Planning Minister John Day's release today of a new planning vision and direction for Perth and Peel to guide the planning of the city to 2031 and beyond has been welcomed by the WA Sustainable Energy Association Inc. (WA SEA).

WA SEA notes the Minister's reference to compliance of the Directions 2031 document is in line with the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) national criteria for capital city strategic planning systems for Australian cities that are "globally competitive, sustainable, liveable, socially inclusive and well-placed to meet future challenges and growth."

‘We must fundamentally change the way we think about energy, and planning for 2031 must simply be a part of planning the 21st Century,' says WA SEA Chief Executive, Prof Ray Wills.

WA SEA calls for all future developments, whether completely new or urban renewal, be achieved with energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment through a combination of mandated measures and reduced taxes and fees to minimise transaction costs.

A growing raft of projects are already embracing sustainability to grow greater metropolitan Perth in a series of sustainable cities - City of Yanchep, Alkimos, the Stirling City Centre Project, North Port Quay, Cockburn Coast, to name a few.

Further, mandatory installation of the most affordable and appropriate technologies such as solar hot water, solar air-conditioning, heat pumps and geothermal on all new houses and buildings, and tied to all renovation approvals, as well as on all existing government facilities and public buildings, will deliver long term savings to building owners and tenants, and to the tax payer.

Growth brings many opportunities but also threatens to gridlock the city. Directions 2031 must bring on new transport policies that integrate all forms of public, personal and industrial transport.

Public transport utilising low and no emissions mass transit, and particularly light rail, is seeing significant growth in nations around the world, and Australia should ensure it delivers strong investment in infrastructure for the benefit of future generations of Australians.

Various light rail proposals including the Knowledge Arc, Perth Airport to the city, the Stirling City Centre Project, and the Perth Light Rail Project all have merit need to be fairly considered in the context of Directions 2031.

Cities around the world are looking to become more sustainable - existing cities like Reykjavik, Iceland, Portland, Oregon, and Malmö, Sweden, and glamorous new proposals like Masdar City, UAE and Tianjin Eco-City, China.

In WA some of our greenest places to live are already appearing in regional WA as a consequence of the deployment of renewable energy.

Now that Horizon Power has established a new power station in the town of Marble Bar, with one soon to be completed in the neighbouring town Nullagine, in the east, these towns are going quite green almost overnight.

‘Perth has an opportunity to grow with sustainability principles as a guide, and take advantage of the best renewable energy resources in the world to power Perth in the 21st Century - and keep up with regional WA,' says Prof Wills.

A new high response power station will provide rapid back up for intermittent renewable generation on WA's south west electricity network says Prof. Ray Wills, Chief Executive of the Western Australian Sustainable Energy Association Inc. (WA SEA).

The $130 million, 120 MW super fast gas turbine power station in Kwinana is built by private energy retailer Perth Energy. This fast response plant will complement renewable energy production, responding to quickly fill gaps in generation of electricity from intermittent sources such as wind farms.

The power station was officially opened today by Energy Minister Peter Collier. The Minister said the open-cycle gas turbine power plant would help the grid accommodate more renewable energy generation, assisting the State to achieve its share of the national target of 20 per cent by 2020.

Perth Energy Managing Director Ky Cao said "Kwinana Swift will improve reliability of electricity supply in south west WA, and also help the grid take up more renewable energy generation, providing a cleaner future."

‘The Kwinana Swift is a bit like fast speed broadband for renewables, delivering electricity to the grid instantly to back up any gaps in delivery,' says Prof Wills.

Perth Energy supplies renewable energy to a number of commercial and industrial customers covering hundreds of sites.

Also today, the largest solar tracking system in Australia was officially opened by Mines and Petroleum Minister Moore, representing Energy Minister Peter Collier.

