Fullscreen HTML5Med Res (??MB)HTML4

SILICON SILIC CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Editor Nicholas Vinen Technical Editor John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Technical Staff Ross Tester Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc Bao Smith, B.Sc Photography Ross Tester Reader Services Ann Morris Advertising Enquiries Glyn Smith Phone (02) 9939 3295 Mobile 0431 792 293 glyn<at>siliconchip.com.au Regular Contributors Dave Thompson David Maddison B.App.Sc. (Hons 1), PhD, Grad.Dip.Entr.Innov. Geoff Graham Associate Professor Graham Parslow Ian Batty Cartoonist Brendan Akhurst SILICON CHIP is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49 003 205 490. All material is copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Subscription rates: $105.00 per year in Australia. For overseas rates, see our website or the subscriptions page in this issue. Editorial office: Unit 1 (up ramp), 234 Harbord Rd, Brookvale, NSW 2100. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9939 3295. E-mail: silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au Printing and Distribution: Derby Street, Silverwater, NSW 2148. ISSN 1030-2662 Recommended & maximum price only. 2  Silicon Chip Publisher’s Letter Australia’s energy outlook is dogged by political incompetence What a mess we are in. We are blessed with abundant energy resources, in the form of coal, natural gas and uranium and all three are dogged by the incompetence of our political system. With the notable exception of Western Australia, we are effectively selling off our natural gas far too cheaply, without quarantining enough to satisfy the local market. At the same time, several states have embargoes on coal seam gas development, which only exacerbates the potential gas shortage. At the same time, we are exporting huge quantities of steaming coal to drive the power stations in other countries, notably China and soon India, while we are in the process of closing older power stations, without planning for their replacement with new, much more efficient super-critical coal-fired power stations. These are being built in large numbers in China to cope with their burgeoning demand for electricity. The left side of politics is violently opposed to coal-fired power stations in Australia while seemingly happy to see enormous open-cut coal mines established in the Queensland Galilee Basin. They also don’t want any extension of coal seam gas projects which are surely far less environmentally damaging than open-cut coal mines. Nor is there any need for expensive landscape restoration after mining is finished. The Finkel Report does mention the possibility of a super-critical coal-fired power station but it also seems to have a requirement for carbon dioxide capture – I simply refuse to refer to it as “carbon capture”. Whatever it is called, carbon dioxide capture and storage (or sequestration) is a really silly idea since it requires so much more energy for it to be achieved. It is estimated to require at least 20% more energy, on top of that required by the power station itself. Where would that extra energy come from? More coal! Surely, even the Greens can see the silliness of that idea. On second thoughts, maybe not. Note that large-scale carbon dioxide capture (pumping it underground) is not yet being done anywhere around the world yet. So why should it be a requirement in Australia? And why should carbon dioxide capture be a requirement for coal-fired power stations and not for gas-fired stations? They both produce carbon dioxide, don’t they? Mind you, most people now realise that carbon dioxide is not a poison – it is essential for all plant growth on the planet. Plants grow better with more carbon dioxide. And guess what? Whisper it: it probably doesn’t even contribute that much to global warming! Even climate scientists have now acknowledged the 20-year “pause” in global warming (while carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has substantially increased) and that their climate models are all bunk. That admission is contained in a new paper published in Nature Geoscience, which says natural factors and unforeseen events were responsible for climate models overestimating the temperature rise in the troposphere. Authors on the paper included Benjamin Santer from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the US, Michael Mann from Penn State University and Matthew England from the University of NSW. So there is no reason for Australia to continue on this headlong path to increasingly more expensive energy for no environmental benefit. In any case, there seems to be little chance of any new large power stations being built in Australia within the next ten years, whether they be gas, coal or nuclear. That means we will have to ensure that all existing coal-fired power stations are kept going for the foreseeable future, whether they are run with black or brown coal. Any further closures will result in a much less reliable electrical grid and even higher electricity tariffs. Leo Simpson siliconchip.com.au