Australia is well placed to harness solar thermal energy. Solar thermal energy is used in three main ways: solar hot water heating, production of steam for electricity generation and space heating through building design.
                  When visiting Australia there are manySydney hotels to choose from.
Of all the continents, Australia has the highest average amount of solar radiation per square metre per annum. The amount is from 1500 to 1900 kWh/m2/yr, mainly depending on location. Australia’s total current primary energy consumption of approximately 5500 PJ/a could be met by an area of 4000 km2 of solar collectors with an average of 20% conversion efficiency. If this were built as a power station with land coverage of 20% it would be 138 × 138 km. The collector area needed is approximately the same as the area of domestic house roofs available nationally.
About 85% of electricity in Australia is generated by coal fired power power stations which produce 42% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. The IPCC has recommended that developed nations such as Australia cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40% by 2020 and 80 to 95% by 2050.
The Garnaut Climate Change Review found that Australia is highly vulnerable to global warming caused by climate change because of the effects of global warming on Australia.
The Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu and Murray Darling Basin are all threatened by climate change. Sea level rise threatens much of the highly populated Australian coast line, including the Gold Coast. The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and Mandatory Renewable Energy Target are intended to reduce Australia’s emissions and the further development of techniques to harness solar thermal energy are critical to that effort.
To view all of Solar Thermal Magazine Post about the Continent of Australia Click Here
RSS
FeedBurner Newslette
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