Horizon Power's Pippunyah Solar Diesel Power Station uses a 505-kilowatt solar power installation from SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWRA, SPWRB), a manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels, and solar systems, and employs flywheel technology from PowerCorp Pty Ltd. The flywheel is used to smooth the energy from the solar panels and stabilise power quality between the diesel power station and the solar farm as well as to maximise the utilisation of the solar energy.

Perth Energy, Horizon Power, SunPower and PowerCorp are all members of WA SEA, Australia's largest energy chamber.

‘We must fundamentally change the way we think about energy and how we do business and we must act; both of these commercial projects are the result of 21st Century thinking about energy, and both deliver action' says Prof Wills.

WA Sustainable Energy Association Inc. (WA SEA) Media Release - 20 August 2010

The failure of some politicians to accept the reality of human-induced climate change stalls decisions on what substantive actions Australia must take to reduce emissions says Prof. Ray Wills, Chief Executive of the Western Australian Sustainable Energy Association Inc. (WA SEA), and Adjunct Professor with The University of Western Australia.

‘While the rest of the world is making bold changes, Australia's actions remain comparatively small despite clear public support for sustainable energy solutions to the problem of greenhouse gas emissions,' says Prof Wills.

Meanwhile, a new report released on Monday by the Australian Academy of Science - an eminent assembly of over 400 of Australia's top scientists - affirms that the world is warming, that carbon emissions is driving change, that these emissions arise from human activity, and that if we do not reduce emissions, significant impacts on our society and environment will result.

"The Science of Climate Change: Questions and Answers" has a stated aim to address confusion created by contradictory information in the public domain. It sets out to explain the current situation in climate science, including where there is consensus in the scientific community and where uncertainties exist. The report was prepared by a Working Group and Oversight Committee made up of Academy Fellows and other Australian scientists with internationally recognised expertise in climate science.

This follows an earlier report from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that lists 10 indicators that global warming is happening: rising humidity; rising sea-surface temperature as well as heat stored in deeper waters; shrinking sea ice, glacier and springtime snow cover; rising temperatures over land and sea; and rising sea levels. All point to a rapidly warming world.

‘These reports reiterate what every qualified scientific body in the world - including the Royal Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Chinese Academy of Science - is saying unequivocally: that global warming is a reality and that warming is caused by man-made greenhouse gas emissions,' says Prof Wills.

While some politicians try to downplay the importance of climate change and sustainability as an election issue, a poll jointly commissioned by the ACF and WWF conducted by respected Auspoll shows climate policies will affect the votes of most Australians.

The poll revealed that ‘Pollution and climate change' will influence the votes of 78 per cent of the 2,200 voters surveyed.

WA SEA, Australia's largest energy chamber, prepared a comprehensive list of cost effective and practical actions that can be taken across all sectors of the economy that will boost national productivity, reduce inflation and ensure continued strong growth within the Australian sustainable energy industry and across Australia's economy for decades to come.

This document consolidated a raft of commentary released by WA SEA aimed at improving Australia's energy efficiency and take up of renewable energy generation, including measures that remove barriers to business entry and deliver incentives to ensure a more sustainable economy.

WA SEA then prepared an election score chart to document how well election commitments from all major parties are tracking against WA SEA's action list.

The Greens received the highest score with 73, Labor scored 32, and the Coalition scored 11 out of 100.

‘We must fundamentally change the way we think about energy and how we do business. And we must act,' says WA SEA Chief Executive Prof Wills.

WA SEA urges voters to highlight WA SEA's policies to whichever party or candidate they choose to support in the Federal election, and to seek commitments from those they vote into the next Federal Parliament to push a more sustainable Australia through renewable energy and energy efficiency.

