Melbourne, 22 March 2010
 

Siemens recommends Australia invests AUD$60billion over the next 10 years in renewable and low CO2 generation technologies, and AUD$23billion over the next 10 years in water infrastructure technologies to make water available for the increasing population

Melbourne, 22 March 2010, World Water Day: Siemens Ltd, a leading provider of global technology-based solutions, today released the findings of a comprehensive research project and presented a technology blueprint for energy and water sustainability in Australia by 2030.
 

The research, titled Picture the Future: Australia – Energy and Water (PTF), is the first research in Australia focussing on technology as the enabler for a sustainable future. It is the culmination of work done in Australia and Germany involving numerous Siemens researchers and a validation process with 22 of Australia’s leading industry bodies including the CSIRO, ABARE, the Bureau of Meteorology, The Clean Energy Council, University Technology Sydney, The University of Newcastle, Monash University, Parsons Brinckerhoff, South East Water, and The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering.
 

Siemens Australia representatives led by Chairman and MD, Albert Goller, presented the research findings at an event in Melbourne, together with Paul Graham from the CSIRO and Chris Davis from UTS.
 

Albert Goller explained how Australia’s challenges can be overcome by technology: "We have many enviable opportunities in Australia such as our abundance of natural resources, and Australia has the potential to be at the forefront of technology. Even the possibility of being a net exporter of clean electricity is realistic for Australia. Implementing technologies will not only help create a sustainable future, but also new skills and job opportunities in remote regions, whilst providing economic growth."
 

Mr. Goller outlined how an investment in infrastructure will provide a future where Australia has no water crises with regards to urban and rural supply; "We have the technology to ensure water is always available in urban areas; we can assist Mother Nature in restoring natural inland water resources; and we can ensure our crops feed the growing population through best practice farming and irrigation."
 

He has a similar vision for Australia’s energy future, "I picture a future where Australians use and export clean electricity due to the integration of our electricity grid in Australia and possibly even South East Asia. I also picture a future where Australians are committed to energy efficiency as a way of life, even in the way we travel."
 

Commenting on the significance of the research, Paul Graham from the CSIRO said: "Siemens’ Picture the Future research provides valuable targets for using Australian-based greenhouse gas abatement options in the energy and transport sectors that simultaneously enhance our industrial base while addressing climate change. It helps us imagine how we can transform our electricity sector in a way that enhances its role in the economy as well as its contribution to greenhouse gas reduction."
 

Chris Davis from UTS reflected on the findings of the research for Australia’s future in water supply saying; "Making urban water systems sustainable for the long haul is challenging and demands complex interventions. Companies like Siemens, which can produce everything from a membrane water purification plant to a washing machine and, crucially, can integrate and control all the components intelligently, are the way of the future."
 

Key Findings for Water:

• PTF findings show that it has been 15 years since the demand for water in Australia outstripped natural supply. The research found that despite current water management strategies, there is still an urgent need to find technical solutions to meet the ever increasing demand for water. According to Siemens, the water challenge can be solved by:
   

1. Securing urban water using technology advancements in areas such as low energy and low environmental impact saltwater desalination, storm water harvesting, advanced wastewater treatment and reuse, and the management of surface and groundwater sources.
2. Improvement in rural water management practices including monitoring, metering and irrigation processes which are sustainable and increase productivity from Australian inland water ways.
3. Integrated water management through the development of Smart Water grids which combine a diverse supply of water with a diverse supply of energy sources, to supply the highest quality water in the most sustainable way.
4. Specific technology applications:

1. The development of Continuous Electro-deionisation technologies to reduce the power requirements of saltwater desalination by 65%. The use of membrane pre-treatment technologies for salt water desalination to reduce the environmental impact of plants by over 10% by eliminating returned coagulated solids.
2. Councils will be able to use their large sewage treatment plants to extract Nitrogen and Phosphorous as well as producing up to 1,400 GL/a water for re-use whilst reducing biological solids produced by 70%. Biogas produced from digestion would power up to 40% of the plants processes.
3. All major urban areas can develop a network of ground water, surface water, desalination plants, waste water re-use systems and storm water catchments managed in real-time to meet the requirements of all users. Supply/demand cost matrixes would be developed and adjusted in real time across Australia.
4. Through smart metering technology the Murray Darling Basin will be able to communicate real-time water needs via a network of remote sensors and provide greatest beneficial use of water whilst allocating up to 2,000GL/a of metered water to environmental flows. Excess water not used can then be traded for maximum return. River flows could potentially be re-supplied through carbon nano-tube humidity farms.
    
5. 1
   
   "A US University was recently visited who do extensive work with their Engineering Students on 3rd world projects.
   
   They are considering using them to help bring Water boatman, WindPump & WindHeater to production stage. Also a boatman variant to combat their local algae problem. This would use wind &/or water current powered distillation to produce 2 bi products - distilled water & algae in pea soup consistency for use as a fertiliser."
   
   
   2
   
   "Tim Flannery in his book 'Here on Earth'  - after a very thorough grounding says  " - if we do not reduce the stream of greenhouse-gas pollution, initiate the end of the 'great 'us' that is our global civilisation."
   
   & " If our civilisation does survive this century. I believe its future prospects will be profoundly enhanced, for this is the moment of our greatest peril." - that's 90 years.
   
   We share his optimism that we will reduce CO2 & get over the Climate Crisis.
   
   While WindWater is focused on making fresh water - albeit without making CO2, WindWays - in its many forms is focused on preventing CO2 being made by the use of electricity or diesel engines.