Renewable Energy
Find renewable energy information, products and suppliers in Australia.
With climate experts now saying we need to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 80 per cent or more to avoid catastrophic climate change, renewable energy has become an issue central to our future.
The key benefit of most renewable energy technologies is that they do not produce greenhouse gas emissions.
(In fact biofuels - burning wood or other plants for fuel - does release CO2, but is considered carbon neutral because the same amount of CO2 was recently absorbed when the plants were growing.)
EcoDirectory is a consumer-focused directory, so our listings concentrate on "microgeneration" - renewable power you can generate in your home, office or factory. The best-known is solar - both solar hot water and photovoltaic solar panels. You can also buy domestic wind turbines, while efficient wood heaters are a form of biofuel.
Currently, solar hot water is by far the most cost-effective form of renewable energy for microgeneration. However, solar panels could become a lot cheaper in coming years as the technology develops, and provide an insurance against rising electricity prices in future.
However, much renewable energy R&D focuses on largescale projects as potential alternatives to fossil fuels such as coal for the electricity grid. These emerging technologies include large windfarms, thermal solar power, geothermal power, wave and tidal power.
Hydro-electricity is another clean renewable energy, but opportunities for new hydro-electric power generation in Australia are limited.