213&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46828/original/wqp5h6jp-1398167602.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=213&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How much money, energy and emissions are estimated to have been saved since 2000, thanks to better energy standards for appliances.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.energyrating.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/Energy_Rating_Documents/Library/General/Equipment_Energy_Efficiency_Program_%28E3%29/Impacts-of-the-E3-Program.pdf">Department of Industry</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The case for going further</h2>
<p>Since 1986, when the first energy labels began to appear on refrigerators, the program has provided a steady incentive for replacing inefficient appliances with better-performing ones. But given the huge savings and emissions cuts on offer, there is a strong case for a more aggressive program. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46807/original/2bjy3pm4-1398150676.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46807/original/2bjy3pm4-1398150676.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46807/original/2bjy3pm4-1398150676.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46807/original/2bjy3pm4-1398150676.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46807/original/2bjy3pm4-1398150676.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46807/original/2bjy3pm4-1398150676.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46807/original/2bjy3pm4-1398150676.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">Star performance: rating stickers first began appearing on Australian appliances in 1986.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gnangarra/Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The new report estimates that accelerating the program could deliver further net savings worth A$1.5 billion. But this is a very conservative figure, based on past studies that have consistently underestimated the benefits.</p>
<p>The estimates of savings to date are also conservative, because they use 2000 as a baseline, despite the fact that the program has been around for much longer. </p>
<p>Between 1986 and 2000, the average efficiency of new refrigerators purchased by Australian consumers improved by around 40%. Similarly, dishwashers became 23% more efficient between 1993 and 2000 – savings that are not captured in the report’s figures.</p>
<h2>Are there more savings to be made?</h2>
<p>There certainly are. One option is to expand efficiency programs to include a wider range of products. </p>
<p>A typical ceiling fan, for example, uses about 80 watts, whereas the most efficient models use less than a quarter of this. Energy labelling and minimum standards could drive large savings, especially in tropical areas. </p>
<p>Stronger measures could be introduced sooner. For example, swimming pool filter pumps are large energy consumers, and the existing voluntary energy labelling scheme shows savings of up to 80%. But the present schedule will not see mandatory labels and <a href="http://www.energyrating.gov.au/programs/about/">minimum energy performance standards</a> until 2017. </p>
<p>Replacing old, inefficient appliances offers big benefits. For example, many old refrigerators are faulty, and use up to eight times as much as a modern fridge, so replacing them brings disproportionately large savings. This could be encouraged by offering trade-ins for specific models, or offering home audits to identify appliances in need of replacement.</p>
<p>The program could also be expanded to include funding the development of new energy-efficiency technologies.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.a2se.org.au/?option=com_content&view=article&id=400">recent conference presentation to the Australian Alliance to Save Energy</a>, I compared the energy performance of market-leading appliances against average ones. Replacing appliances with the best ones on the market can deliver power savings of 30-80%.</p>
<p>Then there is the potential to improve performance through the use of “smart” technology and design, such as load-sensing motors in washing machines. You can then take that further by encouraging changes in user behaviour, such as buying low-temperature detergents, cutting down on household bills and power use for hot water. </p>
<p>My research suggests that for most appliances there seems to be potential to improve effiency by another 30-60% beyond the current best available performance.</p>
<h2>Smarter choices for the future</h2>
<p>Australia’s appliance energy efficiency program (which <a href="http://www.energyrating.gov.au/">New Zealand also joined a few years ago</a>) has already cost-effectively cut greenhouse gas emissions, helped to reduce peak energy demand, reduced energy bills, and offset much of the cost associated with Australia’s fixed carbon price. </p>
<p>If, rather than scrapping carbon pricing, Australia were to shift to a globally-linked emissions trading scheme, carbon costs would be significantly reduced and the benefits from appliance efficiency would outweigh household carbon costs. That would effectively give us a climate policy that actually makes money. </p>
<p>Expanding and strengthening our energy efficiency program would deliver even more savings for Australian households, businesses and for the environment. But that’s if our government chooses to act.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25816/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Pears AM has carried out consulting work for many sustainable energy organisations and provides policy advice to a variety of organisations. At present he has no paid roles for such organisations. He is an honorary adviser to the Energy Efficiency Council, Climate Alliance and Alternative Technology Association.</span></em></p>The latest review of Australia’s energy-saving appliance scheme has delivered a rare trifecta: a good news story for the economy, the community and the environment. According to my estimates from data…Alan Pears, Sustainable Energy & Climate Researcher, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/252932014-04-07T05:09:05Z2014-04-07T05:09:05ZThe key to a green internet lies beyond Amazon’s data centres<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45687/original/nymyk5tx-1396706132.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Amazon data centres like these power the internet.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/eroc/5863167909/in/photolist-9W7gxT-dywNuP-9GC8KB-4Q8kcq-kY5Rcf-73KnaJ-73KRte-dnf1dp-dywiFP-b8ehq4-baS4Kn-b8n6Fg-4M7pV-4vMh8G-9xKFSJ-8npeKW-8ocGTG-8ocGXW-8ocGW5-8ocGUm-dattGS-gogc5u-A8zQK-7RBJx3-dAKH4M-dARaXA-dAKH4g-bWw3sz">Eric Hunsaker</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Environmental group Greenpeace has slammed Amazon for its environmental practices in its <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/media-center/reports/clickingclean/">latest report</a> on the green credentials of the technology industry. </p>