‘Climate change is real, the impacts are already proving dire and will only get worse, humans are causing it, and we need to stop,' says Prof Wills.

o Last week, the WA Sustainable Energy Association Inc. (WA SEA) released a comprehensive list of cost effective and practical actions to ensure strong growth of the Australian sustainable energy industry.
o WA SEA then prepared an election score chart to document how well election commitments from all major parties are tracking against WA SEA's action list.
o The Greens received the highest score with 73, Labor scored 32, and the Coalition scored 11 out of a possible 100.
o ‘We must fundamentally change the way we think about energy and how we do business. And we must act,' says WA SEA Chief Executive Prof Wills.
o WA SEA urges voters to raise with whichever candidate they prefer the nature of policies outlined here to seek their support for a more sustainable Australia.

Note - a formatted document of this media release providing a tabulated scorechart is available via the link http://www.wasea.com.au/files/media/2010/1008016_mr_waseafedscore.pdf

A United Nations Environment Programme report released on 15 July 2010 quantified that renewable generation is now 25% of world electricity generation. What is more, almost 50% of new generation built around the globe last year (2009) was renewable energy. Globally, about 80 gigawatts of renewable power capacity was built in 2009, compared to 83 gigawatts of fossil fuel plants. Renewable energy accounted for 60 percent of new capacity in Europe, and more than half of new power generation in the U.S.

Wind turbines have become part of the landscape in much of Europe over the last five years. They are scattered along the roads in Sweden, across the countryside of Spain, the coasts of Denmark. You see them on any fast train through Europe. They are a feature in the US too, with a drive through California guaranteeing a view of hundreds of turbines.

What about Australia? Australia averages around 8% renewable energy generation, and Western Australia about 5%. In the same year that saw almost 50% of projects in the rest of the world go renewable, renewable electricity generation projects accounted for less than 25% of planned additional capacity in Australia, according to ABARE data.

‘We must fundamentally change the way we think about energy and how we do business. And we must act,' says WA Sustainable Energy Association Inc. (WA SEA) Chief Executive Prof Ray Wills.

‘Most importantly, a new Federal Government must also walk the talk - measures being encouraged for business and the community must be rolled out and demonstrated as a greater priority in government operations. All government departments and agencies must be instructed to increase energy efficiency and install renewable energy on all existing government facilities and other public buildings. Further, the Government must ensure new buildings built on the public purse are energy efficient buildings and powered by renewable energy.'

While some politicians try to downplay the importance of climate change and sustainability as an election issue, a poll jointly commissioned by the ACF and WWF conducted by respected Auspoll shows climate policies will affect the votes of most Australians.

The poll revealed that ‘Pollution and climate change' will influence the votes of 78 per cent of the 2,200 voters surveyed.

‘In particular, all Government operations must aim to source 100% renewable energy for their power requirements by 2015.'

Assessing potential governments.
Last week, the WA Sustainable Energy Association Inc. (WA SEA) released a comprehensive list of cost effective and practical actions that can be taken across all sectors of the economy that will boost national productivity, reduce inflation and ensure continued strong growth within the Australian sustainable energy industry and across Australia's economy for decades to come.

The document consolidated a raft of commentary released by WA SEA aimed at improving Australia's energy efficiency and take up of renewable energy generation, including measures that remove barriers to business entry and deliver incentives to ensure a more sustainable economy.

WA SEA then prepared an election score chart to document how well election commitments from all major parties are tracking against WA SEA's action list.

WA SEA has given all parties - Labor, Liberal, Nationals and Greens - an opportunity to respond to the rankings, and has taken feedback received from parties into consideration.

In the assessment, the chart was simplified to rank the Liberal and National Parties in coalition. While WA SEA notes differences between Nationals policy in Western Australia and what has been assessed as joint Coalition policy at a Federal level, these details have not been separately considered here.

The table draws together previous commitments by parties while in government and opposition, together with analysis of new election commitments sourced from policy statements and media announcements. A total of 20 policy categories have been scored based on an assessment of each measure scored out of 5, with a total possible score of 100.

The Greens received the highest score with 73, Labor scored 32, and the Coalition scored 11 out of 100.

WA SEA Election Scorecard 2010
Score out of a possible 5 for each of 20 policies, a possible total score of 100
Note - a more detailed description of each WA SEA policy is provided at the end of this document.

