Zero Carbon Australia

A report, announced yesterday by Liberal Senator Judith Troeth, Greens Senator Christine Milne and Independent Nick Xenophon, finds the widespread introduction of wind farms and solar thermal plants could lead Australia to a zero emissions economy by the year 2020.

The report, Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan, is a research collaboration between environmental group, Beyond Zero Emissions, and Melbourne University's Energy Research Institute, which analyses the best technical approach for Australia to reach 100 per-cent renewable energy production by 2020.

The project's blueprint for the transition to a decarbonised Australian economy by 2020 only considered commercially proven technologies, such as solar and wind, in its energy blueprint, choosing to ignore the potentials of other less proven renewable energy sources, such as geothermal and wave power.

Under Beyond Zero's plan, 60 per-cent of the nation's energy would come from base load solar-thermal plants [built across 12 sites]. The other 40 per-cent would be generated by wind energy, with 8000 six-megawatt turbines across 23 sites.

When solar and wind energy sources cannot be relied upon to meet demand, the report suggests hydro and biomass technologies be used as backup.

A $92 billion upgrade of the nation's energy grid network would be needed to help connect renewable projects to the grid, and would also help better regulate peak demand.

Senator Troeth - one of only two Liberal Senators who crossed the floor in support of the government's emissions trading scheme - said it was necessary to explore all parts of the ''renewable energy jigsaw''.

''It [the report] looks at the future sources of renewable energy we will have to embrace one of these days,'' she said.

However, the report is extremely ambitious. Even Germany, the most advanced industrial power in the world when it comes to the adoption of renewable energy technology, is only on course to reach 30 per-cent of base electricity generated from renewable energy sources by 2020.

The full Zero Carbon Australia 2020 Stationary Energy Plan will be publicly available on 14 July.