Search

• Phasing out coal-fired power is inevitable, but a deeply complex process from a social-institutional standpoint. • The nature of the coal-fired power transition is comparable to the automotive industry closures observed in Australia's recent industrial past. • This paper draws on just transitions and the transition management analytical frameworks. • Four key insights offer pointers for policymakers to support the transition away from coal-fired power in Australia and globally. Nearly three-quarters of Australia's electricity generation is coal-dependent with fossil fuel-led electricity contributing to over a third of Australia's CO 2 emissions. Climate change imperatives are calling for permanent shifts to these patterns, leading to early closure announcements of several coal-fired power plants across the country. Although the pace and scale of the energy transition are unprecedented, the closure of large-scale industries is not uncommon. The most recent closure in Australia's industrial past that remains vivid in the nation's collective memory was the end of nearly 70 years of automotive manufacturing. Drawing on expert consultations, and applying just transitions and transition management thinking, this paper identifies four key insights from the auto sector closure experience. These offer compelling pointers to guide socio-economic transformations in frontline regions that are likely to face challenging, often deeply personal, impacts resulting from the closure of coal-fired power stations over the coming decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combustion power plants emit carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a major contributor to climate change. Direct emissions measurement is cost-prohibitive globally, while reporting varies in detail, latency, and granularity. To fill this gap and greatly increase the number of power plants worldwide with independent emissions monitoring, we developed and applied machine learning (ML) models using power plant water vapor plumes as proxy signals to estimate electric power generation and CO2 emissions using Landsat 8, Sentinel-2, and PlanetScope imagery. Our ML models estimated power plant activity on each image snapshot, then an aggregation model predicted plant utilization over a 30-day period. Lastly, emission factors specific to region, fuel, and plant technology were used to convert the estimated electricity generation into CO2 emissions. Models were trained with reported hourly electricity generation data in the US, Europe, and Australia and were validated with additional generation and emissions data from the US, Europe, Australia, Türkiye, and India. All results with sufficiently large sample sizes indicate that our models outperformed the baseline approaches. In validating our model results against available generation and emissions reported data, we calculated the root mean square error as 1.75 TWh (236 plants across 17 countries over 4 years) and 2.18 Mt CO2 (207 plants across 17 countries over 4 years), respectively. Ultimately, we applied our ML method to plants that constitute 32% of global power plant CO2 emissions, as estimated by Climate TRACE, averaged over the period 2015–2022. This dataset is the most comprehensive independent and free-of-cost global power plant point-source emissions monitoring system currently known to the authors and is made freely available to the public to support global emissions reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present improvements to postcombustion capture ( PCC) processes based on aqueous monoethanolamine ( MEA). First, a rigorous, rate-based model of the carbon dioxide (CO2) capture process from flue gas by aqueous MEA was developed using Aspen Plus, and validated against results from the PCC pilot plant trials located at the coal-fired Tarong power station in Queensland, Australia. The model satisfactorily predicted the comprehensive experimental results from CO2 absorption and CO2 stripping process. The model was then employed to guide the systematic study of the MEA-based CO2 capture process for the reduction in regeneration energy penalty through parameter optimization and process modification. Important process parameters such as MEA concentration, lean CO2 loading, lean temperature, and stripper pressure were optimized. The process modifications were investigated, which included the absorber intercooling, rich-split, and stripper interheating processes. The minimum regeneration energy obtained from the combined parameter optimization and process modification was 3.1 MJ/kg CO2. This study suggests that the combination of a validated rate-based model and process simulation can be used as an effective tool to guide sophisticated process plant, equipment design and process improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A significant proportion of the research into CCS in the literature assumes ‘complete capture’ of the CO2, that is at least 85 to 90 percent of the CO2 from the flue gas is captured for the entire operating year (7,000 to 8,000 hours). Only a few papers have examined a model involving ‘flexible’ operation of the capture facility in which the CO2 is captured at variable or reduced rates for all or part of a day, week, season or year. This paper presents an assessment of the operational opportunities for deploying flexible CO2 capture at black coal fired power plants located in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Different models of flexible capture including part-time operation, partial CO2 capture rates and a combination of both operating modes are examined. The results show that it may be possible to reduce the current CO2 emissions from NSW coal-fired power plants by up to 50% during summer while still meeting the state electricity demand. The estimated cost of CO2 avoided ranges from A$120 to A$190 per tonne avoided for flexible capture. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article explores Australia's history of inflation and productivity challenges, comparing them to the current economic context. It emphasizes the negative impact of high inflation and government intervention on the economy and elections, advocating for less government involvement and better economic management. The article criticizes the government's handling of economic issues and calls for a more proactive approach. It proposes a back-to-basics economic agenda that includes supporting small businesses, implementing an incentive-based tax system, focusing on increasing employment, and addressing areas like energy, infrastructure, and education. The article argues that these measures, along with fiscal discipline and support for hardworking Australians, will lead to a low-inflation, high-growth economy. [Extracted from the article]

