News
Campaigners Power Renewable Energy Debate
Sustainable energy campaigners say now is the time to start switching Australia over to renewable power plants.
Climate Action in Australia
Thousands turn out to protest against weak legislation on climate change from both political parties and hoping to make climate change a key component of this upcoming election.
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Sustainability
Clean Energy Council
The Clean Energy Council is the peak body representing Australia's clean energy sector
Beyond Zero Emissions
Beyond Zero Emissions facilitates the implementation of social changes and technologies needed to reduce the impacts of climate change and give our society and global ecosystems a chance of surviving into the future.
Sustainable Energy WA
Sustainable Energy Development Office of WA (SEDO) is the government contingent in WA looking at and funding sustainable energy initiatives.
Sustainable Energy VIC
The government contingent looking at sustainable energy in Victoria
Wave Power
Wave energy comes from the large untapped currents in the ocean. By concept, it is very simple, however the trick is to reduce the cost of generation plants enough to make the process affordable. This is done in a number of ways, the most successful in Australia to date being the submersed floating buoy method. Hundreds of air filled balloons are submerged about 15 feet below the water surface and oscillate to the ocean currents pumping compressed water back to the coastline for energy generation.
It is perhaps counter intuitive that these currents are largely independent of the waves above them caused by wind, which means that in conjunction with wind farms, these plants increase energy consistency which is an important aspect of any energy mix.
Fresh Drinking Water
Another advantage is the fact that compressed water can be fed through reverse osmosis plants which provide clean desalinated drinking water. Therefore if we find that there is energy provided than demanded, clean drinking water may be stored. Although a lot of our drinking water comes from rainfall, we are installing desalination plants to provide surplus water requirements, and the energy required to produce this water currently comes mostly from coal. I.e. when we water our garden, have a shower or fill the kettle we are burning coal to produce the desalinated water. If future water requirements were fed by wave energy, we would be harnessing clean water by the power of the ocean.