A conference in Sydney has seen some of the leading innovators in new energy systems discussing ways to move from crude power supplies to clean, cheap and renewable sources.

Recent years have brought some important points in the renewable movement, and as they continue to become cheaper and more freely available than old methods, speakers at last week’s 2XEP energy efficiency conference in Sydney says all countries should be prepared to make the leap.

One of the key speakers at the event was Dr Dan Arvizu, the head of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the US.

Dr Arvizu spoke to a number of local media outlets about the various ways the US is changing its energy mix toward renewable sources, and why exciting and disruptive change may be just around the corner.

He says the time for change has come, and the US is taking the biggest early steps.

“The energy sector has the highest level of conservatism and the lowest level of risk taking...We need to change the business model. We need new infrastructure, and brick by brick we will dismantle the old system and make a new one,” Dr Arvizu told clean energy news outlet RenewEconomy.

“100 years ago we looked at hydrogen and electric vehicles, and we made assumptions that fossil fuels were limitless, and we didn’t fully appreciate the environmental consequences.

“There’s no doubt that those technologies served the economy well. But now we have energy security issues, and carbon issues, and now economic issues. We’re not meeting any of those challenges with the system that we created a century ago.”

He says outsourcing progress to the companies invested in keeping things the way they are is a clearly counter-productive move.

“You often hear the words, ‘let the market decide’, but this is such a disingenuous argument in such a highly regulated market.

“The classic supply and demand equations do not work …. because what we’ve allowed the incumbents to create a set of highly regulated markets where they have tremendous market share,” he said.

“But now we have other options in the market place, and in order to break into that market, they need to mature and they need an ecosystem around them.”

Change will come from giving the power over power back to its users, and providing better storage options to remove the idea of peak demand.

“If we had storage that was cost effective – you would very quickly be able to encourage the utilities to get on to the program. Once you have got the opportunity to say, I don’t need your electrons any more, that is when consumers will have the [market] power.”

“The game will change so that people will have a choice. [Renewable energy and storage] costs will continue to come down, and they are happening at a rate that surprises even me, and I have been at it for 35 years.”

“If you can shift the load to that point where you've got the generation, that would give you the same effect as storing that excess energy,” Dr Arvizu said.

 

Dr Arvizu spoke at the 2XEP Forum at the University of Technology Sydney [https://www.etouches.com/ehome/2xep/2XEP/]