from the ABC

Wave technology could be 'holy grail' of renewable energy

Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane says a new technology harnessing wave energy could be the "holy grail" in providing electricity and drinking water to Australia's major capital cities.

The system developed by Perth-based Carnegie Corporation with the help of more than $775,000 dollars in seed funding from the Federal Government works through a number of submerged buoys tethered to seabed pumps.

The company chairman, Alan Burns, says the buoys move in harmony with the motion of the passing waves, pumping pressurised seawater to shore.

"There is a very slow acting pump that pressurises the water from the sea brings it to shore at a very high pressure which then runs through a turbine and desalination plant, so there is no electricity, no oil, no nothing, it's simply sea water coming to shore at very high pressure," he said.

Mr Macfarlane says the technology is capable of making a real difference with power and water supply to people living near the coast

"The fact that the constancy of the waves even when the surface is dead calm means that you can build a base load renewable energy power station and that is really the holy grail for us, if you can produce renewable energy 24/7," he said.

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Gus: Dump coal, nuke and gas... All's forgiven.... Just give us the money to put some solar panels, invest some real government money to build a few big wave-pumps, stop cutting trees and Bob's your uncle...

 

But there is still a lot of worry about the economics of nuclear power. Nuclear plants are hugely expensive to build; they have long lead times and a history of cost overruns. Bottlenecks loom for key components if more than a few plants are built. The price of uranium has soared in recent years. So has the cost of construction materials and skilled labor, which is in short supply. Politicians, environmentalists and business still can't decide how to dispose of radioactive waste.

"If I were an investor, I'd be squeamish," said Jim Harding, a consultant and former director of power-supply planning at Seattle City Light.

To ease financial concerns, the nuclear power industry has turned to Congress. Among the biggest reasons for renewed interest in nuclear power are the tax breaks, loan guarantees and other subsidies in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

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Gus: The Australian Parliament could be recalled next week... when the elections "should have" already been called... Why? Because of bad polls? Kevin Rudd is exposing the money spent by John Howard on advertising for the government to the tune of 1 million a day. Bad policies, or actions that do not need advertising, but are done so to tie the government's name with populist bureaucratic run of the mill affairs... Rudd is also exposing the cost of having another sitting for Parliament without a "real" reason to do so... so what is John Howard up to? What's his purpose..?

Is it because John Howard, guessing he is about to lose the elections, wants to leave an indelible mark on the Australian landscape? A nuclear landscape? Using his majority in the both houses to pass laws allowing (enforcing) a nuclear future for Australia? Creating subsidies for the "private" nuclear industry? Who knows... but some one in his own party ought to stop him if this is so...

Any other proposal for this late call of parliament? Re-boasting of his "economic" record? A record, a floosy of appropriations that really lie with the Chinese phenomenon, the real estate bubble and now the American dollar plunge... and his scrooge attitude that has cost heaps to the health system in this country, in services and other areas. Of course he will blame the States for the decline, while he's reduce real federal spending...

Kick John Howard out of politics, for good. Thank you.

 

 

Come clean on nukes: Wilderness Society

The Wilderness Society is calling on the Federal Government to release the four 'work plans' it has had prepared on nuclear energy.

The Society's Imogen Zethoven says the Government is trying to hide its real stance on nuclear power until after the election, because the issue is deeply unpopular.

But she says four work plans prepared for the Government look at communications, regulation, research and development, and education and training for the nuclear sector in the future.

Ms Zethoven says the Government should come clean on its plans and abandon nuclear power.

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Gus: Yes, the Howard government through Malcolm, minister of the environment unprotection, evaporation and trees for woodchips, is telling us: "the government may certainly abandon nuclear reactors in Australia" in preparation to the post-election "we never said we would stop nuclear energy in your backyard"...  A grand Nuclearus Porkii...

Coal Can't Fill World's Burning Appetite
With Supplies Short, Price Rise Surpasses Oil and U.S. Exporters Profit

By Steven Mufson and Blaine Harden
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 20, 2008;

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At the Mercy of Nature

Sometimes it takes an act of nature to uncover human and policy flaws. The fragile balance of coal supplies in Asia has been exposed this winter to flash floods and torrential rains in Asia's top coal-producing nation, Australia. The floods caused six big coal producers in Queensland to declare "force majeure," a contractual option that allows them to miss coal deliveries because of events outside their control. The companies include Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Xstrata.

At two major coal ports in Australia, about 45 ships are stacked up, waiting for deliveries from the mines. Loading delays running between 20 and 28 days. The industry is expected to take months to recover. Workers are still draining water and mud that pooled in open pits and repairing machinery and roads.

Australia's problems have contributed to a surge in Asian spot prices, meaning prices for immediate delivery, for coking coal, used for iron and steel production. They are running at three times the current contract price of $98.