OES Annual Report 2012 - Ocean Energy Systems
OES Annual Report 2012 - Ocean Energy Systems
OES Annual Report 2012 - Ocean Energy Systems
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89<br />
04 / COUNTRY REPORTS<br />
AUSTRALIA<br />
John Wright<br />
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
<strong>Ocean</strong> energy development continues to be active in Australia. There are 19 identifiable ocean energy<br />
developers in Australia consisting of 11 wave and 8 tidal. Currently there are four major governmentsupported<br />
commercial or pilot scale installations under construction, together with plans for other ocean<br />
energy activities in both wave and tidal at various stages of development.<br />
Australia has very large potential ocean energy resources, which have been confirmed in a study conducted<br />
by CSIRO and syndicated with industry and government 1 . This study was publically released in July <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
The study concludes that to capitalise on those resources will require overcoming problems such as<br />
distance to the existing grid from the resource centres, competition with other low emission technologies<br />
on initial and lifetime cost, meeting the investment criteria of the financial sector and demonstrating the<br />
environmental credentials of ocean energy.<br />
OCEAN ENERGY POLICY<br />
Strategy and National Targets<br />
In November, the Federal Government released The <strong>Energy</strong> White Paper <strong>2012</strong>, Australia’s energy<br />
transformation 2 . This paper sets out a strategic policy framework to address the challenges in the energy sector<br />
and position Australia for a long term transformation in the way energy is produced and used. While the white<br />
paper acknowledges the magnitude of Australia’s ocean energy resources, there is little direct reference to the<br />
technology and it is generally referred to in combination with other forms of renewable energy.<br />
The Federal Government has specified a renewable electricity supply target of 20% by 2020. This is broken<br />
into large scale devices and small scale systems, focused mainly on rooftop PVs. The large and small scale<br />
systems attract renewable energy certificates which can be traded to retailers who have to purchase the<br />
renewable energy 3 . There are no specific allocations for different technologies within the 20% target.<br />
In 2011, the Federal Government introduced legislation for an initial carbon tax of $23/t of CO 2<br />
on the top<br />
200 “polluters” from July <strong>2012</strong>. The carbon tax will transition in 2015 to a carbon emissions trading scheme.<br />
Over time, the above mentioned measures should assist to improve the economic case for ocean energy<br />
development in Australia.<br />
Support Initiatives and Market Stimulation Incentives<br />
The Federal Government has established the Australian Renewable <strong>Energy</strong> Agency (ARENA) to bring<br />
together a number of previous renewable energy schemes and create new renewable energy investment<br />
totalling $3.2 billion 4 . ARENA offers part funding for research, development, demonstration and<br />
commercialisation to be integrated and will provide continuity of support for the full range of developing<br />
1<br />
http://www.csiro.au/ocean-renewable-energy<br />
2<br />
http://www.ret.gov.au/energy/facts/white_paper/Pages/energy_white_paper.aspx#what<br />
3<br />
http://www.orer.gov.au/Certificates/certificates<br />
4<br />
http://www.ret.gov.au/Department/Documents/clean-energy-future/ARENA-FACTSHEET.pdf
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