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DID YOU KNOW THAT SMART POWER OFFERS...
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e-Smart?
e-Smart is an innovative web based resource developed by Smart Power that enables our clients to take action and make consumption and cost changes. It is one of a group of tools which is available to access information and trends.
"You need to measure before you can manage" and having information provided in an easy to use format, both graphic and tabulated, enables the user to quickly review information. e-Smart records changes in consumption and cost and also provides benchmarking for sites and CO2 information year-on-year for comparison purposes.
e-Smart requires no training and allows clients to download easy to read reports and/or data into Excel for further analysis.
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EVER WONDERED ABOUT....
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Basslink?
Basslink is a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable link crossing Bass Strait, connecting the Loy Yang Power Station, Victoria on the Australian mainland to the George Town substation in northern Tasmania. It can supply some of the peak load capacity to the mainland of Australia and take some of the excess base load capacity off the coal fired generators on the mainland to supply Tasmania, leading to all round economic and pollution savings. Tasmania benefits in that it has less need further to invest in base load generation and can profit by selling peak load power into a larger market. The cable has also been used to supply power to Tasmania in times of drought.
Basslink is a monopolar HVDC operating at a nominal voltage of 400 kV DC. The nominal rating of the link is 500 MW although it is capable of transmitting 630 MW from George Town to Loy Yang for up to 4 hours. It consists of: - 290-kilometre long submarine power cable from McGaurans Beach near Giffard, Victoria to Four Mile Bluff above George Town in Tasmania. The cable weighs 60 kg/m. It is the second longest submarine power cable in the world.
- 60.8 kilometres overhead power line to the Victorian coast
- 6.6 kilometres underground cable in Victoria
- 11 kilometres overhead line section to the Tasmanian coast
- 1.7 kilometres underground cable in Tasmania.
The Basslink cable also includes a run of dark fibre. This is notable as, once it is in commercial operation, it will be the first non-Telstra operated fibre cable crossing Bass Strait.
Benefits of Basslink:
The introduction of Basslink meant that Tasmania could participate in the National Electricity Market (NEM). This allows Tasmania to buy or sell power into the NEM.
Basslink has numerous benefits;
- Enhances security of supply in Tasmania and Victoria
- It protects Tasmania against the risk of drought-constrained energy shortages
- Provides Victoria and southern states with secure renewable energy during times of peak demand.
- Allows Tasmania to participate in the NEM
- The Basslink frequency controller has reduced frequency deviations in Tasmania and strengthened the Tasmanian electricity system.
- Basslink Telecoms has broken the Telstra monopoly for wholesale telecommunications in Tasmania.
During the period 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2009 the benefits of Basslink were clearly evidenced during the drought period witnessed by Tasmania. Tasmania imported 5239.14GWh during the period compared with total exports to Victoria of 1260.01GWh.
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Greetings!
Welcome to this edition of "Get Smart", Smart Power's regular bulletin. Get Smart provides a round-up of energy news and views from Australia, New Zealand and around the world.
In "Company Voice" this month, director Peter McKeown talks about e-Smart's new environmental reporting functions.
As always your feedback is most welcome. |
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AUSTRALIAN ENERGY HEADLINES
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Energy savings push extended to low-income families
As many as 25,000 low-income households will receive federal government support to cut their energy use in the first round of energy efficiency grants paid for by funds from the carbon tax.
The government will spend about $39.8 million - equivalent to almost $1,600 per household - on 11 projects involving trade unions, charities, welfare groups and companies. The projects will seek to lower the barriers to the energy savings, such as upfront costs and behaviour patterns.
"It is very difficult for many low-income households to find the capital costs to invest in energy-efficiency measures or, indeed, even to access the information necessary that can help them," Greg Combet, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, said. Read more
Australia takes a shine to solar energy research The Gillard government will step up its investment in joint solar energy research with the US, using additional funds from its new $2.2 billion renewable energy agency.
