getting the economy and ecology togther: and event to grow

An event for matchmaking ecology and economy
21 & 22 September 2002
Queensland Museum

Featuring displays, guest speakers and specialists from UNSW, UQ, GU, Energex, , and an official opening by Minister for Environment, Hon Dean Wells MA, MP, the Ecology and the Economy symposium raised constructive and innovative possibilities for our future. Among the speakers were Trevor Berrill from TAFE, Richard Corkish from UNSW, Geoffrey Walker from UQ, and Energex Environment Manager Peter White presenting From Corporate Governance to Sustainable Governance.

Having a healthy economy and preserving the ecology have often thought to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. This event showed that it is possible to be a nation that is high on both. The public exhibition and symposium focused on what research is being done into the alternative energy industry of the future. Displays of the Sun Shark solar car and the Pruis hybrid car from the Queensland Government fleet, solar powered houses and buildings, alternative energy options and a range of innovative products were on display for the entire weekend while the low-cost and accessible talks by experts and researchers across these fields ran all day on Saturday.

The Hon. Dean Wells, MA, MP, Minister for the Environment, opened the event on Saturday, 21st September and stayed to hear several of the early talks and to browse the displays. Approximately 60 people, including academics, business and government representatives, families, students and other members of the public joined the symposium. Many more visited the displays over the weekend.

Talks covered subjects such as economically productive energy options, solar powered public and private transport, house building and renovation, sustainable energy and the future.

Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences would like to take this opportunity to again thank its partners: Energex, Queensland Government Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland Museum and Ionode. Without strongly committed partnerships, such an event would not have been possible.
 
 
Given the current political and environmental debates in Australia and globally, this joint symposium and exhibition was not only topical but an ideal way to highlight new directions and innovations in environmental and economical sustainability. In addition this event enabled the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences to bring together key players from a diverse range of Australian academic, environmental and business organisations in an open and very public forum. Although small, this forum showed all the signs of success needed to organise this event for 2003.

Having a healthy economy and preserving the ecology have often thought to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. This event showed that it is possible to be a nation that is high on both. The public exhibition and symposium focused on what research is being done into the alternative energy industry of the future. Displays of the Sun Shark solar car and the Pruis hybrid car from the state government fleet, solar powered houses and buildings, alternative energy options and a range of innovative products were on display for the entire weekend while the low-cost and accessible talks by experts and researchers across these fields ran all day on Saturday.

Proud partners in the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences event included Energex, Queensland Government Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland Museum and Ionode.
The Hon. Dean Wells, MA, MP, Minister for the Environment, opened the event on Saturday, 21st September and stayed to hear several of the early talks and to browse the displays. Approximately 60 people, including academics, business and government representatives, families, students and other members of the public joined the symposium.

Talks covered subjects such as economically productive energy options, solar powered public and private transport, house building and renovation, sustainable energy and the future.
For those attending the symposium, regular breaks for refreshments and an Energex barbecue lunch on the Museum riverside balcony provided opportunities for relaxed and open discussion.

Abstracts of Papers
 
A Sustainable Future: the Case for Alternative Energy Technologies
Emeritus Processor Ian Lowe, AO.
Griffith University

Our modern lifestyle requires huge amounts of energy, equivalent to about 6 kilowatts of continuous use per person. The current pattern of supply and use is not sustainable. The end of the age of cheap petroleum is now in sight, while environmental problems demand a phased reduction in the burning of hydrocarbon fuels. There is no realistic prospect of extending the present carbon-intensive lifestyle to developing countries. Maintaining our material comforts and extending them to poorer nations will only be possible if we develop alternative technologies for the supply of energy and its conversion into such services as lighting, cooking and transport. This transition is technically possible, but it requires changes in the economic signals which influence corporate investment and individual consumer choices. The scale of the challenge also demands reconsideration of some aspects of present lifestyles. If we tackle this problem urgently and purposefully, we may still be able to avert serious social disruption.

