Raising demand for renewable energy

German Greens MP Hans-Josef Fell will speak at UNSW on May 14 about the successful impact of feed-in tariffs in raising the demand for renewable energy.

Mr Fell, who is the German Government's envoy for the International Renewable Energy Agency, will reveal new research findings about the decline in fossil fuel production capacity.

He framed the German Renewable Energy Sources Law, which guarantees cost-covering feed-in tariffs for electricity derived from biomass, wind and solar power. The policy aims to increase the percentage of renewable energy used in Germany by the year 2010.

Feed-in tariffs, which operate in almost 50 countries, are an incentive to encourage the adoption of renewable energy by obliging electricity utilities to buy renewable electricity at above market rates to aid the cost disadvantages of renewable energy sources.

The retail price of electricity generated from renewable sources is typically more expensive than the retail price of electricity generated from fossil fuels. A feed-in tariff is a revenue neutral way of making the installation of renewable energy more appealing.

Mr Fell's speech at UNSW is sponsored by the University's Institute of Environmental Studies and the World Council for Renewable Energy. He will also launch the book, Urban Energy Transition (Elsevier), edited by Peter Droege, Chair WCRE (Asia Pacific).

What: Public Lecture - The Rise of the Renewable Energy AgeWhen: Wednesday 14 May 2008, 6:00-7:30pmWhere: Law Theatre G04, UNSW Kensington CampusRSVP: Sarah Terkes, 02 9385 5759 or s.terkes@bmwhi.org.au

Media contact for Mr Fell: Peter Droege, 02 9211 0515, droege@epolis.com.auUNSW media contacts: Mark Diesendorf, 0402 940892, Dan Gaffney, 0411 156 015

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