Are you prepared for fires and floods?

On Saturday 11 February there’s an opportunity to see how your property will stand up to a natural hazard using a ‘Simtable’, a sophisticated “digital sand table” that displays high quality models of natural hazards such as bushfires and floods.

The Simtable will be the conversation starter at the members morning tea sign-up being co-hosted by the Coal Point Progress Association (CPPA) and Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group (TASNG) at Progress Hall, 197 Skye Point Rd Coal Point, 10am-noon.

The Simtable works by showing a simulation of how a hazard moves across and impacts a landscape. Because it uses local maps and data, the Simtable provides a highly realistic demonstration of how individual properties and the broader community may be affected, improving our community’s awareness of these hazards and how best to prepare and respond, in this climate changing world we’re in. If you want to do a deep dive into your property an RSVP is essential.

The event is also an opportunity to join your local community organisations CPPA and TASNG. Membership forms will be available and morning tea will be provided.

Please RSVP for catering purposes using the link or you can register by phone/SMS 0438 596 741 or email cppasecretary@gmail.com.

RSVP 

https://hub.givar.com/connect/org/coalpointprogress/campaigns/simtable-simulations-for-fire-and-flood-preparedness-members-morning-tea

Burgeoning Battery Power

There’s a local boon in battery power happening.

Eraring is Australia’s largest power station supplying around a quarter of NSW’s energy needs and is Origin Energy’s only coal-fired generator.  

Origin has reached an important milestone in its plans to develop a large-scale battery at Eraring Power Station, receiving planning approval from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE).  

 

The proposed Eraring battery has an overall capacity of up to 700 MW and a dispatch duration of 4 hours, making it Australia’s largest battery project to achieve planning approval to date.  

There is also  a proposed Awaba Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), a 50MW stand-alone battery to be located adjacent to Ausgrid's Awaba Substation on Awaba Road.

Once operational, the Awaba BESS will provide a range of electricity and power market services - supporting Firm Power's mission to power the clean energy transition.

The Awaba BESS forms part of the Hunter Dispatchable Energy System (HDES) - a distributed stand-alone battery system for the Hunter region, designed to balance the grid and support the performance and future uptake of renewable energy in NSW.  View a Fact Sheet of the Awaba BESS project.

Firm Power are currently preparing  a socio-economic impact assessment (SEIA) for the BESS in Awaba. As part of this process, they are conducting a community survey to better understand community values, challenges and aspirations as well as potential impacts and benefits associated with the proposal.

The community survey is an opportunity for you to let them know:

• about your local area,

• what is important to you,

• any concerns you may have, 

• your views on project benefits.

You can find out more about the project at Awaba BESS | Firm Power, and take the community survey at Awaba Battery Energy Storage System Survey.

A prosperous future for the Hunter

Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) is a think tank that aims to demonstrate through independent research and innovative solutions how Australia can prosper in a zero-emissions economy.

In April BZE released the Hunter Renewable Energy Industrial Precinct Briefing (HREIP) Paper – Securing the Hunter’s reputation as a global force in energy.

This briefing paper shows the enormous scale of renewable powered industries that could be developed as part of a HREIP, including the build-out of new renewable energy and electrical infrastructure over the next ten years. By 2032 it can:

• Unlock new capital investment of $28 billion,
• Create 34,000 new ongoing local jobs in new manufacturing and service industries,
• Generate $11 billion in revenue per annum,
• Protect existing manufacturing jobs by repowering them with renewable energy, and
• Make the Hunter attractive and competitive for energy intensive industry

There has to be a future beyond coal and the Hunter is well placed to be at the forefront of the transition.

If the dire consequences of a business-as-usual approach in a climate changing world are not heeded in the next decade the window of opportunity that offers a glimpse of hope will indeed close.

However if you look back over the past 10 years our life has changed considerably with the advent of streaming services, Instagram, Uber, Siri, drones, online DNA testing, ipads and man buns. A lot can happen in a decade but it will be people that make it happen quicker and the politicians will just have to catch up.

The Australian Conservation Foundation recently commissioned YouGov to conduct Australia’s Biggest Climate Poll, polling a nationally representative sample of more than 15,000 Australian voters on a range of questions on climate change and government action. You can read the full polling report here 

Together We Can is a collection of everyday Australians, groups and businesses from all over the country who want more action taken to address climate change.

