Increasing the proportion of Renewable Energy in Australia’s Energy Mix

This essay discusses the various strategies that can allow Australia to increase the utilization of renewable energy in Australia in order to meet the national renewable energy target as well as pave the way for other developed countries to increase their renewable energy utilization.

Running head: RENEWABLE ENERGY
Increasing the proportion of Renewable Energy in Australia’s Energy Mix
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1RENEWABLE ENERGY
Introduction:
-Background to the topic and its significance
Renewable energy is an umbrella term that refers to different types of energy that is
collected from renewable sources that can be replenished naturally. This type of energy can
include solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, hydroelectric energy, geothermal energy and
bio-energy (Weitemeyer et al. 2015, pp.14-20). Renewable energy is important for the
sustainability of the environment since it allows extraction of energy from renewable
resources and therefore prevents the exploitation and depletion of the non-renewable energy
sources (such as fossil fuels) and helps to reduce pollutions caused by the usage of
nonrenewable energy (Owusu and Asumadu-Sarkodie 2016, p.1167990). Due to this,
developed countries around the world have set up targets for renewable energy use in order to
mitigate the impact of the global greenhouse gas emissions. The Australian government
targets to produce 23.5% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020 by increasing
the use of solar, wind, tidal and hydroelectric power (Hua et al. 2016, pp.1044-1051).
-The ‘wicked problem’
Usage of non renewable energy have resulted in massive production of greenhouse
gases such as Carbon Dioxide which have caused significant impact on the global climate,
causing an increase in the average global temperature, gradual melting of the polar ice caps,
rise in sea levels and increase in the incidence of erratic weather patterns and climatic
catastrophes (Schlesinger 2017, pp.800-817).
-Relevant terms and concepts
Global warming, renewable energy, non renewable energy
-Aim/purpose of the essay

2RENEWABLE ENERGY
The purpose of the essay is to study the various strategies that can allow Australia to
increase the utilization of renewable energy in Australia in order to meet the national
renewable energy target as well as pave the way for other developed countries to increase
their renewable energy utilization.
-Plan/organization of the essay
In the essay, the various sources of renewable energy would be discussed along with
how to utilize them effectively in Australia to offset the demand for non renewable energy
and to minimize the emissions of greenhouse gases.
Body:
In order to ensure sustainability of energy resources as well as the global
environment, usage of renewable and clean sources of energy is a vital aspect. This energy
not only is less polluting to the environment, but also helps to reduce dependency on
conventional sources of fuel like the fossil fuels which are more polluting to the environment
(Owusu and Asumadu-Sarkodie 2016, p.1167990). Discussed below are the various strategies
that can be tossed to reduce the use of nonrenewable energy and increase the use of
renewable energy in Australia’s energy mix and thus achieve the national renewable energy
target:
Solar Energy:
Solar energy can be considered to be one of the cleanest forms of renewable energy
source that harnesses the radiant energy of the sun using technologies such as photovoltaic
cells and solar heaters that can be used to convert the radiant energy into electrical or thermal
energy for day to day usage. Studies show that the earth receives a total of almost 50,000
Exajoules (EJ) of solar energy every year which far exceeds the global energy consumption

3RENEWABLE ENERGY
(Lewis 2016, pp.403-415). This abundant source of energy can therefore be a perfect solution
to meet rapidly growing energy needs and reducing the dependency on nonrenewable energy.
Usage of solar panels and solar farms can help to generate large amount (about trillions of
watts of energy, enough to power thousands of households and even factories (Tsalikis and
Martinopoulos 2015, pp.743-756). Moreover, technologies such as solar powered hydrogen
fuel cells can also increase the efficiency of solar power usage and its storage thereby helping
to significantly offset the usage of fossil fuels (O'hayre et al. 2016).
Wind Energy:
This is another clean source of renewable energy which is not associated with
greenhouse emissions. Wind energy can be harnessed through wind turbines that can convert
the kinetic energy of wind to mechanical energy and generators can then convert the
mechanical energy to electrical energy (Yaramasu et al. 2015, pp.740-788). Currently about
5.9% of Australia’s electrical energy is produced from wind energy creating more than 48000
megawatts of electricity every year (Katsigiannis and Stavrakakis 2014, pp.230-236). Thus,
developing more wind farms across Australia can help to harness more wind energy,
especially around the coastal regions and thus help to increase the use of renewable energy in
the energy mix of the country.
Tidal Energy:
Tidal energy utilizes the force of the oceanic tides and tidal waves to harness energy
or electricity. The movement of tidal water is used to rotate turbines installed in the inter tidal
zones thereby converting the kinetic energy of the water to mechanical energy and then
convert the mechanical energy to electrical energy using motors (Lewis et al. 2015, pp.403-
415). The extensive coastline of Australia provides a unique opportunity for harnessing its
power as an alternate as well as inexhaustible energy source for the entire country (Penesis et