Particulate matter (PM) or particle pollution include the tiny particles of dust and fly ash particles are expelled from coal-burning power plants. Coal combustion is an extremely prevalent source of air pollution, and resulting PM has substantial impacts on human health, especially in industrial zones. This paper aims to design a novel hybrid deep learning framework based on long short-term memory (LSTM) integrated with a two-stage data filtering technique to accurately predict the air quality indices (i.e., PM 2.5 and PM 10) in a chosen study region 'Miles Airport, Queensland,' that meets the needs of the coal seam gas industry in Australia. The data used to construct the novel hybrid two-stage data filtering technique based on LSTM comprising of six meteorological parameters (i.e., wind direction, wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, and rainfall) and two environmental factors (i.e., ozone and total suspended particulate). In the first stage, two robust feature selection methods, namely, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and the classification and regression tree (CART) approach, were adopted to explore the most significant predictors. Then in the second stage, the best subset regression (BSR) technique is utilized to determine the best subsets input combinations i.e., C1, C2, and C3 based on several particular metrics. The three BSR-based input combinations were employed in the LSTM model to estimate the PM 2.5 and PM 10. Furthermore, to validate the main hybrid framework, two advanced machine learning (ML) methods (i.e., LightGBM and ridge kernel regression (KRR)) and two traditional ML methods (i.e., Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and multilayer perceptron neural network (MLP)) were hybridized with the multi-level data filtering strategy by examining the optimal input combinations. Several statistical metrics, graphical tools, and diagnostic analyses evaluated the hybrid models. The outcomes of the PM 2.5 simulation based on 2375 data samples showed that the LSTM-C3 containing all the selected predictors yielded the most promising accuracy, followed by the LightGBM-C3 and MLP-C3 models. On the other hand, the simulation of PM 10 distribution demonstrated that the LSTM-C3 was superior to other models, followed by the KRR-C3 and LightGBM-C3 models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control of the superheated steam temperature is a significant technical challenge to coal-fired power plants due to the strong nonlinearity, large inertia and parameter uncertainties with external disturbances. This paper proposes a robust proportion–integration–differentiation (PID) control of the superheated steam temperature with proven stability and the external disturbance rejection. The design is based on the proposed data-driven feedback compensator (DFC) which is a neural network (NN) trained to isolate the nonlinearity and inertia from the PID controller, allowing the system for tuning the PID controller can be simplified as an approximate linear system with the modeling error based-feedback and feed-forward compensations. Then, the PID controller is tuned by the Nyquist stability criterion to place every closed-loop pole to a specific region in the left-half s-plane to guarantee the stability with considering the modeling error. Besides, a NN based feed-forward compensator is trained as the inverse model of the feedback compensator to further smooth the temperature fluctuation caused by the disturbance. The simulations and engineering implementation of the superheated steam temperature controls for a coal-fired power plant in Australia show the effectiveness. • A data-driven compensation based robust control with considering uncertainties. • A neural feedback compensator to compensate the nonlinearity and inertia. • Approximation errors handled by the robust PID control with proven stability. • The effectiveness verified by the implementation in a physical coal-fired plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water utilities with a population base of greater than 50,000 people can have several economically viable options for ensuring their services provide climate resilience and carbon neutrality through optimisation of their two largest operational expenses (OPEX): power for STP aeration and power for water supply pumping. Energy optimisation can be approached from a number of perspectives, including design, equipment selection, instrumentation and control, energy recovery from the sewage, pumping off-peak, reuse of sewage and water treatment residuals, etc. Smaller water utilities with less than 50,000 people have less latitude for applying these approaches due the lack of economic viability for smaller facilities, lack of staff or other. Smaller water utilities must still strive towards reducing their carbon footprints but maintain affordability to rate payers. Public Works Advisory (PWA) provides technical, advisory and design services to Government Agency clients, including Local Government Areas or LGAs. The PWA partnership with LGAs assists at the local level to deliver on the commitments of NSW and Australia to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. Directly reducing the take and use of grid power supplied by coal fired power stations can have favourable outcomes, both for reducing GHGs and OPEX. The use