Australian Cleantech has released a report titled "Prosperous Sustainability" which forecasts the development of energy technologies in Australia up to 2050.

The main findings of the report include:

• Current wind technology will maintain a high level of activity through to about 2015, after which it starts to be replaced by second generation wind technologies. There will be no further installation of current technology wind after 2022.
  Second generation wind may consist to vertical axis or Darrieus turbines or other improvements on the current large scale horizontal axis turbines. This technology is forecast to take over from the existing wind technology progressively from 2015, increasing in activity through to about 2025 but reducing to low level of ongoing activity by 2035.
• Small-scale solar rooftop is forecast to increase in activity through to 2012 driven by feed-in tariffs. It will then reduce, finally becoming obsolete by 2020 as other solar technologies become more economic.
  Building integrated solar is forecast to continue to grow through to the end of the forecast period as applications continue to be extended from roofs and windows to a greater variety of surfaces.
• Large scale solar concentrating is not predicted roll out until 2018 but it will be to a major component of the industry by 2050, although down from its peak in the late 2020s.
• Geothermal is forecast to start to become significant from 2015 with an increase in the roll out in the 2030s as technology improvements increase its efficiency.
• Wave and tidal power are expected to grow through to about 2030, after which they start to decline in importance as other technologies, with fewer mechanical parts, emerge as cheaper options. By 2050, they are seen as only having niche application in some  specific geographic situations.
• First generation biofuels is expected to have steady activity on a global basis through to 2012, after which it will go into decline as it is replaced by gen-2 biofuels using algae and cellulosic technologies. Once these technologies have been proven, they are forecast to experience growth through to 2025 and then to remain steady for 10 years before going into decline with only niche uses of biofuels by 2050.
• Energy efficiency and green building are forecast to be a major part of the solution and to continue to grow and innovate throughout the entire period with a continuing focus on reducing energy requirements and using more sustainable materials.
• The smart grid is forecast to expand throughout the period with large capital projects as old grids are progressively upgraded. Widespread roll-out will begin 2012 and will significantly expand in the 2020s. There are likely to be many iterations of what is considered ‘smart’ in a grid and it is only towards the end of the forecast period that it might become fully interactive.
• The major roll out of battery electric vehicles is expected to commence in 2012 and continue to grow throughout the forecast period.
• Carbon equestration is forecast to have only modest activity throughout the period driven by the need for carbon offsetting projects. It is not forecast to grow as many of the other technologies will start to become cost competitive and there will consequently be a decreasing level of carbon to be offset.
• Hydrogen, nuclear fusion and other new technologies may become significant parts of the equation after 2030.

A copy of the report may be purchased from www.auscleantech.com.au/ACT_Reports.html

Newcastle will be the first Australian city to move onto a smart grid in what the government says could be a nationwide change.

The project is part of the "Smart Grid, Smart City" initiative involving the collaboration of the Federal and New South Wales governments, the CSIRO, Newcastle City Council, Energy Australia and contractors including AGL, TransGrid, GE Energy and IBM Australia.

The initial $100 million rollout, to take place "mid 2010," will include the central business district of Sydney, Homebush,  Ku-ring-gai and Scone in addition to Newcastle.

Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water, Senator Penny Wong, said, “Smart grids are critical in the fight against climate change, as they have enormous potential to improve the efficiency of our electricity sector and transform the way we use energy in our homes and businesses. If smart grid applications are adopted around Australia they could deliver a reduction of 3.5 megatonnes of carbon emissions per annum.”

IBM has been appointed to deploy an intelligent electricity network as part Western Power’s participation in the first phase of Perth’s Solar City Project.

The first phase of the Perth Solar City Project is intended to provide a "living model" of how solar energy, smart metering, energy efficiency and responsive market signals can deliver economic and environmental benefits. More than 6,000 households, 150 businesses and 20 schools will be involved in Phase One. Participants will receive free energy advisory services and price reductions on solar hot water and photovoltaic systems.

Victorian electricity and gas supplier, SP Ausnet, has announced plans to deploy the world’s first smart grid to run over a wireless 4G broadband (WiMax) network. The program includes the installation of 700,000 smart meters in homes and businesses in Victoria by 2013.

GE will provide the WiMax 4G-based meter communications technology for the network, as well as half of the smart meters. Landis+Gyr will provide the balance of the meters. The network management software will be supplied by GridNet and  Motorola will supply WiMax base stations, as well as its Access Service Network Gateway and new microwave systems to extend the wireless network to new coverage areas. The network will use Unwired’s broadband spectrum in exchange for which Unwired will use the network’s hardware to expand its coverage.

The new system will offer consumers variable pricing throughout the day allowing them to manage their energy consumption and reduce costs. It also gives utilities the capability of monitoring the grid in real-time to help ensure supply reliability. The technology will be scalable, making it possible for the grid to handle a variety of applications such as plug-in vehicles and alternative energy sources.

Victorian power utilities, United Energy Distribution and Jemena, have selected the American company Silver Spring Networks to roll out smart meters to over a million Victorian homes over the next four years.

Victoria’s "smart grid" plan will give 2.5 million Victorians the ability to monitor their own energy use and allow utilities to read, connect or disconnect meters remotely.

United Energy Distribution provides power in South-East Melbourne and on the Mornington Peninsula while Jemena serves North and Inner-West Melbourne. Three more power utilities are expected to roll-out smart metering technology in other parts of Victoria in the same time frame.

Energy Australia has awarded IBM a $3.2 million contract to provide a real-time network monitoring system – the next step in the development of Energy Australia’a "smart grid" intelligent network program.

In April, IBM will begin construction of a distribution monitoring and control system for gathering and analysing raw data from 12,000 fibre-optic sensors which have already been installed in Energy Australia’s electricity distribution network. The system will allow Energy Australia staff to monitor the utility’s grid in real time.

By the end of June, Energy Australia will have completed a pilot to determine how to connect the "last mile" between the substation and the customer to gain an even more granular view of its network. The utility is currently trialling WiMAX technology in an area that serves about 100,000 customers in Newcastle. It is also trialling narrowband and broadband power line transmission technologies, standard 2G mobile networks and a wireless mesh network.

IBM is installing similar, although smaller, monitoring systems in Denmark and Malta but Energy Australia claims that it is the first utility in the world that is "committed to getting a street level view" of its electricity network.

Energy Australia intelligent networks manager Adrian Clark, said "It’s not just about responding to faults quicker or getting better power supply, it’s also about helping us to introduce and think of new ways to incorporate new energy initiatives such as renewable energy and load storage as they become more widespread on our grid.’