Environment Archives - Darryn Van Hout

Richard Branson’s Take on Climate Change

Darryn Van Hout — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 06:25:30 +0000

Let me incept this piece with a quote from the British magnate and billionaire, Sir Richard Branson, which goes, “whatever your goal is, you will never succeed unless you let go of your fears and fly.”

Love him or hate him, Sir Richard Branson is by all measure, a master of success with unstoppable entrepreneurial zeal that has given him an edge across many different niches.

The multi-billionaire philanthropist and founder of a slew of diverse companies under the umbrella of the Virgin Group—Virgin Records, Virgin Airlines, Virgin Cruises, Virgin Express, Virgin Hotels, Virgin Mobile and recently Virgin Galactic, has built an amazing life and credits this to a simple philosophy he applies daily—love others, be grateful for all you have, be kind and be mindful. And oh, “Never say no, but just keep going until you succeed.“

But surprisingly…..

It’s not just his ability to succeed in the business space that makes him special. Sir Richard Branson has built himself a solid name thanks to his quest to make a difference on Earth—something that he says has driven his achievements and helped built a multi-billion dollar empire in a single lifetime.

Richard Branson and Renewable Energy

Now one of the wealthiest and most influential British men in the world, Sir Richard is truly making that difference in the renewable energy space, especially after finding himself under siege during a Hurricane Irma event that had him hunkered down in his vast wine cellar whereas the Category 5 storm ripped through his private island.

For the duration of that bad weather event, the Virgin boss had to dash to his concrete shelter with his family and staff as winds with speeds of 185 mph tracked over Caribbean’s Necker Island.

“Earth is astoundingly beautiful, it needs to be protected.”
Sir Richard Branson

While Mr Branson seems to be perpetually a happy-mode man and of course a die-hard fan of outlandish hobbies, he has actually expressed his connection to climate change.

Branson Calls Upon the Australian Government

During a Tuesday morning conference in Sydney, Sir Richard Branson asked Australia to lead the way in renewables.

At the event, the amazing Sir Richard called on the Australian government to put an end to export of coal given its contribution to global warming.

“I’m afraid that Australia must stop selling coal overseas to China and it must stop using coal in Australia. It is the most damaging thing that it can do.”

“I would suggest the Australian government create a revolution in clean energy, which can create thousands more jobs than coal could ever produce.”

The business tycoon proposes a scheme where all companies will be required to work out their net carbon footprint and pay a certain percentage of their revenue that will be channeled towards supporting clean energy initiatives.

“Unlike a carbon tax, that would create a revolution in clean energy, with trillions going into clean energy,” he noted.

“It’s going to need the world to take this problem very very seriously,” he said.

“I think the government of Australia should do a lot more and coal is definitely, I’m afraid, something that should be a thing of the past.”

The Noble Approach to Climate Change

The 69-year old Branson practices what he preaches and advised that the right decisions aren’t always the easy ones as he cited a rather “painful” decision to decline a billion dollars worth of funding by the Saudi Arabian government for his space program—Virgin Galactic. The offer came immediately after the murder of the French journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

According to the business mogul, it was time for the corporate world to create an “entrepreneurial way of addressing climate change that doesn’t have the negative effects that carbon tax has had in the past – which obviously brought down the Australian government.”

The proposed scheme, he emphasized, was all simple.

“Every company that emits carbon should work out its carbon footprint, and then a percentage of their turnover or profits relating to that footprint will not just be sent to the government to be lost in the coffers. 100 per cent will be spent on clean energy initiatives.”

He added that if all companies were to strictly adhere to these noble rules then “we would have trillions and trillions going into clean energy and very quickly.“

Richard Branson Guilt Tripping the Aviation Industry

The philanthropic Virgin Group boss has pledged three billion dollars over the next decade to go towards efforts to mitigate global warming.

While the aviation industry contributes about 2 percent to the global carbon emissions, Virgin Australia’s co-founder Richard Branson says it’s time for airlines to reduce their carbon footprints or actually risk a reprehensible backlash from passengers.

The prodigy of “flight shame” was on the rise especially in Europe and the phenomena have seen passengers stop flying with certain airlines due to guilt over the effects on the environment.

“It’s up to us companies to get our footprint down and down and down, so people don’t feel guilty,” he stated.

“If any industry doesn’t get their act together on carbon, there is the risk that consumers will act badly against them – and they deserve to be acted badly against,” Sir Richard stated on Thursday.

