1st WORLD COMMUNITY POWER CONFERENCE

FUKUSHIMA
3rd 4thNovember 2016

RENEWABLE ENERGY AND COMMUNITY POWER

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
by
HON PETER RAE AO
PRESIDENT WORLD WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION
VICE-CHAIRMAN REN21 2008-2013
CHAIRMAN OF HYDRO TASMANIA 1993 2004
(AUSTRALIAS LARGEST R.E. GENERATOR)
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GOOD MORNING
Let me introduce myself and my address
For eleven years I was Chairman of Australias largest R.E. Generator using
hydro, wind and some solar.
Our State, Tasmania, the size of HONSHU or twice the size of Taiwan.
We have been and are aiming to go from 97% renewable back to 100% very
soon.

It give me a great sense of destiny to be here at this

1st WORLD COMMUNITY POWER CONFERENCE.

We are gathered here one year on since the UNFCCC meeting - COP21 in Paris last November.

What a triumph that was, is AND WILL BE

What a history making event!
195 nations
Agreement to take the measures to curtail emissions and to achieve a limit on global
warming to 2 degrees but with a 1.5 degrees limit, if possible
AND
to do so using renewable energy
(in particular).
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In looking further at this we can examine the amazing rate

of development of R.E. in the world.

The list of countries and other details are set out in the constantly improving,
wonderful publication and authority on the R.E. World
REN 21 GLOBAL STATUS REPORT 2016

The Rollover to Renewables is real very real notwithstanding those attempting to

protect fossil fuels and nuclear.
IT IS AN INEXORABLE PROCESS
IT WILL CONTINUE SUBSTANTIALLY AS WE KNOW IT UNTIL
SOMEONE SOMEDAY
comes up with a better answer to the supply of the worlds needs for electrical energy.

There will be a huge increase, which is just beginning, with electric motor vehicles.

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What a great time and place setting for our discussion of Community Power.
Others will deal in detail with aspects of this subject
let me draw attention to some aspects.

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Community Power is not just another way of supplying electricity it has other and
very important connotations.

The old method of a large power station built near a supply of coal or oil and supplying
businesses/houses/....etc by
grid and network systems is being replaced.
Renewable energy involves a wider spread of generation in a much more local way.

DISTRIBUTED GENERATION

IT IS CLOSER TO THE COMMUNITY.

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The corollary to that is, that it, with electric motor vehicles, rooftop solar electricity
and water heating there will, and in many places,
be the need and opportunity for home storage and direct community involvement in
the whole electricity system.

and
distributed generation systems becomes an important feature.

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The understanding of this changed method or in developing areas new- method,

has become a vital part of the community re-action.

This will govern the success rate at which the changes are developed and
accommodated.

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We cannot realistically expect all community power development throughout the world
to be from any one form of R.E. generation.

For instance average wind speeds and frequency are suitable in some places but not in
others. Some places have lots of sunshine hours, while others do not.
We should, in fact must, make the case for wind for the WWEA and hydro for IHA etc.
but above that we should and must make the case for renewables
all the renewables
taking their place as is appropriate to the conditions.

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We must ensure that the public is educated in the facts about wind and other forms of
generation but particularly wind as it seems to attract the most strident opposition at
this stage.
We must involve the community.
For the 3 wind farms in which I was involved we developed a Community education
and support program.
Some of you who attended the 2005 WWEC in Melbourne will remember the Wind
Farm Song and the school choir who sang that song at the conference in Woolnorth
145MW.
For the Musselroe in N.E.Tasmania 168MW we had seven local schools
involved in tours of the site practical testing of equipment etc.
The aboriginal community was also involved in each stage .

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Another example of the urgent need for education can be found in relation to:COMMUNITY AND WIND TURBINE SYNDROME
One of the elements of the campaign against R.E. is what has been entitled in this way.

It has been a strong campaign in some part of the world and I look forward to hearing
from any of you who can warn me of places where it is being raised.
My email address: raept@bigpond.com

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This campaign is aimed at wind generation in areas with human occupation whether
community power or otherwise.
But, in particular of alarming people into believing that ultra sound from wind turbine
causes a wide variety of serious human health problems
it is a direct attack on community power.
One very worthwhile summary of the actual situation can be seen in the work of
Professor Simon Chapman and Teresa Simonetti of Sydney University.
Professor Simon Chapman contact:

simon.chapman@sydney.edu.au

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From a summary of 25 international reviews of the situation they concluded that more
found an identifiable and positive physical relationship between wind turbines and
human health.

There is a Finnish study of 50 scientific research articles. This study concluded that
there is no evidence, in current scientific research, to show that infrasound from
modern wind turbines is anything but HARMLESS.

In Australia it has been a much discussed topic after a non practicing doctor took up
the cudgels with an organisation sharing the address of a mining man with a well
known antagonism to wind turbines.

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Education can offset and reduce the damage done by the erroneous
psychosomatic belief that wind turbines can damage human health.

