Thought leaders, experts, tech folks, environment and climate organisations, government representatives and more gathered in Brisbane on 27 August for the Smart Energy Qld Conference.
There was a buzz in the room as the discussion of solar, renewables and climate action went up a level in the lead-up to imminent Queensland State Election, next year's Federal Election and a growing sense of urgency to address the impacts of the climate crisis being already felt across the state right now.
It was fitting the conference was kicked off with this sage reminder from Stephanie Bashir, Next Adivisory CEO and Smart Energy Council non-executive board member, "Every time we meet we are closer to the emission reduction deadlines of 2025, 2035, 2050".
And this was followed in quick succession by a rousing speech from former Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk who reminded conference attendees of the Sunshine State's natural advantage with abundant sunshine resources and that the road to the world’s clean energy future runs straight through Australia.
She also noted clean energy is already the people’s choice. An impressive 1 million rooftops in Queensland are currently generating the equivalent amount of power as the state's four largest coal-fired power stations. This is a remarkable achievement and shows how far solar and renewables have come.
And there are big opportunities for growth ahead.
The Consumer Energy Panel returned time and again to a similar theme, one of the best kept secrets is how much of the solar revolution is people powered. With cost of living is top of mind for Queenslanders heading to the state polls, solar and energy efficiency are on the agenda as bill-busting solutions for households and climate pollution.
Nigel Freitas from Brighte made a clear statement: We are no longer only consumers of energy. Our homes are energy assets - making energy and returning it to the grid - and the regulation will have to change to reflect this new reality. He said home storage of energy will be a game changer.
Our own new Qld Energy Campaigner, Philippa England, asked the panel - does everyone need a household battery or will electric vehicles serve the same purpose for energy storage?
Spoiler alert: there were differing views on storage on the panel, although they seemed to agree on the importance of home storage, if not the best form for the future needs of our Queensland homes.
The pace did not let up in the afternoon, with some truths on power from Ariane Wilkinson, expert in climate, energy and environmental law and currently working on policy at WWF. She told it straight - Australia and Queensland's 2030 climate targets fall well short of a 50% chance of holding global warming to 1.5 degrees.
Ariane shared a powerful infographic on the importance of stabilising global warming to 1.5 degrees, similar to the one here.
For example, the data from an IPCC special report shows extreme heat would be 2.6 times worse at 2 degrees of warming versus 1.5 degrees. Coral reefs around the world, including our iconic Great Barrier Reef, would suffer up to a 99% decline at 2 degrees, they would all be dead for all intents and purposes. Coral reefs suffer 70-90% decline at 1.5 degrees, perhaps a fighting chance.
The conference affirmed our view at Solar Citizens that there is no time to waste, we need a race-to-the-top on solar and renewables at this State election. The week prior to the event we launched our 9-point solar plan to save half a million Queensland households about $1,700 per year on their energy bills.
The plan has the potential to deliver an additional 500,000 rooftop solar installations and 200,000 household batteries focuses on the two-thirds of Queensland households that are currently locked out of the rooftop solar revolution. You can read more detail and the full plan here