The billionaire businessman who is such a success today also owns a 10 per cent share in Virgin Australia and the man behind UK’s Virgin Atlantic carrier noted that sustainability should be a top priority for every company and airline.

“Every consumer in [the modern world is informed] and makes up their own mind on things like that,” the Virgin boss remarked in Brisbane while promoting Virgin Australia’s newly introduced route to Haneda Airport in Tokyo which is set to commence in March 2020.

The Virgin Approach

Virgin Australia’s rival Qantas has pledged to eliminate its long-term carbon emissions to zero by year 2050 using a winning combination of fuel efficiency and “off-setting” schemes like tree planting.

Virgin Australia is yet to decide whether it would match its rival’s new commitment to cut its emissions. As it is now, Virgin Australia has used diverse fuel efficiency plans to mitigate its annual carbon emissions by 9 million kilograms.

Last August, the company installed “split scimitar winglets” to its aircraft of which the company claims will save up to 160,000 kilograms of fuel per plane each year.

Already, the Virgin founder is testing newly recycled aviation fuel for use in his airlines but insists that governments ought to do more too.

“What would happen is the price of clean energy would drop dramatically, and stay down forever. It will never go back up again.”

“That’s something I’ll be talking to the Australian government about,” also noting that the prominent Australian scientist Tim Flannery had reached out to him, lauding the idea.

So, What’s Next on Richard Branson’s Agenda?

Sir Richard looks forward to conquering both the oceans and space.

He recently affirmed Virgin’s plans to launch a cruise line—Virgin Oceanic, despite heated concerns in recent years over the industry’s pollution but he promised that Virgin would do “everything possible, plus more.”

“With brand new ships and brand new technology, we can lower our footprint,” Virgin Voyages CCO Nirmal Saverimuttu noted.

For now, Sir Richard’s eyes are set on space and he’s already at it—training hard to become an astronaut as he prepares to travel to space in the near future through his innovative Virgin Galactic venture.

And how does he consider claims that he’s given up on planet Earth? According to him, it’s all hogwash.

“I think Earth is all we’ve really got,” he stated.

“I think this idea that we are going to go and colonise Mars or the Moon and therefore we don’t really need Earth anymore is rubbish.”

The “Earth is astoundingly beautiful, it needs to be protected,” he concluded.

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Coal industry suffers as demand falls short of supply

Darryn Van Hout — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 02:44:04 +0000

2015 is fast becoming a big year for both the global oil and coal industries. Up until mid-last year, oil prices hovered over $100 per barrel, but with its excessive production paired with falling demand, the prices have significantly plunged by almost 50%. The coal industry has also been struggling. The fall in prices which was initially thought to be temporary has persisted, and due to a similar over-production of supply, coal continues to decrease in value. Years of buildup in the mining capacity have forced global coal prices to tumble and there’s little hope that the industry will be back firmly to its knees.

Coal industry over-supply results in decrease of value

The growing energy revolution across the world has hit oil and coal prices in Australia hard. The coal industry, which experienced a peak in 2011 has had a rough patch with the last few months being particularly tumultuous as prices steadily declined in response to over-supply as well as a decrease in demand for exports from countries including China.

In the last September quarter, the Australian benchmark contract price for the highest quality metallurgical coal remained at $US 120, a value that rendered numerous coal operations unprofitable. Thermal coal on the other hand fared worse, with prices averaging at US$73 a tonne, down by 16%, during the same period.

Despite the fall in the global oil prices which were majorly instigated by the oil war, (Brent prices fell below $64 per barrel while WTI (West Texas Intermediate) oil prices plunged to below $61 per barrel as of December 12), the production of oil hasn’t been affected.

Producers announce they won’t cut supply at OPEC meeting

According to the OPEC’s (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) meeting held on November 27, oil producers won’t cut production as a way of defending market share. Indeed, cutting oil production would lead to lower supply and if demand was to remain stable, the prices would rise.

Interestingly, the lower oil prices are not a threat to coal demand, even if oil hits ~$50 per barrel. Again, prolonged low oil prices would translate into lower diesel prices (diesel is a major cost in coal production) which would be beneficial to coal companies that would enjoy lower diesel costs for running their mining equipment.

With the continuous fall in oil and coal industry prices, there’s need to shift some oilrigs so as to produce other more sustainable forms of energy such as solar, wind and natural gas. Generally, oil wells produce some natural gas and therefore if utilized for drilling natural gas wells, the production of the sustainable resource would go up. As a result, natural gas prices would be put under pressure. Coal and natural gas are competing fuels in generation of electricity in Australia and their fortunes hugely depend on the country’s electricity output. In this case, if natural gas prices remain low, this would also have a negative effect on production in the coal industry.

