Optimal technological choices in meeting Australian energy policy goals

Australia's energy system faces a number of environmental challenges and chief among them is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In the electricity sector, the Australian government has began implementing policies, which require greater use of gas and renewables based technologies. In this study, we simulate the optimal shares of several electricity generation technologies for Australia under a policy of greenhouse gas mitigation. In doing so, we seek to determine the likely technological investment paths over the next two decades and consider the sensitivity of those projections to assumptions regarding technological change, resource scarcity and economies or diseconomies of scale.     

Australian renewable energy policy: Barriers and challenges

Effective policy and regulatory frameworks are paramount to incentivising the deployment of renewable energy to achieve long term reductions in carbon emissions. Australia's renewable energy policy has taken significant steps towards encouraging the deployment of lower-emission energy generation. Significant policy barriers still exist at the federal and state levels, however, which have reduced the effectiveness of a concerted national effort to deploy renewables. The current policy landscape has favoured mature technologies which present the lowest investment risk at the expense of emerging options which may present greater efficiency and emissions reduction gains. The lack of support for emerging technologies delays their effective deployment and the accumulation of highly skilled human capital, until the medium to long term. This paper outlines the key policy frameworks, incentives and regulatory environment which encompasses the renewable energy sector, and presents a critical analysis of the barriers faced by the industry.     

Australian renewable energy progress

With some of the world's best solar and wind resources, Australia is a prime market for solar and wind energy. The growing renewable energy industry can take advantage of Australia's stable economy, good access to grid infrastructure and well organised financial and legal services.Although development has been slower than what was anticipated, but with the promises made by the new government, the renewable community hopes for a brighter future for solar and wind energy in Australia.The objective of this paper is to present an overview of the current status of solar and wind energy in Australia, then to take a closer look at solar and wind potential, current activities, and finally to discusses about Australian Government support and to predict the future outlook of solar and wind energy.     

Objectives in Irish energy policy

Major changes have occurred in the energy sector of the Republic of Ireland. These trends reflected in part the international context, especially with regard to oil. They were partly an outcome of the nature and development of indigenous peat, hydropower, natural gas and coal resources. Also there has been the pervasive impact of national government on energy affairs. The objectives of government policy have related to indigenous resource development, diversification of sources, stockpiling, prices, energy conservation, mineral exploration, alternative energy sources and environmental protection. Regional and social considerations have also been important. There is need for comprehensive energy policy formulation.     

Mythology and reality in energy policy

Explanations of world energy problems differ widely. At one extreme, it is alleged that the difficulties arise from impending exhaustion of mineral resources. Others contend that the difficulties are man-made though they disagree over the men responsible - whether they are in companies, governments of consuming countries or those of producing countries.The premise of Professor Gordon's article is that the difficulties arise from government policies in both consuming and producing countries. This is developed by showing some of the defects of alternative arguments and by stressing the importance of systematic economic analysis to rational evaluation of public policy.     

The new French energy policy

Since 1974 successive governments have endeavoured to reduce French dependence on imported energy. The latest policies of President Mitterand have given a change of emphasis to the country's objectives rather than a revolutionary change. There will be more control over the nuclear programme, an attempt to limit the growth of consumption and more emphasis on coal and natural gas. Despite this, external dependence on imports will not fall below 50% by the end of the century.     

Transportation energy policy in the 1980''s

A crtical review of current transportation policies is based on the transportation papers from many countries presented at ICEUM—III. The automobile is recommended as the primary focus of future policy. Information gathering and the coordination of new technology development are identified as the essential government roles.     

Renewable energy policy development in the Caribbean

The Caribbean region is endowed with renewable energy resources which remain largely untapped. With an average insolation of 15-20 MJ m⁻² day⁻¹, investment in some renewable energy technologies is feasible. The major problem confronting the region is lack of financial resources. Petroleum imports continue to dominate the energy scenario except for Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. However, increased awareness of sustainable development issues throughout the region is a major factor in support of renewable energy implementation and is a driving force for energy policy decision-making. With the necessary joint-venture partnerships and government fiscal incentives, photovoltaic technologies, wind energy and solar energy industries are poised to expand thus reducing the dependency on fossil fuel imports while preserving the environment.     

