Archived News for Energy Sector Professionals - July, 2011

A new project between Macquarie University and CPA Australia will help accountants better measure and report on the energy efficiency of businesses.

The partner organisations were awarded a $241,139 competitive grant by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), for the development of an Energy Efficiency Training Program for accounting and business management projects.

The program will consist of three courses that focus on training for practicing accountants with Small to Medium Enterprises and personal clients; training for accountants in improving greenhouse gas measurement and reporting in large energy users, and; developing dedicated sections on accounting and reporting for energy efficiency within undergraduate and postgraduate units at Macquarie.

Project manager Associate Professor Lorne Cummings of Macquarie’s Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance, said the initiative has enormous potential for enhancing energy efficiency within organisations across NSW.

“To be able to partner with CPA Australia, which has a membership in excess of 130,000 covering private, government and not-for-profit organisations across Australia and internationally, is just phenomenal,” he said.

“The OEH and NSW Government should be congratulated for their foresight and for tackling the issue in such a comprehensive way – looking at creating awareness and training accountants to measure and report on energy efficiency across the entire value chain process.” 

The Federal Government and the Greens have announced that the carbon price package prevents native forest woodchips being counted as a renewable energy fuel.

Researchers from UNSW’s Photovoltaics Technology Transfer Team, working with solar technology firm Centrotherm, have achieved a new world benchmark of 19.4 percent efficiency for a mass-produced, crystalline silicon solar cel, breaking the previous record of 18.9 per cent. 

The Clean Energy Council (CEC) says the Federal Government’s carbon tax is a "once in a generation" opportunity for Australia to boost the renewable energy sector and transition to a low-carbon economy.

"The uncertainty surrounding this issue to date has stifled new investment and we look forward to the cleaner energy investment that this package will deliver," a statement from the industry body read. 

Four peak energy and resources industry associations are currently recruiting chief executives.

A $1.3 billion package has been announced as part of the Federal Government's carbon price plan to support companies with high levels of fugutive emissions in the mining process.

A suite of new energy efficiency measures has been announced as part of the Federal Government’s plan for a clean energy future.

An Energy Security Fund is to be established that will fund the transition in the energy sector to less polluting energy sources. 

ATCO has announced that it has signed a conditional agreement to acquire Western Australia Gas Networks (WAGN) from WestNet Infrastructure Group, the natural gas distribution utility company that serves the City of Perth and surrounding areas.


The terms of the arrangement will see ATCO acquire a 74.1 per cent interest in WAGN from WestNet Infrastructure Group through AET&D Holdings No 1 Ltd. ATCO will acquire the remaining 25.9 per cent interest in WAGN from DUET Group, giving ATCO 100 per cent ownership in the company. The asset will become a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Canadian Utilities, an ATCO company.


ATCO Australia Managing Director Steven Landry said the acquisition is an excellent fit for ATCO's growth strategy to own and operate energy infrastructure in the rapidly expanding Australian market.


"The purchase of Western Australia Gas Networks builds upon our deep expertise in the safe, reliable and efficient transportation and distribution of natural gas to consumers," Mr. Landry said.

Three major energy innovation initiatives have been announced as part of the Federal Government’s carbon price package.

Greenearth Energy Limited has announced that it has successfully concluded negotiations with Yeda Research and Development Co. Ltd., the commercial arm of Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, for an exclusive, worldwide Research and Licence Agreement, which it will assign to an ultimate subsidiary company NEWCO2FUELS LTD (NewCo2Fuels), for a revolutionary technology that has the ability to convert CO2 emissions into fuel.

A proposed upgrade of the electricity transmission network supplying the Sunshine Coast and Gympie regions is being deferred by the Queensland Government-owned corporation, Powerlink, until 2019.

A technical paper released by the Melbourne Energy Institute has found that the costs of all solar and wind technologies have been overestimated in the development of Australia’s energy policies.

Research commercialisation company UniQuest Pty Limited has brokered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between The University of Queensland (UQ) and South Carolina’s Clemson University to collaborate on biofuel research and commercial development.

The agreement was signed on 27 June in Washington DC at the BIO Convention, the largest annual biotechnology industry meeting in the world.

UniQuest Managing Director, David Henderson, said the combined research capabilities of both institutions had the potential to accelerate the discovery and development of alternative power sources, which would be attractive to companies working in the renewable energies sector as well as other industries seeking to operate with greater environmental sustainability.

“We wanted to bring Clemson’s intellectual property in cellulosic conversion technologies to Australia because there’s a clear alignment with UQ’s research excellence in biomass crop selection, breeding, genomic analysis and yield improvement. Under this agreement we can offer industry partners unique benefits of scale,” Mr Henderson said.

“The supply of energy and fuel to the global industrial, retail and consumer markets currently depends on coal and natural gas, with demand out-stripping supply.

“The International Energy Agency estimates that biofuels could meet more than a quarter of world demand for transportation fuels by 2050, with aviation emerging as a key market segment. Several US experts have proposed a target of one percent or 60 million gallons of biofuel for commercial airlines by 2015.

“With investment in biofuel production exceeding $4 billion worldwide and continuing to grow, this collaboration will position UQ and Clemson to play a significant role in serving global needs for energy in the future.”

Director of commercialisation and technology incubation at Clemson University, Karl Kelly, said the collaboration will foster the evolution of invaluable new energy strategies.

“Joint research will focus on how to provide new fuels that will enable energy independence, development of novel technologies for biofuel production, and how best to produce ‘green' and readily available fuels to secure economic development in South Carolina and Queensland,” Mr Kelly said.

”Along with a substantial investment in research and development, Clemson and UQ will ensure technology transfer, training and commercialisation projects are given a high priority.”

UniQuest has established a presence in the biofuels sector with ventures such as the start-up company BioEnergy Solutions Pty Ltd, which is commercialising Pongamia oil, and several algae bioreaction-based technologies.

UniQuest is also responsible for managing the intellectual property originating from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), where various biofuel research projects are investigating tropical and subtropical biofuel feedstocks and related processing technologies.

The UQ-Clemson collaboration will focus on sugarcane conversion to ethanol; cellulosic conversion to biodiesel technologies; biodiesel applications such as military, mining, industrial and personal transportation; and tapping into the energy stores of the non-edible parts of sugarcane and sorghum.

The University of Western Sydney is developing and piloting an innovative program to help practising accountants and managers wrestle energy costs and boost business efficiencies.

The University of Sydney has joined the Sydney Better Buildings Partnership, an alliance of 14 major commercial and public sector organisations, which collectively own nearly 60 percent of Sydney's CBD office space.

Researchers at Adelaide University are undertaking advanced research into the use of metal nanoparticles in the generation of hydrogen energy.

Thiess is to play a more significant role in delivering electricity infrastructure in New South Wales under an alliance with one of Australia’s largest energy network providers, Ausgrid.

A report on the Federal Government’s Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) Program shows that at December 2010, the 207 reporting corporations had identified opportunities to save 141.9 PJ of energy per year or 9.8 per cent of their assessed energy use. This represents 2.5% of Australia’s energy use, and is a 25% increase on the energy savings of 113.7 PJ identified by December 2009.