Coal industry still remains Australia largest source of energy

The decreasing oil prices have a more positive impact on coal demand and production. The coal industry produces three-quarters of the electricity used to power industries as well as Australian homes. Even so, there are so many legitimate reasons why coal production is perceived as negative. The air quality issue as well as the health concerns over the toxins released from burning coal at the forefront of campaigns against coal production.

These are some of the main issues that have seen some countries take firm stands against coal production. For instance, the Mercury emissions regulations introduced by the U.S in 2012, coupled with cheap gas supplies; instead of paying for expensive retrofits led to the shutdown of coal plants by many utilities. On the other end, China has been struggling with carbon and air quality. The Big bang measures by Deutsche Bank to fight air pollution in China (March 13) analysis indicating the winners and losers clearly demonstrates that capital markets have started considering these issues. It also reveals the new opportunities produced by the energy transition for those willing to adapt to the new energy context.

Of course, the decreasing value of coal has had a serious effect on the industry. Australia Mining estimates over 2,500 jobs were cut in the coal sector alone, as many companies downsized or shut down their operations completely. Coal’s fall from grace also led to the close of operations by The Integra, a coal complex in the Hunter Valley, taking away 500 jobs with it.

Isaac Plains, another company in central Queensland, went into a session of care and maintenance, cutting about 300 jobs. And when Glencore decided to shut down its operations for three weeks, many were dumbfounded. In a statement, the company claimed that the action was a “considered management decision given the current over-supply situation”. If you ask my opinion, this passes for a vote of no confidence for the future growth of the Australian coal industry.

The consistent supply of coal online by competitors like Colombia, Indonesia and South Africa complicates the situation for Australian miners. The matter becomes even worse with the rising production of natural gas by the United States. In essence, this means that thermal coal will be exported to other global markets, instead of being used in the domestic market where it is one of the primary energy sources. With the oversupply of coal in the global market, this will definitely place a lid on prices, and more so if China gets a handle on its coal industry production costs and capacity.

While the coal industry keeps experiencing massive job cuts as well as a cyclical downturn in prices, the underlying trend of rising support for renewable energy driven by the likes of the U.S. and Europe, will grow for decades to come. Australia must rise to the occasion and realize that our shortsighted policies regarding coal industry reliance is outdated. Consequently, the country must restructure its energy sector and make a move towards investing more in renewable energy sources.

Renewable sources the best way forward for the Australian energy market

Most Australian coal companies have seen the writing on the wall and understand that the math no longer adds up. A longer-term solution for the energy industry is the move towards zero carbon-intensive energy sources such as solar, wind and natural gas. Currently, renewable energy sources account for about 5% of power generated globally, however, over the past decade, investment in renewables has been growing at a faster pace compared to coal.

Thanks to the great innovations in the technology world, battery storage capabilities, electric vehicles, mobile phones and applications are just but some of the indications that it’s only a matter of time before solar eventually drives the coal industry out of the energy equation.

During an interview by The Business on ABC television, Steve Sammartino, a digital disruption analyst said that in just five years, renewable energy sources like solar will compete effectively with coal and other fossil fuels for energy production.

Today, about 200 institutions in the U.S are strongly backing a renewable energy campaign launched to stop investments in companies that generate fossil fuels such as coal. This is likely to be the trend in the near future.

With coal prices already below half of what they were a year ago, majority of investors are backing divestment in coal as a more economically viable strategy, and instead embracing alternative renewable sources of energy.

This article was originally published on: Energy Daily

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The Problem with Australia’s National Electricity Market

Darryn Van Hout — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 06:24:54 +0000

Australia is an industrialized country and one of those where greenhouse gas emissions have gone through the roof as much as 29 tons per year. In the last 20 years amount of emissions that are generated per dollar of GDP are increased, this has made it emission intensive economy holder.

The biggest source for the addition of greenhouse gas to the system was the electricity generation and it contributed 34% in 2005 to emit these gasses polluting the environment. This has been seen to be growing up 3% every year and since 1990 it has increased up to 68%. The reason of high emissions is that one-third of the energy is lost before it reaches the consumer and from the remainder energy 10% is used in Aluminum smelting. The mode of production of energy is also what is adding up to the greenhouse gases that is the production of 78% power from coal, 14% from natural gas, 4.7% from water and just 3.3% of energy is produced from renewable energy sources. Almost 20% of energy is just used to meet the peak demand of energy on the shear weather days that is hottest and coldest days.

