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A National Energy Plan

Tucked away on Page 71, Advertiser, June 30, one of the most important notes in the whole edition, Origin Energy 1,000,000 tons of LNG a year deal to a Japanese utility for 20 years.

When combined with the 4,00,000 tonnes to China, the mind boggles at the political stupidity that has overcome the nation to be selling off the strategic reserves of energy that should be diverted to smelting the ore dusts currently being exported. There are serious issues at stake.

One relates to cutting the importation of oil from the dysfunctional Middle East currently funding the arms and support of radical Islamia. Another, the thousands of jobs that are created by value added export of ingots and billets of metal by LNG fired smelters instead of just profit for Gina and a few friends exporting the mineral dust.

Sure, LNG pipelines from NW Shelf to the capital cities are too long but there is no impediment to ship using the same tankers to capital city storages in the same facilities for oil. If nuclear and hot rocks are not yet, the LNG is the best enviro alternative to power existing electric energy generation with heat to produce the steam, leaving coal in the ground until a better use is found for it .

The best that one could hope for solar, is to make it compulsory for the Building Code if orientation of the array allows for domestic residential installations. Seems to be far more important than $36 billion for the NBN 24/7 T V.

Bob Stewart

(Heavy Engineering Risk Surveyor in Asia to Insurers at Lloyds for 22 years now Retired)

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bob Stewart on July 18, 2012 at 1:16pm

I'm with you Alan. My own experiences are with blast furnaces for casting steel where the fuel is LNG and this is the export to China to not only fuel the furnaces processing the dust. I had a job to do for insurers considering an All Risk cover to the a new plant nearing completion at Changshu in 2001.

and Yes Alan, I appreciated the comment you made that few days ago. However my mind is focused on the engineering aspects of source and delivery rather than the politics. You are right of course that much unraveling would be necessary. It is my view that electricity in the megawatts is required for industrial progress whether for the grid or isolated stand alone. Electricity in the megawatts will continue to be provided from existing generation technology which at this time is steam driven. Ultimately steam by a secure supply of combustible fuel, coal,the LNG, or the heat sourced from fission or hot rocks. Until there is a method of producing electricity that can be harvested or stored in such large amounts 24/7, I for one, cannot foresee yet a practical change from heat to produce steam. Biofuels ,wave action, vast solar arrays, I see them as a proper path to the realization.

Cheers Bro.Al. from Bob

alan mikkelsen said:

Hi Bob, as you already know I have no argument with your basic ideas, and bro' john, Jeff T, Merv N and I have posted quite a bit on this isue in other Fora, such as 'Abiotic Oil'.

But in relation to your comment that "Sure, LNG pipelines from NW Shelf to the capital cities are too long but there is no impediment to ship using the same tankers to capital city storages in the same facilities for oil", there are 2 current problems:

1) As I posted back to you in another string a few days ago, as things now stand thanks to the green coalition government, big unions and Fair Work Australia, such shipments would have to conform pay and conditions - wise with totally uncompetitive Australian coastal shipping regulations.

2) Full metal refining processes require vast amounts of power / electricity, and we have now gone from being blessed with the world's cheapest (developed country) electricity, to the bottom of the well.

So we need to change the government and then unpick a lot of stuff to give such upgrading projects any chance of attracting investment.

Cheers bro' al

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Permalink Reply by Dr Caroline Wright on July 18, 2012 at 4:01pm

If people are willing to invest in solar panels on their houses the excess could be fed back into the Grid. For this reason the Government should continue to reward such persons by a rebate on the solar panel installation. Or pay for the addition of a couple of extra panels just for the Grid.

With regard to shopping around for cheaper electricity in Tasmania that is not a possibility as we only have one producer and that is produced by Hydro and sold to Aurora Energy. The name is enough to tell you how the major proportion is produced yet the State Government has increased its charges for the past several years and it is not inflation driven.

Fond regards

Caroline

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Permalink Reply by Bob Stewart on July 18, 2012 at 6:35pm

Caroline, these aspects of solar energy have been my pet subject to media for several years now. But for your understanding, here in SA the panels collect the energy and an inverter feeds all that back into the grid and it is that quantity that is paid for under the present system, less what is consumed from the grid.

As part of a study group in 1998 it was calculated that if 60%-70% of domestic consumption in SA was converted to solar, that would provide enough from the grid to cover commercial and industrial electricity demand for 10 years from existing generating capacity. It was recommended that Nationwide Building Permits required all new residential if space and orientation allowed, be fitted with 2 kw minimum.

My own unit is 1.9 kw x 10 panels on a stand alone structure built at ground level for both ease of installation and cleaning and I have the room. In its first 3 months it paid back $255. The second 3 months $142. My consumption includes off peak HW, electric stove and oven ,big freezer and fridge and all the usual appliances. The workshop is a heavy user with table saw,planer,bandsaw,welder etc. I expect to actually pay something for the current reading two days ago because it is winter and I like to cook..

Dr Caroline Wright said:

If people are willing to invest in solar panels on their houses the excess could be fed back into the Grid. For this reason the Government should continue to reward such persons by a rebate on the solar panel installation. Or pay for the addition of a couple of extra panels just for the Grid.

With regard to shopping around for cheaper electricity in Tasmania that is not a possibility as we only have one producer and that is produced by Hydro and sold to Aurora Energy. The name is enough to tell you how the major proportion is produced yet the State Government has increased its charges for the past several years and it is not inflation driven.

Fond regards

Caroline

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Permalink Reply by Dr Caroline Wright on July 18, 2012 at 7:30pm

It sounds as though you have a good system in S.A. Bob. Unfortunately in Tassie, until they change the laws, it is my understanding that any excess you produce is fed into the Grid but you are not credited with this. We still need to further research this before we make the decision to install solar panels on the 20 by 30 ft shed.

Fond regards

Caroline