The finnish energy policy programme

The Council of State of Finland approved the energy policy programme described in this paper on 15 March 1979. The programme forms the basis for the energy policy to be pursued in Finland in the near future. The programme was drafted by the parliamentary Energy Policy Council which was unamimous on the contents of its proposal.The Council of State will follow the implementation of the energy programme and make the necessary alterations as conditions change. A complete revision of the programme will be carried out within three years. The authorities concerned will be responsible for the implementation of the measures included in the programme and for following-up the effects of these measures. The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Energy Policy Council subordinated to the Ministry will, however, bear the principal responsibility.     

Social consequences of energy policy

Energy policymakers believe that the social consequences of their policies are the domain of the social services. Here it is argued that a government package should be implemented to improve the relationship between energy and social policy, including a comprehensive insulation programme, improvements in energy conservation and, in some cases, direct financial assistance.     

英国可再生能源政策及启示

介绍了美国政府支持新能源、可再生能源发展及高耗能企业调控的做法、对策和取得的成效,并谈了体会和建议。     

Renewable energy sources in the Colombian energy policy, analysis and perspectives

In this work; five basic elements for the formulation of a policy on renewable energy sources for Colombia, are discussed. A balance of the institutions of the energy sector related to the formulation, elaboration and execution of plans, programs and projects on renewable energy sources is carried out. The technology costs that take advantage of such sources are compared and the 967 Law issued in 2001 and its regulatory decree are analyzed. This law promotes the efficient and rational use of energy and also promotes the alternative energies.     

Fundamental aspects of energy conservation policy

The formulation of a governmental energy conservation policy requires that the issues involved be fundamentally analyzed. Information transfer, more intensive use of data, and good housekeeping can all contribute to reduced energy use. Our major choice, however, is between producing the present mix of materials, commodities, and services more efficiently or decreasing demand for them. The first option is referred to as the “technical fix”, the second one as “change of lifestyle”. If the first option fails, changes in life-style might become mandatory.This paper deals with the technical fix approach. Higher capital investment can lead to a decrease in direct use of energy. Both the cost and the energy involved in these investments are analyzed along a conservation path, and a limited number of constants is used to describe the changes along this path. These constants can also be used to feed technological information into macroeconomic analysis.The time scales involved pose the major problem to achieving conservation by means of a technological fix. An increase in the price of energy will lead to higher capital investments in accordance with the economic lifecycles in the different sectors. For applications with a short life-time, such as in the transport sector, energy conservation will mainly take place through the construction of new equipment. In sectors with long lifetime investments (e.g. buildings), retrofitting will be important.Including the indirect energy requirements in the conservation study leads to some important conclusions. It can be demonstrated that the thermodynamic limit is not the ultimate limit for conservation. An energy minimum is obtained, which corresponds to a use of energy higher than the thermodynamic limit. It is also impossible to reduce or eliminate some components of the present energy supply system and at the same time to introduce a new decentralized supply system.A crucial aspect of the technological fix approach is that within the present rules, capital investments for saving direct energy can only be made after the increase in energy price has taken place or when it can be firmly anticipated on a short term. At this point, however, the time needed for making these capital investments is lacking and adverse economic consequences can be expected.It is therefore the major task of governmental policy to induce conservation before it is economically acceptable or possible. This requires some form of government interaction. The theory developed in this paper provides a method by which to rank the options according to the energy saved per dollar of public funds invested. This measures the difference between the objectives of the private sector and those of society.The longer this policy is postponed, the larger is the risk that conservation will have to be achieved in an emergency program. In that situation the indirect energy necessary for the capital construction might jeopardize the short-term goals.     

The limitations of energy policy models

The main purpose of this article is to highlight the problems inherent in some basic mathematical assumptions used in the formulation of models, and to show how these assumptions influence the results derived from the models. The author analyses and criticizes three energy policy models; the World Oil Model; the MIT Energy Self- Sufficiency Study; and Project Independence. The author also aims to show that failure to consider non-quantifiable factors when assessing the models' results can lead to misleading conclusions.