City plan to dump coal-based energy

6 October 2009

Plans to turn Sydney into a low carbon city using locally-produced electricity from the sun, wind, marine, Green Power and waste gases are being developed by the City of Sydney Council as part of its Sustainable Sydney 2030 plan.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said the City is challenging traditional electricity supplies from coal-fired power stations.

A number of essential reports have been adopted by Council to progress the City's plans including: A Renewable Energy Master Plan tender, Alternative Waste Technology plant tender and a trigeneration report for Prince Alfred Park Pool. The City is currently tendering for a Combined Cooling, Heat and Power (trigeneration) masterplan for the LGA.

"We cannot continue to rely on electricity produced from burning dirty coal. It accounts for about 80 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the City of Sydney and is a major contributor to global warming. It is also extremely inefficient - only about 30 per cent of the energy from burning coal in the Hunter Valley actually reaches your house in Sydney,"  Ms Moore said.

The City's Sustainable Sydney 2030 plan commits the Council to:

• Produce 70 per cent of the electricity (330 megawatts) supply by 2030 from trigeneration - converting natural and waste gas into electricity, heating and cooling;
• Ensure by 2020 that 25-30 per cent of energy use comes from renewable energy (solar, wind, marine, geothermal, Green Power and renewable fuels);
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent by 2030; and
• Divert 66 per cent of domestic waste from landfill by 2014.
  

Councillors resolved on 21 September to appoint the international engineering and design firm ARUP to develop a Decentralised Energy Master Plan for renewable energy.  

City of Sydney Sustainability Manager Chris Derksema said this Plan will be the roadmap to converting 25-30 per cent of the City's electricity use from coal-generated electricity to renewable sources.

"ARUP will be looking at a range of renewable means of generating electricity and methods to implement it," Mr Derksema said.

"CBD roofspace and its capacity to produce solar power will be one component as well as wind energy, including off-shore, hydro and marine renewables."

"Another vital resource will be the use of renewable gases potentially sourced from household, commercial and industrial waste and other sources including sewage, agricultural, landfill and low carbon coal seam gas.

"These gases can be harvested and converted into locally-produced electricity providing low-cost heating and cooling for buildings from a trigeneration network across the City," Mr Derksema said.

The City is currently seeking tenders for its Trigeneration Plan also known as Combined Cooling, Heat and Power. The plan is expected to detail specific information about the locations, size and scale of a network of trigeneration machines - similar to what energy expert Allan Jones implemented in Woking, Surrey.

The City has already commissioned a study into the first such trigeneration or cogeneration plant to be located at Prince Alfred Park Pool in Surry Hills. Council is now proceeding with a business case to develop the system.

Council has also appointed ARUP to develop a business case to establish an Alternative Waste Technology Facility (AWTF) in or near the City of Sydney.

AWTF's take general household waste and recover reusable materials such as recyclables or organic mater.  The plan will also include the potential to capture gases produced during the recovery process to help power the trigeneration network.

An AWT could greatly reduce waste going to landfill and will help the City deliver on its target of diverting 66 per cent of waste from landfill.  

Media Contact:  Josh MacKenzie (02) 9265-9082 or 0402 351 459