The ideas expressed in both the reports are consistent with the CPPA’s constitution.

Climate Action Now – Treating Trees with Respect

The next contribution from the Sixth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is due to be released in April and will focus on methods for reducing emissions or removing them from the atmosphere. Council will soon release its draft Urban Heat and Urban Greening Strategies for public comment.

Trees are increasingly being recognised internationally and locally as critical infrastructure in a climate changing future. We need strategies, plans, resources and community action to protect them.

One way we can all do a little bit is by keeping our City’s trees intact and healthy where we can. This is becoming increasingly challenging because Council’s Ranger resources required to protect trees from illegal removal have been reduced.

Whilst there are Council rules about the process of removing native trees, recently the CPPA was contacted by distressed locals trying to address illegal tree removal on Australia Day , a majestic gum (pic). When locals rang Council they were advised “it’s after hours and Council can’t do anything about it”. Similarly an early Sunday morning call, another concerned neighbour, another magnificent gum, Council’s reply, ”someone will be out tomorrow”. These trees have framed the community and whilst on private land they are a part of the larger community, and as a silent majority are in desperate need of a loud voice.

A quick email alerting our local Councillors to the issue may provide an avenue to increase the Ranger budget to support tree retention in our community. Whilst Council is busy formulating plans to support trees on public land without efforts to protect those on private land, the majority of the land in the City, the battle for urban greening will be hard fought.

A positive development is that the Lake Macquarie Sustainable Neighbourhood Alliance is highlighting the value of trees through the ReLeaf Lake Mac initiative. This initiative aims to increase tree canopy cover and green spaces across Lake Macquarie to address climate change and urban heating, which is identified as a concern around Toronto and Carey Bay. During the summer of 2015-16 some areas of Toronto were 9 0C above baseline data for the City.

ReLeaf Lake Mac envisions a vital network of grassroots groups working in partnership with each other, businesses, and Council across Lake Macquarie. Through these efforts, our community will value the urban forest as being integral to the quality of life, economic well-being, and a sustainable global environment.

The target is to increase tree canopy and native vegetation coverage to 50% in residential zones and 70% across the city. The Releaf LakeMac website has information about the benefits of green spaces, and how everyone can help to enhance the liveability of our city and protect the environment.

What are your favourite trees and green spaces in Lake Mac and what do you value most about them? It might be a bushland reserve, a special tree, a local park, your backyard or balcony. Who are our local bush champions, working to care for and enhance our green spaces? Please email ReLeafLakeMac@gmail.com with your story, photos or video so that it can be included on the website for others to enjoy. Visit releaflakemac.org.au to find out more, and to submit your stories or join the conversation on facebook https://www.facebook.com/releaflakemac

Climate Action Now Bin stickers and signs available at Progress Hall and https://www.climateaction.org.au/

Climate Action on Our Doorstep

Just 14 km away is Eraring Power Station (EPS), owned and operated by Origin Energy. EPS has four 720 megawatt (MW) coal fired units, and one 42MW diesel fuelled gas turbine.

Eraring is Australia’s largest power station with a generating capacity of 2922MW, and accounts for approximately 25 percent of New South Wales’ power requirements.

In January 2021, Origin announced plans to progress the development of a major grid scale battery at Eraring.

This battery has a potential peak generation output of 700 MW. If it goes ahead it will be one of the largest battery projects (in terms of both peak power output and energy duration) in NSW and Australia.

Large-scale batteries can in theory be placed anywhere along the electricity grid. However, to take advantage of the infrastructure already in place and reduce the cost of the energy produced, Origin is looking at installing large-scale battery technology at many of their existing power stations, including the a 700MW battery project at the Eraring Power station.

Interestingly, a large-scale battery located next to a power station is not powered by the power station. Large-scale batteries operate independently, are connected to the grid and can continue to operate when the power station is not running or even after it may have been retired from service. Origin has committed to exiting coal-fired generation by 2032 and we anticipate that the capacity at Eraring will be replaced by a combination of renewables, battery storage and gas peaking power stations.

This was an excerpt from https://www.originenergy.com.au/blog/how-large-scale-batteries-support-renewables/