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al. 2018, p. 507). Moreover, since this form of energy does not involve any emissions, it can
help to significantly reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases and thus the national emission
levels. Increasing the number of tidal power projects across the coastlines of Australia and
Tasmania can help to increase the percentage of renewable energy use in the country (Green
et al. 2017).
Hydroelectricity:
Hydroelectricity has been considered to be a significant source of renewable energy
and generation of electricity for several decades. The potential energy of water falling from a
height is used to move turbines and thereby produce electricity (Solarin et al. 2017, pp.1578-
1587). However, development of hydroelectric projects can often be very expensive as it
involves extensive infrastructure to store water and direct it over the turbines (Gleick 2017).
Approximately 8% of Australia’s electricity is produced from hydroelectricity, which
accounts for 60% of all renewable energy utilization with the Snowy Mountain Hydro
electric station being the largest producer of hydroelectricity in the country (Azad et al. 2014,
p.19). To increase the generation of hydroelectricity, natural waterfalls can be utilized to
create more hydel-power projects. Moreover, increasing the capacity of the existing hydro
eclectic power plants can also help to generate more hydroelectricity and thereby increase the
proportion of renewable energy resources (Blakers and Stocks 2017, pp.471-482).
Geothermal Energy:
Geothermal energy uses the heat energy from Earth. It is a clean and sustainable
energy source due to the abundant amount of heat generated from various geothermal vents
such as hot water springs and geothermal vents (Lund and Boyd 2016, pp.66-93). This type
of energy is extensively used in countries such as Iceland, supporting 30% of the country’s
electricity production and 87% of the domestic hot water requirements (Shortall and Kharrazi

5RENEWABLE ENERGY
2017, pp.101-109). Studies have shown that in Australia, hot granites are found in several
locations across the country that has a good potential for the harnessing of geothermal
energy. These ‘hot rocks’ have been estimated to have the capacity to provide 6.9% of the
country’s energy requirement and can be a significant contributor of electricity for the next
450 years (Bahadori et al. 2015, p.1469). Parts of central Tasmania has been identified to be a
promising site for harnessing geothermal energy that can help to generate about 300
megawatts of electricity and support almost 25% of the electricity needs of Tasmania (Smith
2016, p.6).
Bio fuels:
Biofuels refers to fuels developed using biological process such as aerobic digestion
of organic matter. This type of fuel can be created from various types of organic waste such
as animal dung as well plant and animal parts to create biogas or biodiesel (Rasmussen et al.
2016, pp.91-102). Biofuel can also include ethanol produced from the process of
fermentation or anaerobic digestion and has a high calorific value (Wang et al. 2017, p.1370).
Waste collected from farms and livestock industries can be collected in specialized tanks
where it can be digested to create bio gas (Rasmussen et al. 2016, pp.91-102). Biodiesel can
also be created from animal fats, vegetable oil and algae and has similar properties like diesel
and therefore can be used in automobiles. This form of diesel is less polluting and has a high
flash point making it ideal for combustion engines (Talebi et al. 2014, pp.55-57).
Nuclear Energy:
Nuclear energy utilizes nuclear fission reaction to generate heat and therefore produce
electricity. The heat produced from the nuclear reactors by controlled nuclear reaction is used
to convert water to superheated steam and create electricity. Nuclear energy is also provides a
clean source of energy but has a significant hazard related to the disposal of radioactive waste

