Other Technology solutions
Biofuels
To date these have gotten a bad name. Early candidates for petroleum substitutes look like negative sum solutions. But this avenue of clean energy has a long way to run. Alot of research is underway in many areas. One New Zealand company believes it can make a form of biodiesel from muncipal sewage. Several companies are claiming progress in developing the precursors of biofuels from particular forms of algae. Some Australian researchers believes certain forms of organic waste can be made into energy, while still others beleve hardy trees like jatropha will yield new energy stocks. It's far too early to write off this industry. Too much is happening.
Ocean Generated Air Conditioning
Air conditioning consumes huge amounts of energy, so much so that it can cause blackouts by overloading the grid on hot afternoons. Solutions are desperately needed. One of these is to let the ocean do the work. Below the surface of the sea, water temperatures drop sharply. Why not take this cold water and pump it through buildings to cool the air? It's such an incredibly simple idea it's hard to believe no one's thought of it before. One company, Honolulu Seawater AC, is moving ahead with a trial deployment. Shoud it succeed, the replication potential for Australia would be immense.
Smart Electricity Grids
So much has been written about the huge energy savings that can be achieved by revamping energy systems that ASFEE won't add to the literature. However, the potential is huge. It can and should be bundled into the overall restructuring of the global energy industry as aging assets in both electricity generation and transmission are replaced.