of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Australia is particularly attractive due to the continent having the highest direct normal irradiation or DNI. Current literature gives few examples of real operating data from PV systems in duty on water infrastructure, particularly for smaller installations. PWA target the highest OPEX areas for management of water and sewage and demonstrate with actual operating data from three full-scale case studies. PV panels can be economically employed by smaller water utilities for acceptable Internal Rate of Returns (IRRs), with or without batteries, to help reduce their overall carbon footprints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the economic feasibility of SPCC (solar-assisted post-combustion carbon capture) at a coal power plant near Sydney, Townsville and Melbourne for implementation in 2020. A review of Australia's carbon and renewable energy policy is performed first, after which the merits of application of each incentive for SPCC are compared. Incentives such as subsidies, preferential discount rate, carbon tax and RECs (renewable energy certificates) are evaluated. No single incentive on its own, and within reasonable limits, is able to provide a favourable economic performance for power plant based renewable powered CCS (carbon capture and storage). However, once the compounded effect of carbon tax and electricity price increase is taken into account, a carbon price as low as A$ 25/tonne-CO 2 and a REC price as low as A$ 35/MWh e is able to produce a positive net benefit in Townsville, while a slightly higher carbon price and REC price is required for Sydney. Melbourne performs poorest amongst the three locations, where substantially higher incentives would be needed for economic feasibility. The level of incentives required for SPCC to become feasible are found to fall in the range of current Australian policy incentives accessible to renewable energy technologies for stand-alone power generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emission inventories are a fundamental input for atmospheric chemical transport models in order to accurately simulate air pollution and its impacts. In Australia, emission inventories are currently not available for electricity generators at high temporal and spatial resolutions. In this study, a new high spatial and temporal resolution inventory for Australian power plant emissions has been developed. The emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants have been estimated using 5-min electricity generation time-series data and emission factors. The emissions are estimated from 2010 to 2019 for sulfur dioxide ( SO 2 ), nitrogen oxide ( NO 2 ), particulate matter (PM) and mercury (Hg). We estimate that, for 2019, the coal-fired power plants in Australia emitted significant amounts of SO 2 (485.7 kTonne) and NO 2 (452 kTonne), as there are no sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide controls in place. In contrast, PM emissions are mitigated by particulate matter control devices and coal-fired power plants emit an estimated 27.48 and 13.46 kTonne of PM 10 and PM 2.5 , respectively. Coal-fired power plants were responsible for an estimated 3.13 tonnes of Hg emissions. Gas-fired plant emissions are significantly lower than coal-fired power emissions for all pollutants. Temporal analysis showed that coal- and gas-fired power plant emissions vary quite markedly during the day and over the week. There is a strong diurnal cycle in the gas-fired emissions, which, if ignored by assuming constant emissions (such as is routinely done), will lead to significant errors in modeled air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers the emissions implications of co-combusting imported ammonia in coal-fired power stations. The study adopts a supply chain approach, estimating the emissions reduction potential of 20% ammonia co-combustion in coal-fired power stations in the country of use, and the emissions associated with ammonia production in the country of origin. The paper considers the emissions implications of using different ammonia production technologies: Haber-Bosch (HB) ammonia production with hydrogen generated from steam methane reforming using natural gas (SMR), with and without carbon capture and storage (CCS); Haber-Bosch ammonia production with hydrogen generated from renewable sources; and fully renewable electricity generated ammonia. The empirical setting of the study is an ammonia supply chain encompassing Japan and Australia. The results show co-combustion of ammonia produced with SMR-HB provides no net benefit for the combined country emissions, as ammonia production related greenhouse emissions in Australia are equivalent to the emission reductions in Japan. In contrast, co-firing ammonia produced from fully renewable sources reduces emissions in the two countries in 2030 by 43 MT per annum. SMR-HB processes with varying levels of CCS reduce annual emissions by 16–34 MT. Based on the results, different policy options are suggested for managing the emissions associated with a Japan-Australia ammonia supply chain. • Japan actively pursuing ammonia/coal co-combustion to reduce power sector greenhouse gas emissions. • An Australia-Japan ammonia supply is examined at a country boundary emissions basis. • Choice of ammonia manufacturing approach has significant impact on emissions. • 40 MT pa saving in Japan offset by 39 ± 11 MT pa increase in Australia from Best Available Technology. • Only a fully renewable ammonia manufacturing process reduces emissions in both Australia and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented study focused on developing an innovative decision-making framework to select the best renewable-power-plant technologies, considering comprehensive techno-economic and environmental variables. Due to the favourable conditions, Australia was selected as the case study. A fuzzy-logic method and analytical hierarchy process were applied to prioritize different renewable-energy power plants. The techno-economic factors included levelized cost of energy, initial