ERGON ENERGY
example the 4,000 inhabitants of Thursday Island used to rely entirely on diesel generation but now has a $ 25 million wind generation plant that saves up to 600,000 litres of diesel and 1,700 tonnes of greenhouse gases each year .
Innovation is only useful if it is developed in line with future demand . Everyone gets excited about electric vehicles ( EVs ), and Nimmo has spent a lot of time travelling to countries like the USA , Taiwan and the UK helping develop EV models . As we spoke , he had just returned from Ergon partner Mitsubishi in Japan for discussions about the second generation Outlander 4x4 hybrid . “ We were talking about range extension , battery recycling and battery life . In Australia we have growing numbers of EVs and PHEV ’ s on the road : in five years ’ time we can expect a multiple of those battery packs coming back and we can make use of these . They have potential use in the grid , people ’ s homes or in industry if we ask the questions about how they can be repurposed .”
The current regulatory framework in most countries is not keeping up with technology , he warns . The