Salinity Control in Dryland Agriculture in Australia

Question: Discuss about the Salinity Control in Dryland Agriculture in Australia. Answer: Explain the difference between a country having installed renewable energy capacity, and having a strong renewable energy manufacturing industry, using one country of your choice as an example. Renewable energy has been gaining a lot of support with many countries adopting it. A country having installed renewable energy capacity means that the country has the structures in position, which leads to the production of the renewable energy (Chandrasekaran 2016). Also, the installed renewable energy capability means that the respective countries are benefiting a lot from the production of the renewable energy using these structures. In this respect, India is one of the countries, which is managing an installed renewable energy capacity. The country was the first one to set up a ministry of non-convectional energy in the world in the 1980s. With the structures, India has been able to attain a production capacity of 42.78 GW as on 30 April 2016. Current, the country has a total installed capacity of 44,783.33 W of renewable energy. On the other hand, a country with a strong renewable energy manufacturing industry involves the country to have structures such as the machinery, engineering capabilities, equipment, minerals, and metal production among other infrastructures (European Renewable Energy Council 2004). Queensland, which is a state in Australia, is one of the countries with such high renewable energy manufacturing industry. The country has strong access and availability of the natural resources, supply networks and manufacturing sector, which aids to support the renewable energy activities. The stable environment that can support these activities is the primary definition of the strong renewable energy manufacturing industry. Also, high technology is also used to define the progressive manufacturing nature of the renewable energy industry. What are the main differences between the U.S. and Chinas approaches to developing renewable energy? Regarding renewable energy, China depends on the development of firms and facilities on which they can generate the energy and invention of new facilities to move their agenda for the renewable energy. On the other hand, U.S relies on coming up with laws and regulations which will enhance the adoption of the renewable energy. This is the main reason behind the U.S blocking the facilities and instrument, which are developed by China to strengthen the adoption of renewables. Also, China is so diverse in investing in different renewable energy sources (Elena, Michael and Julia 2014). The diverse investment can be seen from the various investment China is doing to the sector. China has invested in different forms of renewable energy and reports indicate that by the year 2020 China will own about 40 percent of the total worlds renewable energy. This is unlike the United States who are obsessed with the natural gas and thus leading to them missing the point. The U.S is missing the signific ant economic opportunity with the different concentration. China is using innovation on technology to implement and test their renewable sources of energy. U.S is still bragging of the infrastructure they have and failing to deliver their models on renewable energy (Fogarty and Robert 2012). The implementation of technology to achieve the goals of the renewable energy goals is the primary basis of China. China is exploring in all angles to achieve higher renewable energy sources unlike U.S. This shows a significant difference in the way the U.S and China move to attain their renewable energy goals. Where do you see the need for innovation in the area of small wind turbines in the built environment? When developing the renewable energy from small wind turbines in the built environment, the changes of the speed of wind causes significant variations in the energy generation. According to research done by Gagliano et al., (2013), any small reduction of the wind velocities can cause major drops in energy production. Innovation on the control of the wind speeds is needed where an additional speed of wind need to be generated to help a continuous and massive generation of energy through this method. Acceleration of the wind can be a great option and area of innovation, which would allow more power generation. For instance, introduction a sloped side to increase the wind speed might be a great innovation that would be able to enhance the continuous massive production of energy. The innovation in this sector should be aimed and increasing the factors which lead to an increase of energy generation and reduction of the factors which lower the generation. Small wind turbines depend on the wind for the production of the energy. Innovation on enhancing on tapping the wind from a different direction is required. Turbulent wind can occur on separate occasions, which lead to the misleading of the turbines. A mechanism that can detect the stronger side of wind is required to enhance the maximum generation of the energy (Howe 2015). A smart grid which will be able to determine and control the different factors which affect the generation of power through this method need to be innovated. This mechanism has to be self-controlled such that it can n correct the factors and enhance the generation of sustainable energy. What lessons have been learnt from the Kalbarri grid-connected PV demonstration project The Kalbarri grid-connected PV is a power station, which is located in Western Australia. The project of power was commissioned in 1995 with a grid of 20kW and connected to a photovoltaic plant to test the state of the art inverter. One of the major lesson learned from this project was the ability and experience to operate and maintain the PV installation (Dymond, 1997). The combination had not been done before, and this project proved that the running of the two grids was possible. The pilot project has shown on the viability of the PV installation and their sustainability. Since from its commissioning, the project performance has been described as excellent and good energy generations. Another lesson from this project is the working of the PV technology in a grid support application. The success of the project has been a lesson on new ways of generating renewable energy considering the power generation of the system. The experience of the inverter and the PV technology has provided a great lesson for the future of the power generation on different capacities (Farmer et al. 1995). Moreover, the location of the project from the non-city location has been able to show that the management of such project in those areas is possible. Since the project has been successful with zero accident casualties, lessons on proper administration of the project have been learned. The management has been done on both the weekly and monthly basis and proving that such a source of renewable energy can be managed from a distance. Is the use of landfill gas an example of sustainable development? Give reasons for your answer. Landfill gas is a mixture of gasses which are created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill. The gas composes of about sixty-percentage methane and forty carbon dioxide with other elements less than one per cent. Due to the increase of the landfills, landfill gas is becoming a sustainable development form of energy source. First, one of the major process, which the landfill gas depend on, is the chemical reactions between the wastes and other components. The results keep on occurring each day, and this is the main reason beyond the sustainability of the landfill development (Canada 1998). The compound, which reacts producing the landfill gas, are present all through and therefore the landfill gas may be a development that will offer great solutions to the energy crisis. Also, the landfill gas is natural and therefore increasing the sustainability of the landfill gas top produce energy. Moreover, the landfill gasses can be collected and used for different purposes. The gasses can be a form of electricity as well as combustion purposes. These different methods can offer reasons why the landfill gas is a sustainable development (Thorneloe et al. 1996). The landfill gas is environmentally friendly when managed well, and this offers an opportunity to attaining sustainable energy production. The development of the landfill gas is a great innovation, which will provide a clean source of renewables to the world. According to the U.S. waste management department, the landfill gas can produce enough energy to power more than four thousand homes in a day. Discuss the environmental and social benefits of the Integrated Wood Processing (IWP) facility. What role did innovation play in the project? One of the major benefits of IWP facility is an increase of the climate variability. The facility can enhance the climatic condition in the area and thus act as an environmental benefit. Also, the plants can contribute to an increase on-farm salinity. The IWP helps to improve the agricultural developments in the forests and water catchments on the other hand (Abare 2008). All these contribute to the additional advantage regarding the improvement of the environmental conditions of the areas where the facilities exist. Some of the significant social benefits from such facilities include the benefits to achieving road accessibility and development of other infrastructure while addressing salinity. The service helps to assist the communities in the social sense as the different stakeholders try to improve and achieve their goals (Bartle et al. 2007, p.115). The roads to the facilities will be enhanced in the end, and this will socially benefit the communities and people living near the p rojects. Another social benefit from such service is the creation of local employment. The existence of the facilities will create jobs to the local members and thus try to lift their financial and social welfare. Job creation in the communities will help to bring the communities together and uplift their social wellbeing. Innovation played a significant role in the genetic improvement of the species and enhancing the woods breeds. The genetic improvements help in the control of pests and diseases increasing the survival of the trees. Besides, the improvement also aids in the growth of the yield of the trees. References Bartle JR, Olsen G, Cooper D and Hobbs T 2007, Scale of biomass production from new woody crops for salinity control in dryland agriculture in Australia. International Journal of Global Energy Issues, 27 2; 115-137 Abare 2008, Energy in Australia 2008. Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Canberra