Help GREEN OUR GRID
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Electricity price hikes, the impending carbon tax and the recent nuclear crisis in Japan: each have brought the issue of energy to our collective attention in recent times. There is growing public awareness that we must find new, cleaner ways to power our communities without continuing to change our climate in dangerous and unpredictable ways.
When it comes to climate change, South Australia is both a leader and a laggard. We led the country by establishing state climate change laws in 2007, but made no commitment to reduce our emissions till 2050. Meanwhile, we are preparing to host the world’s largest open-cut mine, which will drive up our state’s baseload energy demand by nearly 40%! And we are home to Australia’s most emissions intensive coal power station, with no plans to close it.
But that could be about to change. Through the Green Our Grid campaign, Conservation Council SA is calling for something bold and visionary. We want the skeleton in South Australia’s closet – the Playford power station at Port Augusta – to be replaced with a cutting edge renewable energy power plant. To fund this landmark campaign our goal is to raise $75,000. Please consider making a contribution if you are in a position to give your support.
Closing Playford
The Playford power station is the most polluting power station in the nation per unit of power produced(1). This dinosaur of the 1960s was built specifically to make use of the low-grade brown coal mined nearby at Leigh Creek. Playford is a relic of a bygone era. It should have no place in today’s energy production framework given the climate emergency we are staring down.
The future of Playford is limited for many reasons including its age, inefficiency, and high exposure to a carbon price. Also the dirty Leigh Creek brown coal is running out. It’s high time for this old dinosaur to go. The key question is: what will replace it?
Do we want Playford’s replacement to be a new gas-fired power plant? Contrary to its aspirations as a cleaner energy source, the LNG processing industry is predicted to grow Australia’s emissions more in the next decade than any other sector(2), with a single project planned for the Kimberley adding 5% to the national total on its own. Furthermore, as the more accessible gas reserves run out, it will be sourced in increasingly expensive, emitting and environmentally harmful ways. Gas is certainly not the long-term solution we need.
Something visionary
Fortunately there is a huge opportunity here to tap into the abundance of renewable energy resources we are blessed with in South Australia. This is the right time to build a state-of-the-art renewable energy facility at Port Augusta that will create hundreds of clean energy jobs in theregion and give SA the first mover advantage in the low-carbon economy of the future.
This will require visionary and decisive action from our leaders, and this action needs to be taken soon or there is a real danger that our increased future energy requirements will be met by the construction of old, polluting sources of energy. Your donation will help prevent this from happening.
Soaring power requirements in SA
Without swift action to ramp up renewable energy our State’s greenhouse gas pollution will almost certainly go up, not down. Our power needs are predicted to soar in coming years driven by South Australia’s growing population and the staggering energy-demand of the Olympic Dam mine expansion.
While the Rann government has taken some good initiatives in the past to promote renewable energy, it is not moving fast enough to offset this predicted increase in energy demand. The government’s legislated greenhouse gas reduction targets are nearly 40 years away. Things need to move much quicker than this. Major infrastructure projects take time. The State Government must move now to ensure the establishment of alternative, renewable power sources.
The state government’s climate change legislation will be reviewed this year. This is a key window of opportunity to secure meaningful change, with targets to make sure our emissions go down, not up by 2020.
Some inspiring examples of large-scale renewable energy power plants are emerging around the world at the moment. Spain has 37 solar plants already built or under construction, with a further 200 planned. Plants currently gearing up in both the US and South Africa would be more than capable of providing baseload energy for South Australia.’
Where do we begin?
So how will your donation help Green Our Grid? Our first step will be to commission a feasibility study to look at the specifics of shutting down Playford and replacing it with clean energy options. A detailed feasibility, building on the considerable work already undertaken by the likes of Beyond Zero Emissions, will give us something specific and tangible to put on the table for South Australia.
We will be working collaboratively with other organisations, spearheading a united approach to greening our grid. The Green Our Grid campaign will see us build a wide, active network of community support to lobby both state and federal governments. We’ll build this network through social media, a website, public talks and a promotional campaign. We are also set to mobilise a campaign volunteer force.
In short, the Green Our Grid campaign looks set to be one of the most exciting, comprehensive, targeted campaigns we have ever run. We think this issue is about the most important environmental challenge facing South Australia right now and we hope you are inspired to join us.
Thank you once again for your support.
Kind regards,
Tim Kelly
Chief Executive
Conservation Council of South Australia
PS: We are very excited to launch the Green Our Grid campaign, pushing for the replacement of Playford power station with a cutting edge renewable energy plant. We hope you also recognise the great importance of evolving energy at this moment in history and can support the campaign with a donation.
1 http://www.theclimategroup.org/_assets/files/Greenhouse-Indicator-Generation-Report-2009.pdf
2 http://ccwa.org.au/blogs/lng-busting-clean-fuel-myth