Author: admin
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National drought threatens coal powered electricity
Dwindling water reserves caused by the drought are raising concerns for the Victorian government and power companies about interruptions to coal powered generators in the Latrobe Valley, which provide about 90 per cent of the state’s electricity, says The Australian Financial Review (10/3/07, p. 4).
Inquiry launched: The government, three generation companies and Gippsland Water have launched an inquiry to find ways of securing long-term supplies for five generators and two peaking stations. “We need to think about how me might augment our water supply well into the future," Gippsland Water chief executive John Mitchell said.
Using reserve dam: Power companies warn they might have to "consider other arrangements" if there was no major rainfall in the next five months. Falling volumes in the Tanjil and Latrobe rivers, traditionally tapped for water to cool generators or for the plant’s boilers, have led Loy Yang Power and TRUenergy Yallourn to tap the Blue Rock Dam, which is at about 60 per cent capacity.
Contingency plans: A spokesman for Energy Minister Peter Batchelor said the government was developing contingency plans to ensure the generators could secure water supplies. “We are consulting closely with the generators to review needs and secure required water supplies,” he said.
No immediate threat: A TRUenergy spokeswoman said: “It is the first time we have had a major drought in Gippsland.” "There is no immediate threat to power generation but we are taking a cautious approach by engaging with government well in advance of any impact."
The Australian Financial Review, 10/3/2007, p. 4
Source: Erisk Net
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Qld’s `terrible situation’: water to cost $876 by 2012
According to The Australian (10/03/2007, p.5), Brisbane was set to become the first capital city with level-5 restrictions when forced to join the rest of the state’s southeast next month in further slashing water consumption in the face of what Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman described as a "terrible situation".
Water prices set to rise: The Queensland Water Commission (QWC) revealed the Beattie Government’s $7 billion plans to improve water infrastructure would be funded through water bills with bill for an average home rising by $71 next year. It is estimated that average annual householder’s water bill would increase from $355 to $876 by 2012.
Mayor is not pleased: Newman described the rises as outrageous and warned that the region’s mayors would not be used to do the state’s "dirty work" to fund infrastructure it should have provided long ago. "This is a ruthless cash grab on the ratepayers of southeast Queensland," Newman said.
No town supply for swimming pools: Under level-five restrictions, newly built swimming pools cannot be filled from the town supply. Owners will pay between $2500 and $4000 to fill them from tankers.
More to come: level 6 and 7: Level-six restrictions could be in force as early as September, with level-seven restrictions coming into effect in April next year.
What level 5 entails: The aim of level five is:
- to halve from 280 to 140 litres per person per day the amount of water used;
- Halving allocations for Brisbane Valley irrigators using Wivenhoe Dam water,
- Installation of water-efficient urinal systems; and
- restrictions on the washing of business vehicles and building surfaces and windows.
Householders face the axe: Elizabeth Nosworthy, chair of QWC, defended the onus of level-7 restrictions being put on householders instead of industry. She said 70 per cent of water was used domestically, and the commission had to be mindful of job losses.
Power plants too face the axe in wake of reduced flows to storages: The commission announced on Wednesday that water supplies to the Tarong and Swanbank power stations would be slashed. Water flows to southeast Queensland storages last year averaged 100 megalitres a day – just 4 per cent of averages in catchments over the past 108 years.
The Australian, 10/3/2007, p. 5
Source: Erisk Net
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Cheap power a drain on water supply
WATER-GUZZLING power stations are draining Brisbane’s Wivenhoe Dam to boost by a third supplies of cheap electricity to NSW as the 2.5 million residents of southeast Queensland brace for level-five water restrictions, reported Greg Roberts in The Australian , March 07, 2007
The Tarong North power generator used 1280 megalitres of Wivenhoe water in January and February for cooling.In January, 198 gigawatt hours of electricity from the Tarong station – or 15 per cent of its output – were sent to NSW under national electricity grid arrangements.
The level of the Wivenhoe Dam, which supplies most of Brisbane’s drinking water, was at a record low of 19.2 per cent yesterday.
Experts have indicated that Wivenhoe and other southeast Queensland storages could run dry before recycled and desalinated water becomes available at the end of next year under the Beattie Government’s $7 billion water plan.
The Government will on Friday release details of level-five restrictions to be introduced next month. As dam levels shrink further, level-six and seven restrictions are likely to follow.
The Daily Telegraph ‘s report on the dams focuses on the power disruption facing residents with the introduction of water restrictions for cooling the stations, which come into effect on April 10, 2007.
Residents facing blackouts
SOUTHEAST Queensland’s 2.5million residents are facing power blackouts and level-five water restrictions as the region’s two main power stations are forced to cut production because of the worsening drought.
As unions warned of possible job losses in the power sector, the Queensland Water Commission announced yesterday that water supplies for cooling the Tarong and Swanbank stations would be slashed from April 10 as part of the level-five restrictions.
Supplies of electricity from the two stations to NSW under national power grid arrangements were boosted this year as dam levels fell.
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Free Public Lecture in Sydney
The University of New South Wales presents a free public lecture on solar energy on Monday 26th March at 6pm.
The lecture will be delivered by the eminent Professor Helmut Tributsch, who has worked on campaigns which successfully pushed for renewable energy targets in Europe.
He is advocating for a more effective use of solar technology in Australia.
Go to the uni’s website for more details
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Victorians leading switch to GreenPower
Sydney Morning Herald , 12 March 2007
Victorians are leading the switch to environmentally-friendly sources of power, the state government says.
More than 157,000 Victorians had signed up to the government-accredited GreenPower program by December 2006 – almost double the estimated 80,000 who were registered in December 2005.
The government said the figures showed Victoria was leading the nation in trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"In the past 12 months, Victorian households and businesses buying GreenPower have cut greenhouse pollution by an additional 188,489 tonnes – the equivalent of removing 43,530 cars from Victoria’s roads – a fantastic result for the environment," state Environment Minister John Thwaites said.
Figures show Queensland is second to Victoria with 88,611 GreenPower customers, while NSW trails with just 58,355 customers who have switched.
Under the GreenPower program, consumers can choose to have electricity supplies generated from renewable sources including solar, wind and hydro power.
Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor said Victoria represented 43 per cent of GreenPower customers nationally, with the number of consumers rising at an average of more than 6,500 per month in the last quarter.
AP