Stoked to have my, somewhat out there, concept for an interactive website about the energy transition selected in the ANU Engaged initiative (see Prof Schmidt’s announcement here for the full list).
This will invest in a 12 month collaboration with a team creative geniuses from the ANU School of Art & Design and the ANU Communications and Engagement office. Can’t wait!
I was part of a team of 18 independent experts (academics) who developed a comprehensive framework for decarbonising the Australian transport sector in a manner consistent with international best practice (eg shifting trips to public and active transport) and climate science to keep warming within 1.5d.
Below are some takeout snapshots. The full report is available at transportfacts.org and a summary was published in The Conversation.
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New piece in The Conversation
Under the previous federal government, Australia’s approach to emissions reduction was narrow and technology-centred.
The new Labor government – elected on the promise of climate action – has the opportunity to move to a community-based approach. This should ensure any new infrastructure integrates with people’s lives, values, and aspirations.
Such an approach requires proponents and funding bodies (both government and private) to genuinely listen to communities’ needs – right from the early design stage.
If local circumstances are not considered, a trial can be plagued with problems.
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Check out this cool little feature on The Guardian Labs in which I discuss the role of strategies, like FACTS (a Framework for an Australia Clean Transport Strategy), in accelerating the pace of innovation and the decarbonisation transition, as well as steering the transitions to a better future.
As life continues to return to the ANU campus we’re finally able to announce that we’re providing free electric vehicle charging – powered by the DERlab.
Vice Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt said: “I see this as the first small step, or a precursor to having charging available more broadly on campus. I envision a set of EV parking spots will be rolled out across campus in the years to come so people can plug in and charge their EV while the sun is shining and the energy is cheap, rather than, like me, going home when the sun has set and plugging in.
“Here at ANU we are a community of 20,000 people, we have the opportunity to lead the way, implement our own knowledge and show the world how to do it. We will have to make some sacrifices to get ANU Below Zero by 2030 but our community is right behind it,” said Professor Schmidt.
Full story @ BSGIP website
From James Purtill in the ABC
A new kind of charger that allows an electric vehicle (EV) to be used as a giant home battery is close to going on sale in Australia, with the first commercial shipment to arrive within weeks.
Unlike standard one-way EV chargers, bidirectional chargers can also discharge energy from an EV, which means they can be used to power a home (known as vehicle-to-home or V2H) and its appliances, or to export energy to the grid (vehicle-to-grid or V2G).
This may sound simple, but bringing them to Australia has proven difficult.
For years, a mix of regulatory and engineering hurdles have repeatedly pushed back the technology’s rollout date.
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Late last year a book I contributed to was launched by former Australian Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull, who wrote the foreword for the book, and Vice-Chancellor of The Australian National University, Prof Brian Schmidt. The launch can be viewed on youtube below and purchased from Booktopia here.
“Thailand is a standout,” Dr Sturmberg told ST. “You get the feedback loop that comes from local consumer demand complementing government policy and the country’s electric vehicle production capacity.”
Read the whole article here https://www.pressreader.com/singapore/the-straits-times/20211227/281788517387777
The electrified depot will run as a test bed for other fleet-owners, with the ANU working on a platform that will interpret data for use as a planning tool.
The lumbering, growling buses that prowl Sydney’s Inner West have slowly been joined by silent electric versions over the past year, but the pace of change is about to speed up as the Leichhardt bus depot and the fleet housed there are electrified.
Full story in EcoGeneration https://www.ecogeneration.com.au/sydney-bus-depot-transitions-to-electric-with-40-e-buses-36-chargers-387kw-rooftop-pv-and-2-5mw-storage/