Renewable energy expert on Queensland’s ‘conservative’ targets, future use and how to slash bills

Queensland “could have easily been done with coal earlier”, according to a renewable energy expert. He outlines why the state’s targets are too conservative and how power bills could easily be slashed.

A renewable energy expert has high hopes for Queensland, saying the Sunshine State will “quickly surpass” all other Australian jurisdictions in the renewable race, while revealing how Queenslanders could halve their electricity bill.

Dr Rick Jaeger.

Dr Rick Jaeger, a Sunshine Coast University Fellow, says Queensland’s current goals are “too conservative” considering the mass renewable potential the state holds.

It comes after the Premier announced a $62 billion energy and jobs plan last week, in a move to accelerate the state’s renewable energy target so that it reached 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035.

“Although we had a slower start, I can see us surpassing other states really quickly,” Dr Jaeger said.

“I think the (climate) goals are still a bit conservative and Queensland could have easily been done with coal earlier, we’ve relied on it for a little bit too long, which wasn’t the most (financially) sensible decision.

“But it's easy to do the next step. The technologies are available, we just need to implement them and Queensland has a relatively easy task.

“It’s such a blessed place in terms of climate, sunshine, wind and ocean exposure which gives consistent winds, so yes we’re behind but the good news is, we’re in a really comfortable position in the future. Other countries will struggler a lot more.”

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at a wind farm in the South Burnett area. Picture: AAP/Russell Freeman

How does renewable energy compare to coal-fired power?

Dr Jaeger says Queensland will come out on top of the energy race once it seriously invests in renewable storage.

Unlike coal, renewable energies extracted from wind, solar and hydro, are plentiful and provide immediate power.

It means once Queensland hones in on efficient, widespread energy storage solutions (batteries), electricity could become completely free for Queenslanders.

“Coal, like all other fossil fuels and energy storage, they’re not an actual energy that's rightly available, we first have to burn it or transform it to produce that energy,” Dr Jaeger said.

“Renewable energies don’t come in the form of storage, they come in the form of energy … so we have to develop the storage solution because the renewable energy is immediate.

“The efficiency doesn’t matter so much because we have it at such an abundance, you simply take the energy.

“We just need the storage solutions.”

Free electricity on the cards for Queensland?

Dr Jaeger said if the majority of people produced more renewable energy than they used, it would lower the state’s overall energy prices.

“If you, for example, produce all of the solar energy on your rooftop, which wouldn’t be possible for people in high-rises, but I have one and I don’t have a high energy consumption, so I get paid for my energy output,” he said.

“As I produce such a large amount, there’s so much left over I get money back. I don’t pay anything for electricity, and I am quite confident I can probably power at least one EV for about 500-1000km per week.

“If there are more people like me out there that produce their energy at low cost and are happy to sell it for as little as they can, people in high-rises could also expect cheaper energy prices as well, and they could then invest into a storage solution (battery) as well, taking the energy when its widely available, when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing.

“The only price we would pay would be the battery storage.”

Battery technology advances:

Like all markets, the renewable energy battery solutions rely on supply and demand.

But Dr Jaeger says technology has now become so advanced, there’s enough market competition to motivate investors.

“In the next 10 to 15 years there would be a dramatic drop in (battery) prices because we’re now at a stage where we’re going to see a lot of different options because the market demand is already there,” he said.

“We’re upscaling lithium ion batteries in Australia, but there are also massive investments in ionic flow battery, which seem quite promising in comparison to lithium, they're bigger and heavier but they are a lot cheaper and don’t have any toxic materials and are non flammable.

“Expensive lithium (batteries) are great for your phone and car - they have a high ion density (lightweight) - but for high-rise or house, they don't care if they have to fill the basement with a massive heavy ion flow battery.

“It’ll all be about how much it’ll cost and how long it’ll last and there’s some promising tech out there that can compete in that sector.”

How to cut your electricity bill in half:

Dr Jaeger said in the meantime, Queenslanders could easily reduce their energy use by better insulating their homes and buildings.

Australia’s energy demand is dominated by heating and cooling appliances (40-50 per cent), meaning insulation could halve Aussie energy bills

“That’s where Australia has a lot of catching up to do … it’s the low hanging fruit we could easily get into and half our energy demand by building better buildings,” Dr Jaeger said.

“In Australia it’s been cheaper to build a lower quality building and then spend on heating and cooling, so we’ve never had to worry about the building quality.

“Putting in proper insulation is achievable right now. Other countries have been doing it for a long time, we know it works.”

Usage statistics – SA breakdown example:

• 40-50 per cent of the energy used in Australia goes toward all heating and cooling
• 23 per cent used to heat water
• 15 per cent used to power household appliances
• 10 per cent used by fridges and freezers
• 8 per cent used for lighting
• Remainder is usually standby power