 
Economic Photovoltaics
Dr Richard Corkish
Centre for Third Generation Photovoltaics
University of New South Wales

Unfortunately, solar cells (photovoltaics) are not a cheap way to generate electricity for many applications. This is due to a number of factors such as the small size of the market, the inherent expense of materials and processes, the lack of internalisation of environmental costs and subsidies to fossil fuel competition. Other forms of renewable energy, particularly wind energy and biomass, are often more attractive options for bulk power generation. However, solar cells are very well suited for certain applications such as in urban settings where quiet and unobtrusive operation is important, on islands and other remote situations where alternatives are expensive, in small, mobile applications. As a general rule, solar cells have a good chance of competing either where the alternatives are expensive or where multiple benefits can be found. The presentation will review some existing economic applications and describe the case study of Montague Island. It will also briefly overview the current and projected costs and outline the problem of fossil fuel subsidies.
 
Towards Sustainable Personal Transport in Australia
Dr Geoff Walker
Sustainable Energy Research Group
School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
The University of Queensland

The Australian transport sector accounts for 74 million tonnes of Australia's total net greenhouse gas emissions, representing just over16 per cent of Australia's total emissions. Ninety per cent of these emissions come from road transport. [1] Greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector are also the fastest growing emissions of any sector, rising by 20 per cent from 1990 levels. Australia needs a 30 per cent reduction against current business-as-usual projections of greenhouse gas emissions for 2008-12 to achieve our Kyoto protocol agreement goal. More concerning is transport's heavy dependence on fossil fuels, and road transport on liquid fossil fuels. Some predict oil production will begin to decline from 2010 onward [2], so more energy efficient vehicles supplied by alternative sources of energy will be required in the next decade. The University of Queensland Sustainable Energy Research Group is researching, designing and building their concept solution – the UltraCommuter. This highly efficient, yet practical, sustainable passenger vehicle will feature many design concepts proposed in the Hypercar concept by the Rocky Mountain Institute [3], including ultra-lightweight, low drag design and construction to drastically reduce aerodynamic and rolling resistance. Powered by an advanced hybrid-electric drivetrain, our goal is to achieve a tenfold decrease in energy consumption with no compromises in vehicle performance, utility and comfort. Based on the successful technology in the SunShark solar racing car, the UltraCommuter can also be solar powered. Research shows that the UltraCommuter can travel upto 50km per day on a full days sunshine from two square metres of solar cells in its bonnet and roof. The rechargeable lithium ion battery pack gives a 180km "full to empty" range, and a compressed natural gas range extender will power even longer trips.
[1] http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/transport/index.html
[2] http://www.hubbertpeak.com/
[3] http://www.hypercar.com
 

The Economics of Renewable Energy: Some Policy Issues
Galina Ivanova and George Docwra
School of Economics,
University of Queensland

Since the late 1980’s many countries, including Australia, have restructured and liberalized their electricity markets. The main objective of these reforms is to improve productivity and efficiency of resource use within the energy sector. Reforming electricity markets also involves important issues for environmental policy. This paper draws attention to some issues concerning adoption of renewable energy technologies in liberalized and restructured electricity markets.


From Corporate Governance to Sustainable Governance
Peter White
ENERGEX Environment Manager

Johannesburg, 4 September 2002: "This Summit makes sustainable development a reality," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said at a closing press conference in Johannesburg yesterday. "This Summit will put us on a path that reduces poverty while protecting the environment, a path that works for all peoples, rich and poor, today and tomorrow." For the first time countries adopted commitments toward increasing the use of renewable energy "with a sense of urgency." "The Summit represents a major leap forward in the development of partnerships," Mr. Annan said, "with the UN, Governments, business and civil society coming together to increase the pool of resources to tackle global problems on a global scale." … "We have to go out and take action. This is not the end. It's the beginning."

Based on these statements, accountability and sustainability have been identified as critical elements in the way forward. The sustainability movement and the governance movement have been moving for many years along parallel tracks. In the past few years, the tracks have started converging, as more investors and more corporate boards have begun to shift to idea that there are different kinds of capital - financial capital, human capital, and natural capital - and the successful management of a firm requires that these be balanced. There is a need to inject sustainability into the DNA of corporate governance. The result will be to catalyze an emerging alliance by increasing awareness among corporate directors, institutional investors, and others about how responsible behavior on sustainability issues minimizes risk and builds shareholder value. The key to the long-term health and prosperity of any company and of the planet will depend on the integration of sustainability issues into the core strategy of a company - the emergency of sustainable governance.