Martin Ferguson, Minister for Resources and Energy, will today announce more than $83 million for research as part of the United States-Australia Solar Energy Collaboration (USASEC) launched in 2010.
The funding taps into money not yet spent from the $50 million Australian contribution to USASEC, managed by Newcastle-based Australian Solar Institute (ASI).
In addition, the new Australian Renewable Energy Agency will contribute about $38 million in funds to the research. The agency will absorb the ASI at the start of 2013. Read more
Call for curbs on solar energy spread
The Climate Change Authority has recommended the federal government modify its renewable energy target to prevent a costly boom in solar panel installations leading to higher electricity prices for consumers.
The independent agency has also called for the overall target for large-scale renewable energy generators such as wind farm operators to be left unchanged at 20 per cent of total power generated by 2020, a recommendation applauded by the clean-energy sector.
Under the current settings, the renewable energy target is projected to cost households between $12 and $64 extra a year. The agency suggested a change to the definition of what counts as "large-scale" to prevent the costs rising.
Electricity prices have become one of the hottest political issues as a mix of factors - ranging from excessive investment in poles and wires, and the carbon tax - have sent power household power bills soaring by as much as 50 per cent in the past three years, with more increases to come. Read more
Evans peddles change on energy use
It was the biggest moment of Cadel Evans's sporting life - his extraordinary triumph at the 2011 Tour de France. And yet he wanted to get Cate Blanchett a message.
The actor had been wrapped up in a political storm after appearing in advertising backing the carbon tax. Some media had dubbed her ''Carbon Cate''.
Speaking to Fairfax Media this week, Evans said Blanchett's decision to lend her voice to an important, yet unpopular, issue had been courageous. ''If they [the government] just didn't use the word tax, it would have gone a whole lot better,'' the champion cyclist said with a laugh.
Evans - who spends off-seasons in Barwon Heads on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula - now wants to make a contribution to environmental issues as well. He has reached out to people such as Australia's Chief Climate Commissioner, Professor Tim Flannery, to learn more. Read more
Seeing energy the key to saving it Invisibility is the main challenge in the drive to change the ways people save energy, with consumers more likely to cut their energy use if they can see it. "The problem is, energy and energy production and infrastructure, are mostly invisible. Out of sight, out of mind, which is probably why we waste so much of it," director of Carbon Arts, Jodi Newcombe said in her opening speech to the Australia and US Dialogue on Energy Security in Sydney. Energy companies overseas, such as Southern California Edison and PG&E in the US, have used creative devices such as an "Energy Orb" to make energy visible, resulting in up to 40 per cent reduction in peak period energy usage. Originally designed to monitor financial information, the Energy Orb, designed by Ambient Devices, is a frosted-glass ball that glows different colours to display real time energy usage and corresponding electricity rates. Ms Newcombe said these strategies work in managing consumer demand because consumers are more likely to act on a subtle but always present message than one that they are forced to stare at. Read more |
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NEW ZEALAND ENERGY HEADLINES
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Meridian tips sale of stake in Oz wind farm
Meridian Energy is considering the sale of its 50 per cent stake in the A$1 billion Macarthur wind farm in the Australian state of Victoria to book gains made available by the global drop in interest rates.
The state-owned enterprise's chief executive, Mark Binns, said the company stood to earn a "bond-like" return over the 25-year life of its joint venture arrangements for the massive 420MW windfarm, which it is building with Australian energy generator and retailer AGL. Read more
$10,000 reward offered to catch copper thieves
A power company is offering a $10,000 reward to catch those responsible for the theft of valuable copper, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage at Tauranga's main power substation.
Powerco's Waihi Rd facility was targeted by thieves recently. Between 20 to 30m of copper cable was stolen.
Powerco network operations manager Phil Marsh told the Bay of Plenty Times the copper was being used as a main earth connection for the electricity system.