cost, simple payback time, and operation and maintenance costs along with environmental factors including carbon payback time, energy payback time and greenhouse-gas emissions were used to rank the power plants. The results showed that the capital cost and simple payback time had the highest priority from an economic point of view. In comparison, greenhouse-gas emissions and carbon payback time were the dominant environmental factors. The analysis results provided economic and environmental priority tables for developing different power plants in the current state and a future scenario by 2030. The fuzzy results and pairwise composite matrix of alternatives indicated that the onshore wind, offshore wind, single-axis tracker polycrystalline photovoltaic, single-axis tracker monocrystalline photovoltaic, fix-tilted polycrystalline photovoltaic and fix-tilted monocrystalline photovoltaic scored the highest in the current state. In contrast, by 2030, the single-axis tracker photovoltaic power plants will be the best choice in the future scenario in Australia. Finally, the results were used and analysed to recommend and suggest several policy implementations and future research studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian power generators produce approximately 170 TWh per annum of electricity using black and brown coals that accounts for 170 Mtonne of CO2 emissions per annum or over 40% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions in Australia. This paper describes the results of a techno-economic evaluation of liquid absorption based post-combustion capture (PCC) processes for both existing and new pulverised coal-fired power stations in Australia. The overall process designs incorporate both the case with continuous capture and the case with the flexibility to switch a CO2 capture plant on or off depending upon the demand and market price for electricity, and addresses the impact of the presently limited emission controls on the process cost. The techno-economic evaluation includes both air and water cooled power and CO2 capture plants, resulting in cost of power generation for the situations without and with PCC. Whilst existing power plants in Australia are all water cooled sub-critical designs, the new power plants are deemed to range from supercritical single reheat to ultra-supercritical double reheat designs, with a preference for air-cooling. The process evaluation also includes a detailed sensitivity analysis of the thermodynamic properties of liquid absorbent for CO2 on the overall costs. The results show that for a meaningful decrease in the efficiency and cost penalties associated with the post combustion CO2 capture, a novel liquid sorbent will need to have heat of absorption/desorption, sensible heat and heat of vaporisation around 50% less in comparison with 30% (w/w) aqueous MEA solvent. It also shows that the impact of the capital costs of PCC processes is quite large on the added cost of generation. The results can be used to prioritise PCC research in an Australian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Commissioned in 2009, the CO2CRC/H3 Capture Project is demonstrating post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) on a lignite fired power plant in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, Australia. The facility is located within International Power’s Hazelwood Power Plant and uses three different CO2 capture technologies — solvent, adsorption and membrane processes. This project, addressing the PCC issues specific for Victorian brown coal fired power stations, was initiated in July 2007 as a three year research project by the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) under the Victorian State Government’s Energy Technology Innovation Strategy (ETIS) program. The project is part of the Latrobe Valley Post Combustion Capture (LVPCC) Project — a multi site, multi scale, multi technology PCC trial. The integrated research and development program includes an evaluation of these technologies for commercial scale application. This paper describes the technologies used, how they have progressed from laboratory to pilot demonstration, the main outcomes, and plans for future developments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Currently, Australia emits approximately 600 MT equivalent of CO2 annually, of which approximately 30% is directly linked to the electricity generation using both brown and black coals. To restrain the CO2 emissions, coal based power generators are looking to retrofit the existing power plants with commercially available technology for the post combustion capture (PCC) of CO2 as well as invest in the new power plants with high efficiency steam cycles. Since Australian coals are low in sulphur and the coal-fired power plants are well away from densely populated regions, the flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) and de- NOX regulations are currently not there for the coal based electricity generation in Australia. This is not an advantageous situation for straightforward retrofitting of the existing power plants with 30 wt% aqueous MEA based commercially available PCC technology that has very limited tolerance for SOX and NOX (less than 10 ppmv). In addition, Australia is a dry continent with very limited cooling water availability for the power plants. Hence, the Australian power generators are considering both the power and the post combustion CO2 capture plants to be air cooled. This paper, therefore, assesses the impact of introducing post combustion capture of CO2 on the existing and new Australian coal-fired power plants, both brown and black coal-fired, in terms of the cost of electricity generation, the cost of CO2 avoidance, the cooling water demand and the overall plant efficiency. The existing power plants are considered to be conventional subcritical and supercritical single reheat steam cycle based whereas the new power plant designs have allowed for ultracritical steam conditions (35 MPa, 922 K) with double reheat. The CO2 capture plants are considered to be