Climate change is happening. It will affect our economy. It is endangering the future of wealth on earth. It is a fiduciary issue and the failure to analyze it will, either now or later, either before the effects are irreversible or after, either morally or legally, it will be viewed as a "breach of duty".
The scope of that duty has been extended as more investors and corporate boards have begun to shift to idea that there are different kinds of capital - financial capital, human capital, and natural capital - and the successful management of a firm requires that these be balanced.
The energy industry needs to risk assess and evolve as a result of the tremendous work on climate change that is already being done to embrace the concepts of sustainable governance.
The conclusion therefore is that good corporate governance is the integration of sustainability into the corporate agenda.
 
 
Avalanches of Materials and Energy
Trevor Berrill
Renewable Energy Centre
Brisbane Institute of TAFE

This talk will examine the unsustainable use of energy and material resources in industrialised societies and present some practical options to empower the community. The focus is on energy efficiency and renewable energy options in the home and business.
 
 
presenters

Mr Trevor Berrill is principal teacher and coordinator of the Renewable Energy Centre, Brisbane Institute of TAFE and has been a practitioner, system designer and teacher in renewable energy power and thermal systems for over 25 years. He undertood research in solar thermal and wind energy with UQ in the 1970’s and 80’s. He is past president of the Qld branch of the Solar Energy Society and the Australasian Wind Energy Assoc. and is a keen windsurfer. He is trained in mechanical engineering from QUT and has a Masters Degree in Environmental Educatin (Hons) from Griffith University. Dr. Richard Corkish graduated with distinction as a Communications Engineer from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1986 then worked with the CSIRO Division of Radiophysics for four years on satellite earth-station antenna design and testing. He then studied for the PhD degree under the supervision of Professor Martin Green at the University of New South Wales’ Centre for Photovoltaic Devices and Systems. The degree was awarded in 1994 for a thesis entitled, “Limits the Efficiency of Silicon Solar Cells”. That work included study of band-edge absorption in silicon, tandem solar cells and quantum well solar cells. After a brief period working with the Rainbow Power Company in Nimbin he has worked on solar cell theory and applications at UNSW and is currently Administrative Director of the Centre for third Generation Photovoltaics.

Ms Galina Ivanova is a PhD student, in the School of Economics, University of Queensland. Galina is a graduate in Economics and Engineering from the Technology University, Moscow. Galina’s research interests are in the areas of environmental economics and energy policy.

Professor George Docwra is an Associate Professor in Economics, School of Economics, University of Queensland. His research and teaching interests are in the areas of applied microeconomics and industrial organization, including the economics of regulation, energy and transport.

Dr. Geoff Walker was born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1969. He received the B.E. degree from The University of Queensland in 1990, and his Ph.D. in Multilevel converter modulation and control was also awarded by The University of Queensland in 1999. Since 1998, he has been a lecturer in the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ITEE) at UQ. Prior to this, he has worked in both the professional audio and industrial electronics industries, performing both design and repair work, and continues to consult in these fields.
Geoff is a researcher and founding member of the Sustainable Energy Research Group (SERG) at The University of Queensland. This group comprised of several postgraduate students and their supervisors grew initially from the SunShark solar racing team. They are focused on researching and developing solutions to sustainable transportation and distributed generation. Geoff's personal research interests are in the areas of electronics, power electronics, and electric machines, as theyare applied to sustainable energy production and use. http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~walkerg/

Peter White is the Environment Manager for ENERGEX. He has a Bachelor of Applied Science from the Queensland University of Technology and a Masters in Environmental management from the University of Queensland. Peter’s career has been in:
• the food industry in the role of in industrial chemistry from 1968 to 1980,
• science and environmental controls in the alumina refining industry from 1980 to 1982,
• power station chemistry and environmental assessment in the electricity generation industry from 1972 to 1995; and
• his present role as ENERGEX Environmental Manager since 1995.
In his current role, Peter has:
• established and maintained an ISO 14001 certified Environmental Management System across the electricity and gas supply and retail functions of ENERGEX from 1997;
• established and maintained a Greenhouse Challenge Agreement with the Federal Government since 1997;
• established sustainability Report to and benchmarked against Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines; and
• am presently working with the Banksia Environmental Foundation to develop a Towards Leadership Code which will provide an assessment tool for organisations to assess their progress towards corporate sustainability agendas and actions.
Peter is a strong advocate of the sustainability agenda and has been active in the integration of the triple bottom line principles within ENERGEX.