Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

Tony

The Base Load Misconception (Part 1): A Note from Tony

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FOR a long time now, the term Base Load Power has been misinterpreted, and used incorrectly.    Those who support the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Greenhouse Gas Warming Theory have taken the term out of context to describe those large coal fired power plants that in their minds are the largest offenders. They use the word as Baseload, one word, and then attach it to those power plants as a descriptor, Baseload Power Plants, usually also adding the term ‘coal fired’.   However, the term is not a one word adjective.  It is two words and describes most effectively the actual physical electrical power that is being consumed.

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‘Carbon Price’ Won’t Reduce Emissions from Power Stations

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THE Australian government has announced plans to introduce a carbon price scheme forcing industry to buy a permit for each tonne of carbon dioxide emitted from July 1, 2012.  A trading system, with the carbon permit price set on a market linked to other schemes overseas, could follow in three to five years.  But the scheme is unlikely to achieve a reduction in carbon emissions from coal fired power stations.  Tony explains:

The Carbon Price and Coal-Fired Power:  A Note from Tony

We are being told that the introduction of this ‘Carbon Price’ will drive down the emissions of the offending greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.

When those politicians stand at the podium and tell you this, it indicates only that they have no idea whatsoever of how electrical power is generated.

When I try and explain that what they say is incorrect, that is somehow perceived as my taking a political standpoint by disagreeing with the politics of either the Labor Government who are introducing this, or The Australian Greens Party, who are in fact driving the Labor Government on this matter.

To effectively understand what effect a ‘price on carbon’ will have on coal fired power generation, you need to understand how a coal fired power plant produces its electrical power, and once you can visualise this, then it becomes patently obvious that just placing a price on those emissions will not lower those emissions by any amount whatsoever.

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The Value of Water to the Queensland Government: A Note from Tony

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IN all the controversy over management of dams in South East Queensland, it is worth considering the value of the resource to the nominal owners, the Queensland Government, who sell that water to consumers.

With the aid of the Wivenhoe dam capacity diagrams, it is possible to determine that during the recent major drought, Wivenhoe went from 100 percent down to its low point of 15 percent.  That took eight and a half years, and there were no restrictions, and water was always plentiful for every use, be that residential, commercial or industrial use.

The cost of that water at the time was also cheap, in fact, the cost was almost negligible. However, as that low point of 15 percent approached, firstly the Beattie Government, and then the following Bligh Government, started to ramp up the prices and impose progressively more draconian restrictions upon the consumption of that water.

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Wivenhoe Dam and Brisbane Flood Mitigation: A Note from Tony

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 WITH respect to what has happened in this major flood disaster in Brisbane, the role played by the huge Wivenhoe Dam in this flood will be called into question, and as the cleanup is starting now, many more questions will be asked in the wash up, if you’ll excuse the lame pun, and a lot of those questions will have political ramifications.

There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that this monster dam played an absolutely crucial role in preventing what could have been an even worse disaster. I have mentioned earlier that this huge dam held back water that would have made this flood something not worth even contemplating.

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Rockhampton Flooding: Comment from Tony including about the Fitzroy Barrage

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THE river at Rockhampton, even while 25 miles from its mouth at the Pacific Ocean, is still tidal, so the salt water backs up into the river with the tides. Fresh water flows down the river. So as a constant supply of fresh water is maintained for supply to the City, the salt cannot be allowed to mix with the fresh. So the Barrage was constructed across the River, not a dam per se, but just a means to keep the salt out of the fresh. Concrete Pylons were constructed, and in the gaps between them large steel gates were installed…   Read more here: http://papundits.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/the-rockhampton-flood-crisis-the-fitzroy-river-barrage/