To the Renewable Energy Target review panel,
My name is Ketan Joshi. I work as a Research and Communications Officer at a renewable energy
company based in Sydney. After spending four years studying a science degree, I entered the
renewable energy industry, working with my new employer and a colleague to establish a 24/7
operations and control centre, designed to monitor and dispatch renewable energy in response to
fluctuations in price and demand in the National Electricity Market (NEM). I now work in the research
and communications field.
I spent a large amount of time doing shifts in the Control Centre, at any possible time of day, and on
any day of the week, watching the energy market closely. In that time, it became starkly clear that the
criticisms levelled at renewable energy in the public sphere are untrue or exaggerated. The full extent
to which renewable energy contributes meaningfully to the grid has been underestimated. The
Renewable Energy Target (RET) has played a significant role in efficiently encouraging this
integration.
Since then, my time engaging with individuals and communities around operational wind farms has
shown that nearly everyone living near wind farms have a positive experience with the machines.
Media coverage represents a biased sample of the total population of people living near wind farms –
a bias corrected when we delve more deeply into the communities around wind farms. Though
community engagement is not a written aspect of the RET policy, the development of renewable
energy technology is dependent entirely on the acceptance of these technologies by the communities
that live adjacent to them.
The outcomes of climate science ought to be considered closely when the panel engages with policy
encouraging the integration of renewable energy into the electricity market.
Contribution to Generation in South Australia
South Australia is a success story – the state sees long stretches of time where a significant
proportion of its electrical power is generated by wind turbines. On average, this amount is 28% 1.
SA Electricity generated in 2012-13 by
energy source1
Gas
Wind
Coal
Diesel
Gigawatt hours (GWh)
-
2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000
At the infrequent times at which wind turbines are not generating electricity, the market operates as it
always has done. Yet, there are times when South Australia unassumingly outlines an optimistic
picture of an energy market that competitively and efficiently incorporates technology that is not
bound to carbon pollution.
1
AEMO 2013 Electricity Report http://www.aemo.com.au/Electricity/Planning/South-AustralianAdvisory-Functions/South-Australian-Electricity-Report
One example of this is the time period spanning science week, last year. During that week myself and
a colleague set up a booth in the Australian Museum, displaying some solar panels, a demonstration
wind turbine and some technical fact sheets on the technology and engineering underpinning the
machines we operate. The following is a graphic 2 displaying South Australian generation against
South Australian demand, for the duration of Science Week:
At times, wind output was low, and at other times, wind output served a significant proportion of South
Australian electrical demand. The Australian Wind Energy Forecasting System 3 (AWEFS), developed
and operated by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), accurately forecasts the output of
wind farms, thus arming them to consistently manage the secure and efficient delivery of electricity to
households. The image below shows 24 hour and 12 hour forecasts against actual generation, during
a severe heatwave that occurred in January 2014, using data provided4 by AEMO.
“Wind supplied 47% of South Australia’s power last week” – Article by Ketan Joshi published on
Renew Economy http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/wind-supplied-47-of-south-australias-energylast-week-67550
3 The Australian Wind Energy Forecasting System (AWEFS) http://www.aemo.com.au/Electricity/Market-Operations/Dispatch/AWEFS
4 Article on Climate Spectator http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2014/1/31/policypolitics/edis-dishonest-warmist-propagandist
2
The integration of wind energy in South Australia has not been responsible for any blackouts,
brownouts, network collapses, load-shedding or fuel poverty. This is due largely to the fact that the
deployment of this technology has been overseen by a large variety of extremely experienced
engineers, scientists and analysts. Through their considerable skill, a novel technology that operates
on a unique pattern of generation is on the verge of providing enough electrical energy to meet the
needs of every single residential household in South Australia 5.