He said the actions of the "selfish idiots" had placed lives at risk. Read more
Ways to avoid sun, and capture it
Real-time technology developed by Niwa reveals when we should avoid the worst of the sun and harness the best of it this summer.
Tools on the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research's site can be used to gauge UV index forecasts, available for nearly 40 centres around the country, or show the amount of solar energy your home receives.
A check on Niwa's UVI forecaster shows in most centres UV reaches "extreme" levels between noon and 3pm, although it is often high enough to warrant sun protection as early as 9am and as late as 6pm.
Solar View, another application, allows homeowners using solar power to check the amount of energy available where they live. The technology can depict the sun's path from sunrise to sunset - even factoring in local terrain. Read more
South Pole a cold mine in waiting
Reddish-brown smears on Antarctica's massive white canvas are a hint of a potentially troubling future for the continent.
The blots on the stark landscape are caused by stores of iron ore under the ice. Copper, coal, chromium and natural gas are also believed to be distributed across Antarctica, and huge oil deposits are thought to be held under its seabed.
Mining is strictly banned under the Antarctic Treaty, but many experts feel that the policy will come under increasing pressure - some even say it is inevitable that the rule will be overturned within decades.
A consensus approach to policy-making in the Antarctic meant that all 28 consulting countries - including New Zealand - would have to approve of resource exploration for it to go ahead. Read more
Keep cool, spend less on fuel this summer
A holiday road trip is part of the great Kiwi summer tradition, but paying the fuel bill can make you hot under the collar. Taking heed of a few simple driving tips can reduce the cost, according to EECA ENERGYWISE.
"While most people know 'fuel efficient driving' improves fuel economy, we've found many don't think it's going to make much of a difference," says EECA spokesperson Simon O'Brien.
"Actually, the effect is quite impressive: making small changes on an ongoing basis can improve fuel efficiency by around 10%. For the average Kiwi motorist, this is about $250 a year, or 20c/litre - a lot more than most supermarket fuel discount vouchers. If you drive a lot, you could be making savings of $1000 a year." Read more
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INTERNATIONAL ENERGY HEADLINES
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Forget peak oil, says BP chief
Warnings that the world is headed for ''peak oil'' - when oil supplies decline after reaching the highest rates of extraction - appear ''increasingly groundless'', BP's chief executive said recently.
Bob Dudley's remarks came as the company published a study predicting oil production will increase substantially, and that unconventional and high-carbon oil will make up all of the increase in global oil supply to the end of this decade, with the explosive growth of shale oil in the US behind much of the growth.
As a result, the oil and gas company forecasts that carbon dioxide emissions will rise by more than a quarter by 2030 - a disaster, according to scientists, because if the world is to avoid dangerous climate change then studies suggest emissions must peak in the next three years or so.
So-called unconventional oil - shale oil, tar sands and biofuels - are the most controversial forms of the fuel, because they are much more carbon-intensive than conventional oilfields. They require large amounts of energy and water, and have been associated with serious environmental damage. Read more
China unveils big renewable energy ambitions for 2013
China, the world's largest carbon emitter due to its dependence on coal, plans to add 49 gigawatts of renewable-energy capacity this year in an effort to boost power production without increasing its reliance on fossil fuels.
China will add 21 gigawatts of hydroelectric capacity, 18 gigawatts of wind generation and 10 gigawatts of solar, according to a statement today on the website of the National Energy Administration. The agency, a unit of the National Development Reform Commission, reported the results of a national work meeting on energy in Beijing yesterday and was attended by Zhang Ping, who heads the commission.
That will exceed other forecasts for China's wind and solar development. The country is expected to surpass Germany to become the largest solar market by installing as much as 5.39 gigawatts of photovoltaic panels this year, according to a November report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The London- based research company anticipates 16.3 gigawatts of new, land- based wind capacity in China this year. Read more
'Coal-aholics' Poland Wages War on Efforts to Save the Climate
Poland is addicted to coal. That is the message the country has been sending both domestically and internationally as Warsaw prepares to host the global climate summit next year. In Europe, the Poles are isolated in their fight for looser emissions reduction goals and against fixes to the EU's cap-and-trade system.
