Bert's wind

This week I visited Western Australia and stayed in a great B&B (bed and breakfast) in Albany located on the Southern coast. Albany was originally a whaling community at the end of the world, and it now has the greatest little wind farm on its horizon. I booked into Bert's B&B and he proudly showed off his heritage building, the lovely room with the heated towel rail which I soon turned off, thinking that it wasted energy.

Bert was very proud of the wind farm and told me about how the town derives most of its electricity from the turbines, located in the wildflowers on the beautiful coast line. And when I stumbled across this mosaic in the footpath on the way to the local pub, I suspected that there were many others in the region who felt like Bert. And somehow I felt better about Bert's heated towel rail!

Ausra powers up - but not Australia

Ausra Inc powered up the Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Plant in California yesterday at a small site (5Mw) to supply clean and green electricity to Californian homes. Ausra was founded by Dr David Mills , and the technology was developed by him at Sydney University and first tested in Australia, but is now set to expand to much larger sites in the USA. This solar thermal power plant uses a Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar collector and steam generation system to provide cost effective and market dependable electricity.

The technology now is set to bring jobs and climate friendly power to regional California - good for the planet, but an opportunity missed by Australia. Innovation is the key to a new economy, one of entrepreneurship and low emission energy. Australia is the "lucky country" - to keep it that way, we also need to become the "country of new energy entrepreneurs".

The New Economy RE (<)C

All eyes turned this last few weeks to volatile stock markets, and the loss not just of the paper value of assets, but of confidence in the traditional systems that had lulled investors into a false sense of security. Change brings winners and losers, and among the winners will be those who seek the new and potentially profitable new directions.

One company who has already made its fortune by this strategic thinking is Google, and again it plots a course for those who can see ahead. Last year, Google launched its RE(<)C campaign which defines strategies for the US to develop renewable energy cheaper than electricity produced from coal. On the 1 October this year, Google announced Its Clean Energy 2030 plan, a concise but well thought out approach to a new energy future for the US. The site invites comments and debate, and it is presented as a "KNOL" - a unit of knowledge.

And the plan is for 0 (zero) use of coal by 2030!! Coal exporters be mindful of this plan. For the entrepreneurs - bottom line savings were estimated to be $US944 over 22 years, and much more if carbon credits are included. Other benefits outlined in the plan are huge reduction in CO2 emissions and large increases in new industry employment.

This plan offers a new direction. What is doesn't offer is a quick fix, or instant greed gratification for short term thinking. This is about our future - and about the new economy that will define that future.