Electricity Generation from Coal, for domestic comforts such as running hotwater, light, heating and cooling as well as industrial needs are contributing to Climate Change. The solution for large scale power generation is now agreed to be Nuclear.
However, other solutions are in operation around the world most notably wind and solar.
"Launched in April 2003, the Queen Victoria Market solar energy system is the largest grid-connected solar photovoltaic installation in the southern hemisphere"..more
After installation, you will be responsible for ensuring that your equipment is maintained in good working order. Your installer should be able to provide appropriate instructions along with maintenance information in the system manual. Safe work practices for any maintenance tasks must be followed....Solar PV Systems Users Maintenance Guide available at www.ausgrid.com.au
Solar Hotwater Systems are a common site where energy supply is unreliable, such as Goa, India or in a remote holiday destination such as Marmaris Turkey.
On a visit to Bangalore, in 2005, there were solar hotwater systems on many appartment buildings.
It seems that this is driven in part by the unreliable power and water supply. Pumping your water to a height when electricity is available gives you a more reliable supply and utilises the off-peak power availability. The solar hot water does the same, in an equatorial area where there is plenty of Sun.
There is some controversy over wind turbines. There are concerns about the visual impact, the noise and most recently the danger to birds. But these have proliferated around the world. Including near Crookwell in NSW, in Germany, they could be seen from the train, enroute from Berlin and Hamburg, on the windswept volcanic, big island of Hawaii and Cornwall in the UK.
Windmills have been used used around the world for a very long time. Don Quixote fought them in Spain, the Netherlands relies on them to keep their land dry and they are an intrinsic part of the Australian landscape.
In 2008, Wind Turbines were visible on mountain tops in Crete and Mainland Greece and Turkey between Thessaloniki and Istanbul.
In Crete, the tour guide reminded us, that they have been using Windmills, for thousands of years to pump water and grind wheat into flour. Cretian Windmills are even the topic of modern scientific research.
In the Folklife and Ethnological Museum of Macedonia-Thrace, in Thessaloniki, there were working models of Water driven Sawmills, Cloth Finishing Waterfalls and Fulling Mill.
www.ramin.com.au/eco-sydney/solar-wind-power-around-the-world.shtml © Ramin Communications 2008-2010. Last modified 28 August 2013.
