Australian Solar Thermal ideas get to 2020 summit

[LMagic007]

Hmm ummmm No ! I thought Super was for retirement. I think with these types of summits you are going to attract some harebrain ideas as well as a few good ones. I think any government that tried to implement such a policy would be out at the next election. Anyway that's another discussion.

I did a search of solar and wind without success, though it does refer to the terms, low carbon energy, energy efficiency, clean energy technology and renewable energy technology at least

The report is very general focusing on key points, which is all I would reasonably expect at this stage. I think it's way too early for me to be drawing firm conclusions, as this really only forms a starting point, upon which to build on and evolve with existing government policy and measures in the pipeline.

[Windguy]

Your environment ideas

These are the winning environment submissions from a ninemsn/audit of them.

Not exactly exciting though. My thoughts, and don't believe flooding Lake Eyre will work. The sub tropic belt is a desert across the world with winds that are normally from the north eastern region. So no extra rainfall will happen form flooding it. Think of the Red Sea and the land surrounding it to prove that point.

[LMagic007]

Yea allot of these ideas are not new ideas. But at least people have ideas. I think at the end of the day, they are looking for that big idea that nobody has yet thought of and I suspect they will be lucky to get that.

With that said, you have to be in it to win it as they say, so I think its still great that people at least have a chance to have their ideas seen and heard on the range of forums that have been set-up for this, no matter how uninspiring some of the ideas may seem. I think it actually takes recognition of a bunch of bad ideas, to really appreciate the good ones, when they come along.

Luckily we are not relying on ninemsn as an authority on good ideas. It will be interesting to see how it develops over the coming months with regard to the Australian governments take on things.

[Windguy]

The biggest problem with this summit is that 1000 of the brightest and the best had their own opinions which they would talk hard to sell.

To really make a go of it though is to lock them down for a week or so, so they can then have their say then sit back and start to appreciate other peoples ideas. By this method they would all be watching the clock to ensure their ideas have a fair hearing and push for that extra time for their ideas then as a power play, (you don't push yourself into a summit unless you are up yourself) that no matter what idea comes before them, they will ignore and not appreciate it.

I knew all submissions from outside the 1000 will end up getting ignored anyway. Whatever you find in the submissions you will not find in the end. The media at least did some searching which was great...

What is the worst though is how many of the thousand would have looked into the future direction before this event?? I'd say they would've been too busy in their respective jobs if they were the brightest.

[LMagic007]

Yea I just wonder if it's really the earth shattering ideas they they are really interested in. I suspect most of the ideas be it top 1000 or top 10000 or even top 100 are already being worked on in one form or another. Most of the ideas I suspect are just variations of already existing themes. That's not to say that the summit ideas cant influence current developments.

It still might be interesting to see a top 10 list though. I think that would tell us where the most important big picture issues lie. It's the big picture issues that I think we need to get properly prioritised. As was stated at the summit, Climate Change is a big picture issue impacting everything else. It would be interesting to see what gets listed after that.

[Windguy]

It seems like tax reform is numero uno at this very moment, I would also like to know about their new buildings being carbon neutral around 2020. Will it be just the building of it, or will they actually be using renewable electricity as their only source of electricity powering everything inside it?

Interesting, a twelve year goal to start it sounds a bit far away.

[Besoeker]

Originally Posted by LMagic007

Australian Solar Thermal ideas get to 2020 national summit of ideas.

I think solar thermal is one of the best new ways of capturing renewable energy.
It resolves one of the single biggest obstacles for renewables - variability of supply. Energy storage is the key, in my opinion. Think of hydro. It is mature technology. There is variability of supply but the need for energy storage was understood and implemented - dams were built. More recent developments are beginning to address that need.

Originally Posted by LMagic007

Please see past the apparent screw up of the kw and kwh on this site
Thermogen - Home

Perhaps one should see past it. There again, if they are trying to sell a product, or a new idea, shouldn't they take care to get the basic units right if they want to be taken seriously?

And storing 1000 litres of water at up to 200 degC in a domestic residence might be a challenge...would need a pressurised container....

As I said, I think solar thermal is a way forward for new renewables. But I'm not sure how well the Thermogen idea has been thought through.

[LMagic007]

Yes I do think that on a domestic household level, there may be practical considerations with Thermogen that come into play here, risk management health and safety etc... I have often thought Solar Thermal CSP is best for centralised power station distribution and solar PV and solar hot water systems best for domestic applications. Yes I agree they should take more care with their web site. I actually sent them an email about, it so it might be interesting to see if they correct it.

[SgtThursday]

Guys,

Work out the required overall system efficiency to deliver 5 kWh of electricity 24/7, PLUS air con, PLUS hot water from 7 tube arrays measuring 2m * 2.4 m each in Brisbane (avg insolation 5.25 PSH).

Compare with published efficiencies for other solar thermal systems (eg. parabolic trough concentrators).

Then decide whether the kW vs kWh question is even worth quibbling about.

SgtThursday

[Deathridesahorse]

Originally Posted by LMagic007

Yea that would be a bit of work. I think I would stick with renewable energy related issues though.

Australian Government's 2020 site here;

Australia 2020 - www.australia2020.gov.au

Actually I'm not sure if I'm missing something, but I did not see much on renewable energy at all. i.e. I found 3 items relating to solar energy.
Windguy I see you actually made a submission, I presume it's yours. Submission 5433 : Windguy

I can't but help get the feeling that this summit idea is a bit of a warm fuzzy feel good thing, but with that said I still don't discount its usefulness. Allot of the strategic government decisions are already in play on a range of matters, but it may just be that one idea one day that makes a difference.

I think it's good for people to have a formally recognized national forum to share their varied views. It helps bring the spotlight on important public issues, even if nothing gets resolved. I helps re-enforce community concerns about issues relevant to their lives. This might help better focus government on the key issues and help them better formulate policy.

Are you telling me they didn't get my petition...

**I put it in every section: how could they have missed it?!? **