either in service full time or in service on demand with 90% capture efficiency and the product CO2 ready for sequestration at 10 MPa and 313 K. The process and cost models for integrated power and capture plants have been obtained using ASPEN Rate-Sep, Steam-Pro, Steam-Master and PEACE software packages for process modelling and cost estimation. The results clearly show that an air cooled integrated power and capture plant has lower overall plant efficiency and slightly higher cost of electricity generation in comparison with a water cooled equivalent plant. An ultracritical single reheat power plant when integrated with capture plant that is in service full time has potential for lowest cost of electricity generation with minimum cost for CO2 avoidance. These results further show that replacing an existing turbine with a new LP turbine optimised for continuous steam extraction for CO2 plant duty minimises the adverse impact of PCC integration but the power generator looses the flexibility for electricity generation. The results also provide important insights into the major contributions to the increased cost of power generation. For both the existing and the new power plants, the amortised capital charge component dominates the cost of PCC integrated electricity generation. In spite of the large reduction in efficiency for Australian power plants when PCC is applied, it appears that reducing the capital costs of PCC will be at least equally important. This is an important outcome for the prioritization of research activities aimed at reducing the costs of capture. For example, the novel solvent development work for improved PCC technology should focus on increasing absorption rates at the same CO2 carrying capacity of the solvent to reduce the capital cost component. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Post-combustion capture of CO2 is a key technology for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from Australian coal fired power stations. It is an emerging technology, which still faces significant challenges in scaling up to full commercial scale suitable for power station applications. To increase adoption by the power industry significant cost reductions in capital and operating cost must be realised. CSIRO has developed an integrated post-combustion capture R&D and pilot plant program aimed at bringing down the barriers for commercial deployment. This paper provides an overview of the program and its status. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

There is currently a significant gap in knowledge about the emission and deposition of mercury (Hg) from coal-fired power plants in Australia. To fill this gap, we propose a novel method that combines several sources of information (stratigraphic data, hydrodynamic modelling and atmospheric modelling), to identify the sources and fates of Hg emitted from coal-fired power plants. The stratigraphic record from Lake Macquarie (Australia) shows that mercury deposition increased up to 7-times since the 1950s, which is when coal-fired power plants were commissioned in the catchment. The stratigraphy also shows a decrease in Hg deposition with power plant retrofits. Using results from multiple models (statistical modelling, hydrodynamic modelling, particle density modelling and atmospheric emissions modelling), we found that ash dams contribute little Hg to Lake Macquarie. Instead, most of the Hg contamination in the lake is a result of atmospheric emissions from the power plants, and these power plants are also depositing Hg in the urban areas to the west of the lake. Our results demonstrate that the multi-proxy approach demonstrated in the paper can be used to provide clues as to the source of Hg, so that appropriate mitigation strategies and regulatory frameworks can be implemented. [Display omitted] • Multiple lines of evidence used to identify source and fate of Hg. • Hg in aquatic sediments at case study site comes from atmospheric emissions, not ash dams. • Hg mitigation strategies at coal-fired power plants should reduce Hg in atmospheric emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the effect of fossil fuel-fired power plant locations on the value of neighbourhood properties in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Fossil fuels account for a significant proportion of electricity generation in Australia. Thus, there are growing community concerns regarding the possible negative environmental effects of these power plants given the high levels of emissions produced by these plants. Such concerns could potentially impact on property values. We use a comprehensive dataset with the exact location of each property to estimate the effects of existing fossil fuel-fired power plants on the value of neighbourhood properties. We use spatial econometric models to estimate these effects with controls over several property characteristics and the type of power plant. Our results suggest that coal-fired power plants have significant negative effects on property values within a specific radius. These effects are likely to be lower but still negative for properties in the vicinity of gas-fired and gas reciprocating power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The typical stripper in the PCC is replaced by an innovative solar stripper (So-St). • The conceptual design for direct solvent regeneration in the solar field is analysed. • A design protocol to calculate So-St segments and modules layout is developed. • The length and diameter of subsequent segments to the overall design is optimized. • The process control for the pressure drop and enhanced heat transfer is maintained. This paper presents an advanced thermodynamic analysis to design a solar stripper (So-St) field to replace the conventional desorption unit in a post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) plant. By eliminating the large, complex, and costly stripper, a solar collector field (SCF) consisting of a number of So-St arrays is sized to directly release the CO 2 gas from the rich solvent under transient conditions. In this study, a