ADELAIDE — A forum on renewable energy production drew 140 people to the University of Adelaide on September 21. The forum, organised by the Conservation Council of SA and Greenpeace, sought to outline the state of SA’s renewable energy sector and the threats to the industry, and to detail developing technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Mark Wakeham from Greenpeace Australia said the forum was focused on electricity production because that is the largest single contributor to greenhouse emissions in Australia. He pointed out that the largest electricity user in SA is the Roxby Downs uranium mine and that the planned expansion of Roxby could undermine the state government’s target of 20% electricity generation from renewable sources by 2014.

Greenpeace International renewable energy campaigner Sven Teske said that some 70,000 people are employed in Germany’s renewable energy sector — more than in the coal and nuclear industries combined. With renewables, Taske said, the capital investment is repaid fairly quickly, whereas nuclear, coal and gas plants require continual high-level maintenance and upgrading, and in effect never repay the capital cost. Greenpeace International will next year release a global energy plan incorporating strategies for reducing greenhouse emissions based on regional demands, resources and capabilities.

Leslie Richmond

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