The electricity prices in Australia are the cheapest in the whole word because it is very easy to mine coal there. The total bill received is divided such that 40% is given to the power station, 10% to the transmission line company, another 40% to the distribution company and the last 10% is the profit of energy retailer. But these prices are now increasing because ageing infrastructure is now replaced with the new one in order to fulfill the consumption demand of the people especially in the peak periods. This includes replacement of poles and wires. These all demands are however, not changed much over some time and it is because there is not much of an economic growth and other major actions. Find the facts here!

The context

90% electricity generated is from National Electricity Market (NEM), this extends from Port Douglas that is in far North Queensland to Port Lincoln in South Australia. The regulatory system that is running NEM is the one that was formed by an agreement between the states and territories in 1995 and was overseen by the Standing Council on Energy and Resources and this complex regulatory system was implemented through National Electricity Laws and Rules.

The main objective promoted by National Electricity is to provide electricity that fulfils the long term interest of consumers that is its price, quality, reliability, security all is in favor of consumer. But when we compare to other countries such as UK, there are no environmental or social objectives that are introduced in fact SCER has resisted from its introduction and implementation. When the demand of electricity is rising there can be two responses. Either reduce demand or increase energy efficiency.

National Electricity Rules are making poles and wires companies to invest in new infrastructure rather than managing the demand solutions especially in the peak times of demand. This has increased the investment in the infrastructure development.

The solution

The transition from carbon polluting energy to investment to renewable energy, the problem exists due to the absence of the energy market. This is the main road where the transition is regulated or hindered. If the grids of the Australia are made more responsive to consumer and as well as environmental needs and also improve the energy efficiency of machinery and manage the demand of electricity. This can result in making the renewable energy approachable to people and also lesser greenhouse emissions.

TEC has been focusing on the energy efficiency and demand management in order to make sure that the greenhouse gases are lowered by 2050. But according to studies 60% of reduction in pollution is only possible by energy efficiency but demand management has also positive effects but very less. Discouraging the investment in poles and wires is also one way of increasing productivity.

TEC has been working in Australia since 2004 to promote awareness of solar power and renewable energy with the aim to assist in the development of a green environment. We are doing this by introducing environmental objective in the national energy market and applying to change rules to make energy efficiency better and demand management better. “Poles and wires” companies are made to know the better alternatives to make the green energy.

TEC has supported the efforts that ensure the production of lesser fossil fuel that is rich in carbon emission while increase the renewable energy generation. This also includes production of 4 rankings related to annual Green Electricity Watch so that the consumers are more attracted towards carbon reduction and choose the environment friendly energy resources. The CO2 reductions are also encouraged by making law changes in state and national laws.

National Electricity Market Australian Solar Quotes

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Senate proposal may help RET see the light of day

Darryn Van Hout — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 06:04:33 +0000

Ever since Tony Abbott became Prime Minister of Australia, the renewable energy industry has suffered and begun going backwards.

From the day Prime Minister Abbott was sworn in, he and his party have blocked the RET, previously implemented by the Labor Government, and instead promoted the Direct Action plan all while championing coal.

The actions taken by the Coalition Government has embarrassed Australia on a global stage and attracted criticism from other world leaders and climate groups.

Senate crossbench proposal put fourth by Senator Jacqui Lambie

However, Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie has put fourth a proposal to the Senate that may assist in getting the renewable energy industry back on track. Lambie’s proposal is to get the Senate to vote for a goal of 32,500GWh as opposed to the Coalition Government’s current 26,000GWh as outlined in their Direct Action Plan.

The proposal, coming from the Tasmanian Minerals and Energy Council as well as the heavy industry, is notably a very large cut from the original plan of the RET to hit 41,000GWh. This initial target had been agreed upon by both parties since 2001.

However, despite the radical slash, it may be the only means to help the Renewable Energy Target ever see the light of day. The debate between the Government and Labor continue to be at an impasse and even led to the Labor party leaving the discussion entirely.

Even with cuts, the new proposal’s goal is higher than Direct Action

Only recently did the Labor party re-open their stance for discussion and are willing to make a compromise so long as the Renewable Energy Target and the industry as a whole would not be significantly cut down the way Prime Minister Tony Abbott initially desired.