design protocol has been developed to address the key design challenges for the evolving two-phase flow in the solar receiver tube analysing the instantaneous flow regime, pressure drop, and vapour molar fraction (VMF) to enhance the heat transfer. This design protocol optimizes the physical properties of the So-St components and eventually leads to the whole So-St field sizing based on the nominal capture capacity. A case-study is demonstrated to capture 1.5M tonne CO2 /y from a representative 660 MW e coal-fired power plant in Sydney/Australia. It is found that 22 rich solvent loops that each consists of an array of 6 parallel So-St modules, where each module consists of 6 segments in series is needed. The length/diameter of these So-St segments/modules are optimized for this case-study, and the design procedures are clarified and simplified which can be easily applied for other case-studies. Techno-economic validation of this novel So-St technology is an essential step-forward to fully solarize and autonomies carbon capture industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from the New South Wales (NSW) Household Travel Survey (2014/15) was analyzed to determine the trip-by-trip range of automobile travel in NSW. The results show that 88% of trips were less than 30 km, which could readily be provided by electric vehicles, consuming a total of 18 GWh in electrical energy per weekday. Even if all electric vehicles were recharged from non-renewable coal-fired power plants, the greater efficiency of electric vehicles would result in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions across NSW by 18% carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2(eq)). Additionally, we mapped the average state of charge distribution of the electric vehicles at key times during the day, indicating the maximum net load (for recharging) and/or available energy (for vehicle-to-grid services) across NSW. The results are consistent with other international studies and demonstrate the potential for wide scale electric vehicles adoption in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers news briefs for ecology and the environment as of February 2018. Topics discussed include a study published in the periodical "Trends in Ecology & Evolution" focusing on global conservation and biodiversity; the plans of AGL Energy to close its oldest coal-fired power station in Australia; and a study published in the periodical "Physiologia Plantarum" focusing on biomarker of wheat drought resistance.

Duration operation was completed as the final stage of evaluating concentrated piperazine as a CO2 capture solvent at the Tarong pilot plant. For the duration tests, a single operating set-point was maintained for an extended period of time. The purpose of the duration tests was to monitor the formation of degradation products and the robustness of the solvent. Two duration tests were conducted that differed only in the regeneration temperature used (125 or 155 °C). Four hundred twenty-five hours of operation were achieved on the solvent with a regeneration temperature of 125 °C. This was followed by a further 421 h of operation with a regeneration temperature of 155 °C, giving a total operating time on the solvent of 1700 h by the end of the project. For the duration experiments, roughly 500 tonnes of flue gas was treated, and approximately 70 tonnes of CO2 captured. The heat stable salt (HSS) measured in highest concentration was formate, with the rate of formation increasing with regeneration temperature. The effect of pre-treatment could be seen with sulfate concentration in the solvent increasing sharply when caustic supply to the pre-treatment column was interrupted. Despite the formation of degradation products in the solvent regeneration energy requirements were not notably effected. For operation up to 1700 h on a real coal flue gas, no loss of plant performance was observed. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon tax policy proposed by Australian government has triggered deep concerns about the high electricity prices facing households and the sustainability of electricity industry. By employing a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and an environmentally extended Social Accounting Matrix (SAM), this article simulates the effect of Australian carbon tax on the electricity industry. The modelling results show that the wholesale electricity prices indeed increase by about 90%, but the retailer prices only increase by 25%. The coal-fired electricity generators will reduce their output by 8% (for black-coal) to 18% (for brown-coal), but the profitability of the industry will drop dramatically. On the other hand, generators using oil, gas or renewable resources, will increase their output significantly and enjoy a handsome profit. Through the price, cost and profitability mechanisms, the carbon tax will transfer the Australian electricity generation to a low emission industry in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In September 2013, Australia elected a new federal coalition government. Before the election, the coalition made a number of specific commitments regarding energy and natural resources. While the government is yet to release a comprehensive strategy for energy and minerals, its policy is focused on traditional fuels, with a commitment to restoring the profitability of coal power stations, and increasing coal and gas exports and exploration for oil, gas and minerals. In contrast, climate change is a low priority, with the coalition intending to abolish a number of the previous Labor government's initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This commentary explains the legislative and political constraints that may affect the government's ability to achieve its promises, outlines the coalition's major commitments in relation to natural resources and their prospects for success and concludes with some general comments on the implications for Australia of the coalition's policy in regard to energy and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]