<p>Greenpeace is concerned that Amazon Web services, which provides infrastructure for much of the internet, continues to run its data centres with dirty fuel.</p>
<p>Amazon data centres power some of the most well-known services on the web, including Netflix, Vine, Pinterest and Spotify but has fallen behind competitors in the quest to build a green internet, according to Greenpeace. </p>
<p>Apple, Box, Facebook, Google, Rackspace, and Salesforce have committed to powering their data centres with 100% renewable energy in the future, but the campaign group reports that Amazon has failed to be transparent about its own intentions.</p>
<p>Now that tech businesses play such a significant role in the world economy and green issues carry enormous political weight, reports of this kind take on new importance. Greenpeace points out that electricity demand will increase in line with our hunger for digital services but at the same time, focusing on how data centres are run is a narrow approach.</p>
<p>As the internet moves away from being a service we access on personal computers alone, we’ll need to think bigger about how to make it environmentally sound.</p>
<p>It is important that Greenpeace has focused on the policies of these tech companies rather than simply criticising the amount of energy they use. For Greenpeace to accuse Amazon of ignoring green issues is a strong assertion. Whether true or not, this is a core issue for measuring and defining corporate responsibility for the wider impact cloud providers can have in promoting efficient energy practices across all the industries they serve.</p>
<p>Video and media content accounts for <a href="http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/VNI_Hyperconnectivity_WP.html">60% of the world’s internet traffic at the moment</a> and demand for data centres and power is likely to increase dramatically, according to Greenpeace, because of the 25 billion objects that are set to be connected to the internet of things.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.smart2020.org/_assets/files/Smart2020UnitedStatesReportAddendum.pdf">Smart 2020 report</a>, published by the Global Sustainability Initiative in 2008 and updated in 2012, says that the ICT industry could make a significant difference if it helped to improve green practices across other industries.</p>
<p>The key issue is that cities, buildings, air and road transport are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/apr/28/industries-sectors-carbon-emissions">significant users of energy and emissions</a>. Better IT can help reduce the toll they take.</p>
<p>Data centres tend to be located where there are high populations and demand for their services as well as discount incentives for energy and tax reasons. So they are part of cities and as such, should be come part of smart cities.</p>
<p>Better IT systems can make it easier to use smart systems to control buildings, cities, cars and air transport. Instead of assessing performance on an industry by industry level, as Greenpeace does, it would be better to look at how cities perform, or buildings or transport. </p>
<p>What’s more, we ought at least to use more nuanced measures if we are to highlight data centres in our environmental thinking. Data centres are sources of energy consumption for electricity and heat cooling but can also be used to regenerate energy with the by-products of heat removal.</p>
<p>The traditional metric for measuring a data centre’s energy input to usage efficiency, the PUE, or power usage effectiveness is often the quoted number for a “sustainable data centre”. But this is irresponsible and untrue as it does not reflect where the energy came from, the emissions produced or how much energy it is using for example.</p>
<p>New metrics have been developed that focus on green issues specifically. <a href="http://www.thegreengrid.org/">The Green Grid</a> is an international consortium of companies and individuals devoted to reducing power usage in data centres and have developed metrics that aim to expand the measurement of data centres to include green and renewable energy practices.</p>
<p>The Green grid has developed additional metrics: GEC, ERF and CUE. GEC measures the proportion of the facility’s energy coming from green sources, ERF identifies the proportion of energy that is exported for re-use outside the data centre and CUE is a metric to enable assessment of the total greenhouse gas emissions of data centre relative to its IT energy consumption.</p>
<p>Focusing on the big cloud providers like Amazon is one way to raise awareness but I’m not sure this is the right approach holistically. “Dirty” data centre practices should be improved and companies must take responsibility for this ahead of their commercial competitiveness and legislating to introduce targets is a good way to do this. We should welcome the Greenpeace report but in a world of multi-connected industries, we need to focus on the bigger industry questions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25293/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Skilton 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>Environmental group Greenpeace has slammed Amazon for its environmental practices in its latest report on the green credentials of the technology industry. Greenpeace is concerned that Amazon Web services…Mark Skilton, Professor of Practice, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.