Now at the moment the Labor party has declared the proposal target of 32,500 GWh by 2020 is too low. Many believe that this is a smart move on the party because it now forces the Coalition to offer a target even higher than 32,500 GWh.

Labor declares new climate proposal still too low

It has been discussed by Climate Spectator that the Labor Party might concede to a 2020 target of 35,000 GWh. This is still significantly lower than the originally planned 41,000 and it isn’t much of an improvement over 32,500 GWh.

There is also the possibility that the Government would not concede to anything over 30,000 GWh. In that case then even a 35,000 GWh proposal might lead to the dissolution of any possible agreement between the two parties.

In case the senate crossbench proposal deal is done and the Government and Labor concedes to 32,500 GWh, the Labor party would be entirely free to eternally tarnish the name of the Coalition as an anti-clean energy party. They would also have the proof and freedom to call the Coalition a property of corporations known for pollution and constant reliance on fossil fuel or oil.

Despite global trends moving in the direction of solar power and alternative energy, Australia continues to rely on coal mining and fossil fuels for energy.

Of course for the Labor’s decision to have any credibility then it would have to agree on numbers higher than the crossbench proposal.

All in all, these statistics point out that the senate crossbench proposal would be a better deal than what the Government originally desired and only slightly less than what the Labor party originally wanted. It would also cement the Labor Party’s electoral position in 2016.

There are of course slight wrinkles that could affect the program, such as backhand amendments that would reduce the LRET by a GWh for every 4,000 GWh in the small-scale scenario. In the end, the Coalition might still end up with the 26,500 GWh by 2020 instead of the ideal 32,500 GWh.

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Renewable Energy brings new life to Australian manufacturing sector

Darryn Van Hout — Sat, 04 Jun 2016 21:40:41 +0000

Innovation, sophistication and creativity are words that are becoming increasingly common when describing the future of the Australian manufacturing industry. Presently, Australia’s manufacturing industry is experiencing an upsurge in activity, turnover and most importantly returns.

Truth be told, the rise of renewable energy in Australia has created economic opportunities that can’t be overlooked. As a matter of fact, the Pew Charitable Trust estimated the economic potential of the renewable energy sector to reach around $2.3 trillion in the next decade.

Similarly, the transition to renewable energy in manufacturing is one of the factors that has significantly enhanced the performance of the industry.

New investments, new export sectors, and new jobs are all up for grabs; however, securing these benefits for Australia would require astute political leadership today. Ideally, now is the right time for the Federal government to rethink its decisions concerning Australia’s energy market.

Australia’s Clean Energy Future

Treasurer Scott Morrison’s recent budget speech failed to mention any commitment from the government to renewable energy, however the Opposition leader, Mr. Bill Shorten was sure to mention the renewable industry in his response.

Shorten said that the Labor Party regarded renewables as a means to breathe a new lease of life into the manufacturing sector in Australia: “By 2030, there will be $2.5 trillion of investment in renewable energy in the Asia-Pacific. Australian workers should be collaborating with our universities and researchers to design, manufacture and export battery technology, solar panels and turbine parts. These are not niche markets or boutique industries. Embracing clean technology and renewable energy can revitalise advanced manufacturing in this country.”

“In the last two years, the global economy added 2 million renewable energy jobs – but Australia lost 2,600. The world is powering ahead – and we are going in the wrong direction. It’s time to turn things around.”

Labor Party will be battling in the coming election on the ticket of implementing a 50 per cent renewables target by 2030. The party also made a commitment to provide capital grant funding in future for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

Kane Thornton, Clean Energy Council Chief Executive said, “While it is disappointing that this has not been cemented with a firm budgetary commitment, we look forward to working with the ALP to ensure it delivers the necessary level of funding, should the party be successful at the upcoming election.”

In Conclusion

Given the substantial growth in Australia’s renewable energy sector, the country has great potential for capturing a slice of the booming global renewable energy market. To achieve this, it is paramount that we power and retool our manufacturing sector to compete with successful renewable energy leaders like China, Denmark, the United States and Spain.
The time is ripe for the Federal government to throw their support behind investment in renewable energy as a national objective and lock-in more direct investment in renewables via schemes like the Feed-in Tariff.

What Australians want to see now is decisive action. Politicians must stop stalling and get down to work. Having a pipeline of viable projects is one of the ways they can give the solar energy industry the certainty it needs to comfortably invest in Australia’s manufacturing industry.

References
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http://www.rechargenews.com/incoming/article1430917.ece/alternates/article_main/Broadwind.jpg

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