Poland is the 10th largest consumer of coal in the world and produces 92 percent of its electricity from coal, according to the World Coal Association. And despite EU targets for curbing greenhouse gas emissions, Poland is pressing forward with plans replace old coal plants with massive new ones. Read more
UK wind farm contracts to increase energy bills for families
Consumers could see bills rise in the coming years after "generous" deals worth £17 billion were agreed with energy firms delivering wind-generated power to homes, a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has warned.
Under a scheme agreed by Labour leader Ed Miliband during the last Labour government, but implemented by Coalition ministers, the contracts guarantee that the power firms will be paid even if they fail to deliver energy to households.
Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who chairs the PAC, described the contracts as a "licence for the private sector to print money at the expense of hard-pressed consumers". Read more
The cost of low carbon technology, including nuclear, will have added £100 to bills by 2020 and £200 by 2050, according to the Committee on Climate Change.
GravityLight: the low-cost lamp powered by sand and gravity
The problem of bringing light to remote parts of the developing world has been tackled in the past with everything from solar-powered lamps to wind-up devices and rechargeable batteries - all of which require relatively expensive kit or physical effort by the user.
But two London-based designers have now developed a light source that operates on the stuff that surrounds you - earth, rocks or sand - with the helping hand of gravity.
Developed by Martin Riddiford and Jim Reeves over the last four years, the GravityLight is simply charged by a bag that is filled with around 9kg of material and hung from a cord below the light. As the bag descends, a series of gears inside the device translates this weight into energy, providing 30 minutes of light. The light strength can be adjusted, from strong task lighting to a longer-lasting low-level glow, and two terminals on the front allow it to be used as a generator so it can recharge other devices including radios and batteries.
Read more
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THE COMPANY VOICE
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Peter McKeown has worked in the construction, property management, energy acquisition and management industries for the past 30 years. The knowledge and experience gained over this period is now being used to assist Smart Power clients manage their energy use.
Since joining Smart Power in 2001, Peter McKeown has been responsible for developing Energy Management Services for clients within Smart Power. Peter has been responsible for the development and the day-to-day operation of the bill verification software and monitoring and targeting data bases and processes to ensure that client's accounts are validated, verified and paid on time. Recently Peter has managed the development of e-Smart; the web based reporting to customers.
"Smartpower has been working with Westpac for the past 12 months to develop an online environmental reporting system as part of e-Smart, Smart Power's on-line reporting system for customers. This new reporting has also further developed the existing utility reporting allowing information to be shown both when accounts were paid and or when the utility consumption actually occurred. This means that the same information can be used by people for different purposes. This version also allows for different financial and environmental reporting years if required, as is the case for Westpac.
E-Smart with environmental reporting for Westpac includes new utilises including air travel, transport fuel, rental cars, accommodation, water, waste and paper. These are broken down into sub categories where required for internal reporting purposes.
The reporting is extensive and provides carbon information by utility and business unit and other required options on a monthly basis. This information is also reported against datums, and forecast year end is also provided for the current reporting periods based on a combination of actuals and predicted information. The reporting provides all scope 1, 2, & 3 reporting at a high level. Although not certified this system provides the same figures assuming the same methodology is applied by the client and the information in e-Smart can be audited each year within the customer's audits if they so require. This information can be used as the basis of calculating the required carbon credits to meet the business requirements.
This new online resource allows all businesses to cost-effectively provide environmental reporting for both facilities-based energy utilities and broader activities that create emissions for the entire business. This new service is now being rolled out to other customers in both New Zealand and Australia. If you are interested in finding out more e-Smart with environmental reporting please contact your current account manager or call me directly in the Wellington office."
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