At the time of writing this document, total wind output in the National Electricity Market is 644
megawatts, approximately enough to supply electricity for 910,546 households 6 (using a 4 person
household in Brisbane as an example)
Benefits to Adjacent Communities
An SKM report7 commissioned by the Clean Energy Council found that: a typical 50 megawatt wind
farm:
• Has an estimated average construction workforce of 48 people with each worker spending $25,000
per year in the local area. This equates to some $1.2 million per year flowing into hotels, shops,
restaurants, and other local service providers.
• Employs around five staff for operations and maintenance, equating to an ongoing local annual
influx of $125,000.
• Provides up to $250,000 annually in payments to farmers, a proportion of which flows into the local
community.
• Provides a community contribution of up to some $80,000 per year for the life of the project.
I’ve been involved in several community events during my time in the renewable energy industry, and
each of them has been extremely successful. An example is an annual fun run held at the Woodlawn
Wind Farm, where locals experience the wind farm up close. The photo below shows runners at the
base of a wind turbine at Woodlawn Wind Farm, near Bungendore in New South Wales.
5
Windlab Systems 8-year study of South Australian wind farms
http://www.windlab.com/news/australian-wind-farms-dramatically-reduce-carbon-emissions-withoutincreasing-wholesale-prices
6 Household power consumption - http://energymadeeasy.gov.au/bill-benchmark/results/4000/3
7 Benefits of wind energy in Australia; Clean Energy Council
https://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/technologies/wind-energy/benefits-of-wind-energy.html
Public support for wind energy is widespread. An Essential Vision poll 8 showed that 76% of the public
support wind energy, and that 71% of Liberal / National party voters are also supportive of wind
energy.
Public support for wind farms - Essential Vision
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
Don’t know
50%
Total oppose
Total support
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Total
8
Vote Labor
Vote Lib/Nat
Vote Greens
Essential Vision Polling on wind farms http://essentialvision.com.au/wind-farms
The integration of wind farms into the communities that host them is just as important as the
integration of wind farms in the National Electricity Market. The large majority of operational wind
farms are not only accepted by the community, but warmly welcomed.
The Urgency of Decarbonisation to Protect Australian Society
As with Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection or the connection between smoking and lung
cancer, there exists an established scientific consensus on the impacts of anthropogenic greenhouse
gas emissions on the atmospheric systems that sustain civilisation, and the economies contained
within.
Some of the scientific organisations that concur with the scientific consensus established by the
scientific community include:
-
The Australian Academy of Science9
The CSIRO10
The Bureau of Meteorology11
Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies 12
The Australian Coral Reef Society13
The Australian Medical Association14
The Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society15
Given the widespread acceptance of the science of climate change amongst Australia’s most
established scientific bodies, it is clear that retaining our current reliance on fuel types that emit large
quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is directly and inarguably an act of cruelty to
Australia’s future residents.
The warnings issued by global scientific bodies such as the IPCC, reminding us of the monumental
urgency of decarbonisation, ought to be heeded and carefully considered, when the Renewable
Energy Target is being considered by the panel. If we can reduce our carbon emissions efficiently and
in such a way that empowers and informs communities, then we ought to do so with great vigour.
Anything less and we will face harsh judgement from future generations, and the burden of an
unpleasant legacy.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my submission, and please do not hesitate to contact me on
the details provided, if there are any questions about the content of this submission.
Thanks and regards,
Ketan Joshi
“The Science of Climate Change” - http://www.science.org.au/publications/science-climate-changequestions-and-answers
10 CSIRO – “Understanding climate change”
http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Climate/Understanding.aspx
11 Bureau of Meteorology - http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/
12 Wikipedia page listing scientific organisations that accept climate science
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_opinion_on_climate_change#cite_noteFASTS_Statement_on_Climate_Change-35
13 Australian Coral Reef Society
http://web.archive.org/web/20060322170802/http://www.australiancoralreefsociety.org/pdf/chadwick6
05a.pdf
14 Australian Medical Association on Climate Change and Human Health
https://ama.com.au/node/4442
15 The Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society –
http://www.amos.org.au/publications/cid/3/t/publications
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