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A useful exercise in relation to the development and benefit of Community Power

is to be found in a research paper entitled
The economic benefits of on-farm wind energy clusters in Aberdeenshire Scotland

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Examined the case for farm wind generators

Farm income spread
Rural employment in construction and maintenance can cover cost.
Farms tend to recycle income into a community.
Community confidence in wind generation was built.
The paper highlighted economic benefits of developing on farm wind clusters in
Aberdeenshire.
Community power is one of the aspects.

The considerations will be similar in any countries of the world.

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Broadening the discussion we can see that there are not only widespread but also some simple
benefits that can come from more local generation i.e. distributed, and they include the lesser
need for expensive gold plating of transmission and distribution systems.

Importantly, for the developing world local R.E. Generation, owned and operated by the local
community will see a far more rapid supply date for access to electricity being achieved.

Similarly the use of solar serves this purpose.

But again, education in understanding what it is and how it is managed is an important part of
the necessary change.

Also from that comes the political will to make the policy changes.

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One conclusion we can readily reach is that education

in both the developed and the developing world
is an extremely important part of our work
in taking a successful community energy development program out to the world and
seeing it implemented.

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Le me now move to pointing to an identified danger to the development and benefits of

community power.

It related to the world wide spread of the use of auctions

in the governmental process of approving, permitting, and regulating

new wind farms and solar farms.

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In January this year the result of a survey was presented and discussed
at a Symposium organised by WWEA and held in Bonn.

About 110 community participants from 20 countries around the work discussed, in
particular, the question of the introduction of auctions in relation to new wind power
development.

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Survey findings and contributions from speakers made clear

that this growing practice has potential for some very undesirable outcomes.
An article published in Windtech International April/May 2016 outlined some of the
relevant points.

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I refer
to an article in
WINDTECH INTERNATIONAL
of April/May this year
and rather obviously commend it for further reading.

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I refer also to an article published by Stefan Gsaenger in Windtech International last

month and which added much more in relation to this question .

And now I would like to refer to some leading edge work done in Tasmania in relation
to 100% renewable, storage, hybrid technologies and community distributed
generation
KING ISLAND RENEWABLE ENERGY INTEGRATION PROJECT.

I will use a paper presented by Simon Gamble of Hydro Tasmania

to a recent I.S.E.S. webinar and thank him for making it available.

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Hybrid off-grid power systems

Benefits and challenges

Key issues for off-grid power supply :

Energy security, reliability, quality
Safety (protecting people & assets)
Cost (historically more than grid connected)
Typically more challenging due to scale and logistics

Diesel generation ticks most of the boxes except

significant cost & emissions

Renewable energy can offer cost and performance benefits

Renewable energy can also introduce supply issues:

Why? - Variable output & displaces traditional generation
Requires planning, enabling technology > hybrids
Hybrids can be more robust and reliable than diesel (or grid)
Cost effectiveness of hybrid depends on the alternative available

King Island case study : 1998-2014

World first 100% renewable operation at MW scale
65% annual renewable generation
Population 1,600

3MW peak load

6MW diesel 12GWh pa

450km of 11kV

Source: Google Earth

Wind farm developments

Low, then medium renewable energy penetration
1998

15% reduction in diesel

3x250kW

2004

30% reduction in diesel

2x850kW
More renewables than load (curtailed)
Enablers were needed to use further RE

2008-2014 Enabling systems

Deployed over time to allow greater RE contribution
Needed to avoid impacting supply reliability
Dynamic resistor

Flywheel

Battery Storage

Smart Grid : real-time demand response

King Island
Proven, robust, reliable utility grade advanced hybrid
World first 100% renewable operation at MW scale
$2m savings per year

>3,500 hrs of 100% renewable operation

King Island 100% RE system operation

supported by enablers (including biofuels)

Wind and solar, with biodiesel generator

(resistor ensures power quality maintained)

Wind supported by battery and flywheels

(no diesel generator online)

Flinders Island case study : 2015-2017

Rapidly deployed system
60% annual renewable generation
Population 600

1.3MW peak load

3MW diesel

6.7GWh pa >200km of 11kV

Source : Google earth

Flinders Island Hybrid Energy Hub

Modular scalable enabling systems for rapid deployment

Site works now underway road and foundation

View from new WTG location of existing 300kW WTG
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Flinders Hub progress

200kW fix tilt Solar PV / 900kW WTG

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Coober Pedy case study : 2016-2017

Source : Google earth

3MW peak load

3.9MW diesel

13GWh pa

Remote inland mining town (islanded):

- hot, dry arid climate
- excellent solar,
- good wind

Coober Pedy Renewable Hybrid Project

70% renewable energy island system

Hydro Tasmania engaged as D&C contractor

Want to see a 100% RE island operating?

See ioS smart phone app & web site
www.kireip.com.au

AND SO TO CONCLUDE
The answer to the worlds sustainability challenge is
Flowing in the streams
Shining from the sky
Growing on the land
Steaming from the earth
Hidden in the waves
AND
Blowing in the wind

The next question is how we plan to use it.

And here Community Power can play a very important role.

Thank you
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