Desertec Australia founder unveils pan-Asian transmission infrastructure proposals

27 November 2009

A member of the foundation behind the proposed 470GW Desertec solar initiative has unveiled a proposal to pool surplus renewable power in the Asia Pacific region. Giving the closing address at the Clean Energy Expo Asia 2009 conference, Desertec-Australia founder Stewart Taggart outlined proposals for a transmission grid linking Asia Pacific countries, allowing for the pooling of excess renewable power.

‘Ageing generation infrastructure, required grid upgrades and falling renewable energy prices now offer us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to think different. A pan-Asian energy infrastructure is one such way,’ said Taggart.

The Desertec-Asia plan involves the creation of a 6,000-8,000km electricity and natural gas transmission system stretching from Southern Australia to Japan and South Korea. Australian surplus concentrated solar, wind, geothermal, wave energy and natural gas would flow north, where Indonesia’s surplus natural gas, geothermal and hydro power would be added to the network.

The combined surplus power from Australia and Indonesia would be augmented by Malaysian hydro power, biomass from southeast Asia and wind power from the Mekong delta, would then be transmitted through to China, Japan and South Korea.

Taggart also identified North China and the Australian interior as possible regions for smaller-scale concentrated solar developments that could be modelled on the Desertec Sahara model, saying that both regions received the strong solar radiation necessary for effective concentrated solar.

Taggart said, ‘Cross-border trade in electricity in Asia is negligible, representing a huge economic deadweight cost. Merely connecting grids will pay huge efficiency gains all by itself.

‘But connecting grids also sets the stage for orchestration of regional energy supplies. Smart grid information technology could juggle intermittent, baseload and load-balancing power on a pan-Asian level,’ he added.

The proposals are partially modelled on the African Desertec initiative, a €400bn project that envisages the mass installation of concentrated solar power in North Africa, and a grid network to transmit the power to Europe and the Middle East. The project could provide 15 per cent of Europe’s total power demands by 2050.

Copyright © 2009 NewNet

Tags: energy efficiency, solar

This story was published on Friday, November 27th, 2009 at 4:16 pm and is filed under Asia, companies, energy efficiency, solar. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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