6RENEWABLE ENERGY
(Omri et al. 2015, pp.1012-1022). Moreover, the nuclear reactors also impose radiation
hazards due to nuclear meltdowns that can be caused due to accidents, as seen in the cases of
Chernobyl (due to explosion) or Fukushima (due to a tsunami) (Steinhauser et al. 2014,
pp.800-817). The nuclear energy can significantly offset the use of fossil fuels and has the
potential to create thousands of terawatts of electricity. Australia has about 33% of the
world’s uranium deposit providing a significant source of nuclear energy (Bird et al. 2014,
pp.644-653). Developing nuclear power plants can help to increase the production of nuclear
energy and thus increase the utilization of renewable energy resource.
Waste-to-energy:
In addition to the renewable energy sources described above, solid waste can also be
used as an alternative fuel source. Due to the abundance of solid waste (like Municipal Solid
Waste) produced every day from human activities, conversion of waste to energy is an ideal
strategy to produce energy as well as manage solid waste (Brunner and Rechberger 2015,
pp.3-12). Solid waste such as food waste, paper, cardboards and plastic waste can be
converted into a usable form of fuel through processes such as pyrolysis, gasification, and
combustion and plasma arc gasification. This strategy can also help to reduce the solid waste
from entering the landfills, offset the use of conventional fuels and help in the effective
management of the solid waste. However, the process of creating fuel from waste can cause
generation of several pollutants such as dioxins and mercury (Kiran et al. 2014, pp.389-399).
Subsidizing renewable energy use:
The government can also provide subsidies on renewable energy sources in order to
promote its utilization. Subsidizing the costs of solar panels can help more house owners to
install them at their homes, while subsidizing the development of solar farms and wind farms
can help to generate power for remote communities thereby supporting an increase in the use

7RENEWABLE ENERGY
of clean and renewable energy source. Moreover, investing in the development of geothermal
energy plants can help to harness the thermal energy of the ‘hot rocks’ from various parts of
Australia and thus increase the production of renewable energy in the country (Simpson and
Clifton 2016, pp.262-273).
Implementing Pollution Tax:
Industries are one of the biggest sources of pollutants due to the significant use of
fossil fuels and nonrenewable energy. In Australia, transport industry contributes to 13.9% of
greenhouse gas emissions, 5.4% from industrial processes, 51.4% stationary energy sources
and 15.2% for agricultural industry (abs.gov.au 2018). Implementing pollution tax could
compel the industries to cut down their emissions by levying hefty tax for industries that
significantly contributes to the national greenhouse gas emissions. This can also foster the
utilization of less polluting energy sources such as renewable and clean energy sources
thereby helping to increase their use (Kristensen 2015, pp.195-201).
Increasing the usage of electrical vehicles:
In Australia, 13.9% of the total greenhouse emission is due to transportation vehicles,
most of which relies on traditional combustion engines that require fossil fuels (abs.gov.au
2018). However, electricity driven cars can help to reduce the usage of the fossil fuels and
minimize the emissions of greenhouse gases. By supporting the usage of electricity driven
vehicles and hybrid vehicles that can use both electricity and conventional fuels can also be
helpful to offset the dependency on fossil fuels. Building charging stations at the petrol
pumps can help in the usage of the electricity driven cars across the country and thus also
help to reduce the emission levels. Also providing subsidies on electric cars can further
encourage the people to use of these vehicles and thus help to increase the use of renewable
energy (Ferrero et al. 2016, pp.450-459).

8RENEWABLE ENERGY
Conclusion
Renewable energy is an important form of energy that is developed from renewable
resources and is generally less polluting compared to non-renewable energy sources such as
fossil fuels. Using renewable energy not only helps to reduce the levels of emissions of
greenhouse emissions, but also helps to conserve the limited amount of fossil fuels in the
earth’s reserve. Since the use of fossil fuels have steadily caused an increase in air pollution
and has been considered to be a key contributor to the global climatic change, using
renewable and clean energy is a significant strategy to mitigate and reduce the emissions and
thus prevent further impact on the environment. Various types of energy sources (such as
solar, wind, tidal, hydroelectric, geothermal and nuclear) can be used to provide a clean
energy source and increase the usage of renewable energy in Australia’s energy mix.
Additionally, bio-fuels and solid organic waste can also be used to generate waste which can
help to manage waste more effectively. The government can also provide subsidies for
different renewable energy technologies (like solar or wind energy) to support an increase in
its domestic use and implement pollution tax to support the reduction of pollution from
industries. Increasing the number of electric cars can additionally help to reduce vehicular
emission of greenhouse gases and increase the usage of renewable energy.

9RENEWABLE ENERGY
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