Note - a formatted document of this media release providing a tabulated scorechart is available via the link http://www.wasea.com.au/files/media/2010/1008016_mr_waseafedscore.pdf

The WA Sustainable Energy Association Inc. (WA SEA) congratulates Curtin University researchers who have made a breakthrough in converting biomass, such as mallee, into "clean" combustible gaseous fuels that can be used to generate a continuous source of electricity, commonly referred to as base load electricity.

Linda Kristjanson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research & Development, presented the 2010 Curtin Commercial Innovation Award for the best new innovation award to Professor Chun-Zhu Li and his team today.

Li, the Professor and Director of Curtin Centre for Advanced Energy Science and Engineering, Curtin University of Technology is a world leader in energy research. Prof Li took up the position of Director in early 2009 to develop novel low emission energy technologies, covering both fossil fuels and renewables.

‘Improvements in biomass-based renewable energy is critically important as there are great opportunities across rural and regional Australia for farmers, communities, and potentially some mine sites, to be self sufficient on energy from renewable sources,' says Prof Ray Wills, Chief Executive of WA SEA.

‘The technology is also relevant to the growing energy needs of many third world nations - allow energy growth with out additional greenhouse gas emissions, especially Africa, northern India and western China,' says Prof Wills.

Biomass-to-power is the world's third largest form of renewable energy after wind and solar. Investment in new capacity in this sector was $10.4 billion 2009, up 16% on 2008.

‘WA SEA welcomes the innovations that in Western Australia can take advantage of oil mallees, small trees abundant in WA and actively planted and farmed to minimise dryland salinity.'

‘The inclusion of mallees as a part of a sustainable, integrated cropping system maximizes farm yield and optimises environmental benefits on landscapes degrading through salinity and soil erosion. Mallees have a number of benefits including reducing water tables and creating wind breaks - and renewable fuel.'

WA Sustainable Energy Association Inc. (WA SEA) Media Release - 13 August 2010

A new report by analyst Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows that global governments' support for fossil fuel industry is about 10 times that offered to renewable energy says the WA Sustainable Energy Association Inc. (WA SEA).

The report which analyses subsidies and incentive schemes offered globally to developers of renewable energy and biofuel technologies and projects concludes that in 2009 governments provided subsidies worth between $US43bn and $US46bn to renewable energy and biofuel industries, including support provided through feed-in tariffs, renewable energy credits, tax credits, cash grants and other direct subsidies.

This contrasts with data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) released in June showed that $557bn was spent by governments during 2008 to subsidise the fossil fuel industry.

Meanwhile in another new report, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lists 10 indicators that global warming is happening: rising humidity; rising sea-surface temperature as well as heat stored in deeper waters; shrinking sea ice, glacier and springtime snow cover; rising temperatures over land and sea; and rising sea levels. All point to a rapidly warming world.

‘We must fundamentally change the way we think about energy and how we do business. And we must act,' says WA SEA Chief Executive Prof Wills.

While some politicians try to downplay the importance of climate change and sustainability as an election issue, a poll jointly commissioned by the ACF and WWF conducted by respected Auspoll shows climate policies will affect the votes of most Australians.

The poll revealed that ‘Pollution and climate change' will influence the votes of 78 per cent of the 2,200 voters surveyed.

WA SEA has created a comprehensive list of cost effective and practical actions that can be taken across all sectors of the economy that will boost national productivity, reduce inflation and ensure continued strong growth within the Australian sustainable energy industry and across Australia's economy for decades to come.

This document consolidates a raft of commentary released by WA SEA aimed at improving Australia's energy efficiency and take up of renewable energy generation, including measures that remove barriers to business entry and deliver incentives to ensure a more sustainable economy.

Next week WA SEA will release an election score chart that will document how well election commitments from all major parties are tracking against this action list.

WA Sustainable Energy Association Inc. (WA SEA) Media Release - 8 August 2010