Comments on: Our energy dilemma: biggest loser – or clean winner? http://www.thecleanrevolution.com.au/2009/09/our-energy-dilemma-biggest-loser-%e2%80%93-or-clean-winner/ Growing Prosperity in a Greenhouse Age Tue, 27 Sep 2011 23:00:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: Ben http://www.thecleanrevolution.com.au/2009/09/our-energy-dilemma-biggest-loser-%e2%80%93-or-clean-winner/comment-page-1/#comment-116 Ben Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:07:01 +0000 http://www.thecleanrevolution.com.au/?p=460#comment-116 Thanks for the comment Arjan! I completely agree that the single biggest barrier to that low carbon future is the transition phase between idea and commercialisation. It is always difficult to overcome the long-horizon for returns in the market-place and I absolutely agree thats where the government with tax breaks and direct seed funding should come in - we have to remember that's how much of Toyota/Honda success came about through government incentives. Thanks for the comment Arjan! I completely agree that the single biggest barrier to that low carbon future is the transition phase between idea and commercialisation. It is always difficult to overcome the long-horizon for returns in the market-place and I absolutely agree thats where the government with tax breaks and direct seed funding should come in – we have to remember that’s how much of Toyota/Honda success came about through government incentives.

]]> By: Arjan Wilkie http://www.thecleanrevolution.com.au/2009/09/our-energy-dilemma-biggest-loser-%e2%80%93-or-clean-winner/comment-page-1/#comment-115 Arjan Wilkie Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:22:42 +0000 http://www.thecleanrevolution.com.au/?p=460#comment-115 While this review and the book itself rightly trumpet the (only)direction in which we need to steer our economy; both are short on the detailed policy initiatives that are required to commercialise emerging low- or zero-carbon technologies. In Australia we have plenty of good R&D, and we have a few punters willing to try new ideas when they are available "off the shelf". The gap is the problem - how do we incentivise the commercialisation pathway through pilot scale, to demonstration scale and then full commercial deployment? RET won't do that, more R&D funding wont do it either. The private-public model needs to be applied to this with agressive tax concessions, seed money, planning fast-tracking, and ongoing funding (in exchange for equity) for a sufficient period to bridge this gap. In most cases it is a 5 -10 year committment to bring R&D to the market in a commercial form. Globally the winners will be those nations that invest in this important transition phase; the Nokias, Toyotas, Vestas and so forth all enjoy this level of support and committment in their home countries. There is a list of specific Australian Technologies that are currently struggling with this gap and they need to be sheparded through it as quickly as possible. The low-carbon economy is a race, in the technology sense. Once a technology establishes itself in a niche, then it is hard to fill that niche with a competitor. Australia needs to fill as many of these niches as it can! I think Bens book is a pearler - its really good to see the Australian context in print; I think its the best book of its kind since The Weathermakers. What was particulalry refreshing was the use of new anecdotes (canadian diamonds), new corporate examples (nokia, toyota, honda), and a clearly imagined and articulated domestic future (Australia 2050). We need to imagine the future before we can plot the path to reaching it, and Ben has done a great job of doing exactly that. While this review and the book itself rightly trumpet the (only)direction in which we need to steer our economy; both are short on the detailed policy initiatives that are required to commercialise emerging low- or zero-carbon technologies. In Australia we have plenty of good R&D, and we have a few punters willing to try new ideas when they are available “off the shelf”. The gap is the problem – how do we incentivise the commercialisation pathway through pilot scale, to demonstration scale and then full commercial deployment? RET won’t do that, more R&D funding wont do it either. The private-public model needs to be applied to this with agressive tax concessions, seed money, planning fast-tracking, and ongoing funding (in exchange for equity) for a sufficient period to bridge this gap. In most cases it is a 5 -10 year committment to bring R&D to the market in a commercial form. Globally the winners will be those nations that invest in this important transition phase; the Nokias, Toyotas, Vestas and so forth all enjoy this level of support and committment in their home countries. There is a list of specific Australian Technologies that are currently struggling with this gap and they need to be sheparded through it as quickly as possible. The low-carbon economy is a race, in the technology sense. Once a technology establishes itself in a niche, then it is hard to fill that niche with a competitor. Australia needs to fill as many of these niches as it can!

I think Bens book is a pearler – its really good to see the Australian context in print; I think its the best book of its kind since The Weathermakers. What was particulalry refreshing was the use of new anecdotes (canadian diamonds), new corporate examples (nokia, toyota, honda), and a clearly imagined and articulated domestic future (Australia 2050). We need to imagine the future before we can plot the path to reaching it, and Ben has done a great job of doing exactly that.

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