Our Renewable Energy Future, How is Your Country Doing?

in #technology • 7 years ago

The question of how we are going to be getting our power in the future is perhaps the most pressing issue of our time.


This is one of the many windmills overlooking Wellington

I saw an interesting report on Al-Jazeera today (see below), and while it is a topic which I have long been interested in it got me thinking why is my country so behind the times!

While Trump pulling out of the Paris Agreement was big news, the impact will likely be smaller than some would have us believe. As the report shows it is cities and regions which are at the forefront of change. Although some national governments perform well too.

So, I wanted to ask, how and what is your city/region/country doing?

New Zealand has a mixed report card to be honest. We lack real political will to make the future of our country awesome. Only the Green Party seems to have a real plan, everyone else is happy with the status quo.

The Positives

  • More than 80% of our electricty is from renewables, while this does not account for fuel used in transport it is pretty awesome!
  • There is a government iniative to get more electric cars on the road, but the target is not super ambitious only 64,000 by 2021

The Negatives

  • The government introduced a punitive tax on solar, WTF!!!
  • Heavily dependent on airlines for moving between cities
  • Very slow uptake of electric vehicles
  • Uninsulated homes waste a lot of electricity

The Future

  • More wind farms are needed like the ones we have here
  • Tap into new sources of energy like underwater turbines in our straights and harbours
  • Create solar farms
  • Bold legislation like that of India whereby the sale of petrol cars will be banned after 2030 is needed
  • Incentives not disincentives for the adoption of home based solar
  • Electric train networks could replace a lot of air traffic between cities

Please comment below on what interesting ideas are taking place where you live, or what isn't being done well and needs to be improved!

If you found this post useful please, upvote, comment, follow, and resteem.

#energy #solar #newzealand #china
7 years ago in #technology by
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     7 years ago 

    Having so much renewable electricity is a great thing. I think that electric cars development is going fast and the target will be surpassed soon.

    Here in Spain we were one of the leader countries at renewable energy, specially at wind farms. However due to current sun tax Germany produces much more solar power than us, in spite of having less surface and sun hours than us. We have the second largest high speed rail network, however it is not very well designed. This new lines have train stations in the middle of nowhere and are not suitable for freight trains.

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     7 years ago 

    Oh no, you guys have a solar tax too?! Yeah I can't wait to get one myself, hit it big on cryptos and bang buy a tesla :)

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       7 years ago 

      Well, fortunately there are cheaper options like Nissan Leaf. i think one of the most promising electric cars to be released it is the Opel Ampera-e, with about 300km of real autonomy.

      The problem of electric cars is the charging point. Most people here in Spain live in apartments and there is not much private car parks, so most people cannot buy an electric car.

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         7 years ago 

        Yeah, that is a big problem for a lot of people. In New Zealand almost everyone lives in a house, I am weird for choosing to live in an apartment!

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