Energy demand management has become a hot topic in Australia as consumers and big business struggle to adjust to service outages and rising electricity prices.
A new report from the Institute for Sustainable Futures has found that a lack of consumer incentives for demand management has led to electricity generators opting instead to generate excess power and unnecessarily expand their networks to meet peak demand.
This has created an opportunity for both government and industry to consider other ways to manage demand, through measures such as microgrids. These involve localised energy generation, storage and distribution from renewable sources like grid-connected solar arrays and battery storage on homes and businesses.
Managing demand will be increasingly important as hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) become more common in Australia. Charging an EV battery puts the same demand per day on the grid as an average household. This could lead to an increase in peak demand, making more pressing the need for effective demand management to reduce the risk of blackouts on days of extreme weather.
Uptake is currently slow in Australia but EVs are now being heavily promoted by governments around the world, with countries including China, India, Germany and France all legislating for a phased transition to hybrid and electric vehicles.
While this trend presents challenges it’s both a great opportunity to review our usage at home as well as a sign that more sustainable methods of transport and electricity generation are on the way.
Positive Actions
- Read more about managing demand and energy
- Consider buying an electric car
- If you work for an organisation looking to go solar, get in touch with Planet Ark Power
Sources
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Positive Environment News has been compiled using publicly available information. Planet Ark does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the original information and encourages readers to check the references before using this information for their own purposes.