Councillor Chris Harris

The technology now exists to allow us to massively cut our greenhouse gas emissions, as I hope has become apparent from my many previous posts on this topic.  Renewable and low emissions energy technology has advanced so much in the last few years that the barriers against their widespread uptake, and against the replacement of dirty and inefficient coal fired power, are no longer technological but political.

One only need look at the pathetic attempts by both the Labor and Liberal parties over recent months to pass off a 5% reduction in emissions as meaningful action on climate change to know that the political will is nowhere to be seen in the major parties.

It has therefore fallen upon individuals to take responsibility for this most pressing of issues and next week I will attempt to use my role as a councillor to make it easier for indivduals to markedly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

I will be moving a motion that Council call for expressions of interest from providers of low emissions power production systems, such as solar or trigeneration technology.  Council will assess the technologies on offer from the providers and promote those deemed most appropriate to the City’s rate base and possibly offer a rate rebate (at the provider’s expense) to residents who install the chosen systems.

It’s a win win situation.  Residents get cheaper access to low emissions technologies which have been assessed as being reliable by the City.  The provider gets significant promotion of their product for free, which will likely more than offset their losses from providing a rebate.  The City gets to reduce emissions produced within the Local Government Area which will help it reach it’s 2030 environmental performance targets and ultimately we all win through inhabiting a slightly cleaner, greener planet.

This motion will be going to Council on the 26th of July and I hope the other Councillors will be able to act where state and federal governments have failed and support this important endeavour. 

Update:  My motion was enthusiastically seconded by Lord Mayor Clover Moore and supported unanimously by the Council.

The draft planning proposal for Harold Park was presented to Council’s Planning, Development and Transport Committee On Monday 19th July.  The plan can be found here.  I have mixed feelings on the plan and when it comes back to Council next week I will support it being exhibited for community comment but will not give it an endorsement until the public have had the oppurtunity to make their feelings known and unless some of my concerns are addressed.  Below is a media release which summarises my views on the planning proposal. 

For more details on the redevelopment of Harold Park, please see this earlier post on the issue.

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Harold Park planning proposal a mixed bag 

City of Sydney Greens Councillor Chris Harris says he has mixed feelings about the newly released planning proposal for the Harold Park site in Glebe, to be considered by Council on Monday the 19th July.  “It’s great to see it committing to the site being 35% open space” he said.  “This is something that myself and Greens Mayor of Leichardt Council Jamie Parker have been demanding for some time now. I applaud the proposal for 50 affordable housing units that will form part of the Voluntary Planning Agreement and I am pleased that any bonus FSR allowance is tied to a 25% performance above the weak BASIX requirements set down by the state government. I also support the heritage listing of the Tramsheds”

However Clr Harris said he was disappointed that the maximum height of the buildings was still eight stories and that the number of apartments proposed was 1200.  “An eight storey development will not be in keeping with the predominant low rise housing stock in Glebe and Annandale. There will be issues of overshadowing and visual impact on the cherished heritage streets above the cliff tops in Glebe. I would prefer to see a height limit of around six stories.”

“I’m also concerned about the effects of 1000 plus parking spaces for residents and the possibility of hundreds more for retail & commercial development in the Tramsheds. If this plan were to be approved there would be around 1500 cars “living” in an area that currently has only a handful.  The traffic report acknowledges that key intersections are already at capacity and I find it inconceivable that these extra cars will not have an impact on an already over capacity road network. This should be a low car precinct so that it attracts people who want to live close to the city and who don’t want to own a car. Catering for endless increases in car use is not a sustainable strategy”

Clr Harris said that the City and the State Government would have to work very closely with Metotransit, the operators of the Sydney light rail service, to make sure this currently under-utilised mode of transport is accessible and attractive to the people who will live here. “The tramline right nearby creates an opportunity to reduce car use and give people a viable option for transport. Unmet private car needs can be taken up with car share and I note that the Development Control Plan requires developers to provide car share spaces.”
 
“Another concern is the open possibility of a major retailer putting a supermarket in the Tramsheds. This will lead to pressure for more car access and car parking on the site. I believe this needs to be clarified before council signs off on the planning scheme

“The proposal has some good initiatives but it is still weighted far too heavily in favour of the Trotting Club and its single minded desire to maximise the development potential and therefore the sale price of the site. The Club acquired the Tramsheds in a dodgy deal with its mates in the state government and we need to see that unwarranted benefit unwound via a bigger dividend to the community. That dividend could be delivered by reducing car use on the site and reducing the density of the residential development.”
  

Opponents of renewable energy love to trot out the tired old line that it can’t provide baseload power.  This statement has been incorrect for many years and as technology continues to develop (despite the pathetic investment made in this area by both state and Federal governments) the ability of renewables to meet all our power needs continues to grow.

One of the most exciting areas of development is in the field of solar thermal electricity generation, which I have previously discussed here.  Very briefly, solar thermal power captures energy from the sun to produce heat to boil water which turns a turbine, in the same way as a conventional power station uses the heat from burning coal to turn a turbine.  The big advantage of solar thermal power over other forms of renewable energy generation, such as wind and solar photovoltaic (which generates electricity directly from sunlight via a chemical process) is that the energy produced can be easily stored.  Heat generated from sunlight can be contained in insulated storage units for several days, to be released to produce electricity when it is needed, including at night and on cloudy days.

Solar thermal electricity generation has already shown what it can do in large projects like the massive Andasol power plant in Spain.  Currently two thirds complete this plant already produces 100 MW of power for the local electricity grid and when completed in 2011 will save 450 000 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere per year.  Such projects make an enormous contribution to improving sustainability but require a significant investment from governments – an investment which state and Federal governments in Australia are sadly unprepared to make.

Is there some way that individuals or local councils can take advantage of this exciting new technology in the absence of government leadership?  

Very soon there will be.

Work by an Australian company, to be officially announced in coming weeks, will make solar thermal power generation accessible to individuals with small scale generators capable of being installed on homes.  Equipped with insulated water tanks able to store heat - and therefore electricity generating potential - for up to three days, these systems will be able to produce more than twice the average household’s electricity needs.  Any electricity produced beyond what is used can be sold back to the grid.

Such technologies show that the tired old arguments of those opposed to renewable energy because of their own vested interests no longer hold any water.  I will be working to encourage the City of Sydney to install solar thermal power systems, along with a number of other sustainable energy technologies, in council owned buildings so that their potential can be demonstrated and independently assessed.  Ultimately I would like to see the City partner with the producers of whichever systems are shown to be most effective at reducing emissions in order to facilitate a roll-out of these to as many homes in the city as possible.  I look forward to working with staff over the coming months to make this happen and contribute to helping prevent dangerous climate change in a way that our governments are failing to do.