Sustainability Report 2005-2006
Department of the Environment and Water Resources, 2007
Australian Antarctic Division Environmental Performance
Energy
EN3: Direct energy use segmented by primary source: building energy use
Goals 2005-06
Undertake an energy audit of the AAD complex to identify problems with energy usage and recommend corrective actions by 2006
Performance 2005-06 and trends
Tenant light and power consumption at Kingston in 2005-06 was 14 146 GJ, up 1968 GJ or 16% from 12 178 GJ in 2004-05. Energy use at bases for 2005-06 was 252 243 GJ. Total energy use at all sites was 266 389 GJ.
While an energy audit was not conducted in 2005-06, the following strategies have recently been implemented at AAD headquarters in Kingston for reducing energy consumption:
- optimisation controls installed on the boilers to maintain energy efficiency
- introduction of passive solar glass in parts of new buildings
- installation of window tinting in all buildings
- installation of sun shades on the main AAD buildings
- inclusion of skylights in some AAD buildings
- installation of blinds on all windows to reduce heat loss and solar gain.
Over the past five years, a range of energy-saving initiatives have been put in place at Antarctic stations, including:
- Building Management Control System (BMCS)―a computer-based system that monitors and controls operation of station infrastructure to optimise energy efficiency
- Mawson cold stores―the cold stores (used for long-term food storage) use outside radiators as heat rejection units and have conventional compressors as backup. The cold stores use on average 20 kWh per day compared to the original refrigerated containers which had an estimated usage of over 100 kW per day. The BMCS was connected to the system to control the number of fans and pumps, and the energy usage dropped to 16 kWh, a saving over the “uncontrolled” system of 20%
- installation of wind turbines at Mawson station
- Davis workshop lighting―replacement of 327 old fluorescent tubes with 172 tri-phosphor tubes mounted in new mirror-like reflectors, and replacement of the light switching system and connection to BMCS, leading to a 40% increase in available light levels and a 56% fall in energy usage
- heating of buildings through the use of waste heat given off by the power stations’ diesel generators (co-generation).
The increasing use of wind power and waste heat at stations is related to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2002, as shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Energy use and greenhouse gas emission at Antarctic stations, 2001-06
Data from meter readings at stations
Commentary
All electricity used at Kingston is derived from hydro power. The increase in energy use at Kingston for the reporting period is attributed to a number of cumulative factors including:
- the coldest winter on record
- technical issues with the Building Management and Control System (BMCS)
- boilers brought online Sundays to alleviate the cold winter starts on Monday mornings
- heating coils in the Main Workshop brought online for winter
- humidifiers (approximately 50) online covering each air-conditioning zone
- increased set point for hot water by 15% to cater for design requirements of newly renovated buildings
- temporary accommodation module online for a 6-month period
- five refrigeration units leased to provide temporary cold storage during the planning stage of the new cold storage facility.
At the Antarctic stations, energy is predominantly derived from fossil fuels, but co-generation methods, wind and solar power are increasingly being used. A co-generation system is used to provide both electrical and thermal energy to the stations. The waste heat created by the diesel generators is captured and used to heat water. This water is pumped around station as part of the site services and provides heating for each building. The captured waste heat is usually only sufficient to heat the station for approximately three months during the summer period and subsequently fuel-fired boilers are used to provide additional heating.
Annual fuel usage for the production of thermal and electrical energy at the stations has been decreasing over the past 10 years. The reduction in fuel usage has been the result of an energy management programme that has been in place over that time. The significant decrease in fuel usage at Mawson is due to the introduction of the BMCS and large scale wind turbine generators with sophisticated power control systems.
In addition to providing transport energy for its own operations, AAD also provides the transport energy requirements for a number of other government and international organisations which operate from Australia’s Antarctic stations, including the Bureau of Meteorology and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency.
Goals 2006-07
- Undertake an energy audit of the AAD complex to identify problems with energy usage and recommend corrective actions by 2006
- Develop and implement a five-year strategy to minimise areas of energy waste by 2006
- Continue to investigate the use of renewable energy sources at stations.
Related Indicators
Contents
- Sustainability Report 05-06
- Executive summary
- Vision and strategy
- Our organisation
- Governance
- Policy and influence
- Environmental performance
- Social performance
- Economic performance
- Report assurance statement
- Case studies
- GRI index
Key
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