Tag Archives: Garry Baverstock

Making History!

In 2004 Garry Baverstock AM, wrote the history of the Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society (ANZSES) for the progress of solar energy applications over a 50 year period (1954 – 2004).

It was written for a published volume for the International Solar energy Society (ISES) over a two year period. The introduction for the ANZSES  and its global history was written by the famous Professor David Mills, one of the world’s experts on solar thermal power plants. Gary wrote the chapters for Australia.

For many years, the history was a prominent focus of the Australia Solar Council website but with a shift in the focus from R&D to marketing, the new Smart Energy Council has revived it – https://www.smartenergy.org.au/

It is a truism that if a society that does not value its history, will mean large mistakes can be made. The unique feature of the people involved in the history of solar energy in Australia and New Zealand was considered and careful. With having just a commercial focus, the danger is that energy generation could go up blind alleys and not see the lessons of history. The time scales involved are beyond anyone’s lifestyle.

 

For more information:

https://issuu.com/solarcouncil/docs/anzses-history

New Power Storage of Energy the Way to the Future?

Power Storage of Energy

New Way of Relating to the Grid

There have been innovations and cutting-edge technology that has seen Lithuim-ion batteries and Tessler Walls reduce in price dramatically and this could change the whole way that people relate to the power grid.

Solar-E founder, Garry Baverstock AM feels that current prices need to reduce at least 50% more before people would even consider disconnecting from the grid.

Having said that, Garry feels that disconnecting from the grid is probably not a good idea at all for a number of reasons; one being security. Also, he feels the economics would still need to be proved.

Peak Load Savings

In the future, a great way for the consumer and Western Power to save energy at peak loading such as happened in Perth’s recent heat wave, was to save some solar power stored for night-time use rather than tax the system during daylight hours.

steve garry factory

Storing Solar Energy

Garry went on to say that the big breakthrough in the future for storage in solar energy would be high-tech controls to store the energy into the mass of the building. The bricks and the concrete will store the thermal energy rather than going through an intermediary like a battery, and dealing direct with DC power in heating and cooling buildings rather than a large slab of power required to be stored in batteries.

Thermal Energy Storage via Hot Water

In hot water systems, the water will store the energy for use the next morning. Thermal storage rather electrical storage is the way of the future and much cheaper, Garry remarked and we already have the storage there, we are just not using it.

Convert Australian’s Existing Brick Houses

Looking to the near future, we can convert brick houses around Australia to be thermal storage devices so suppliers like Western Power doesn’t need to deal with an increasing demand for power.

For information on saving energy with a climate sensible home design visit Ecotect-Architects 

Interested in learning more about Garry’s  joint Master of Building Services Engineering programme with Murdoch University?

Top photo: Garry is researching new ways to improve the delivery of solar energy at Wise Earth’s factory in Western Australia

Photo Credits; Nick Melidonis, www.nickmelidonis.com

SOLARDAY 2011

Solar-e.com endorses and commends the efforts of John Reed in establishing SOLARDAY 2011 across the United States of America and promoting its incorporation into the calendar of other countries throughout this amazing world that is our home.

SOLARDAY 2011

SOLARDAY 2011

This type of focus is just what we need to make the general public throughout the world more conscious of the need for a 21st century solar economy as fast as possible.

For Wise Earth P/L (our parent company) and its staff and management, every day is SOLARDAY!

Therefore, we take seriously this brilliant and visionary promotional idea.  The next 20 years (up to 2030) will be the most important time for human action on Climate Change, in adapting to it and abating it in the medium and long term.

Now is the time the planning for our sustainable energy future.  There really is no choice eventually.

We are absolutely convinced through our own research via our networks of imminent experts throughout the globe, that we need to go solar as fast as possible.

Instead of burning our cheap precious fossil fuels on ‘business as usual’ type developments and maintaining the ‘old fossil fuel economy ‘as long as possible, we really need to be using this cheap energy to produce as much solar energy utilization as possible and every other year from hereon, while it is still abundant.

It then can gain a critical mass and begin to replicate itself before our cheap fossil fuel is wasted.

Solarday 2011: How to get involved

To help get the message out there about SOLARDAY, the following is a personal invitation from John Reed to be involved and a media release for SOLARDAY 2011’s events.  Also here is a list of the contributors and participants of SOLARDAY 2010’s event.

We recommend that you personally, as a non-profit, commercial enterprises and government authorities get on board with this and look at practical and effective ways of networking with solar-e to achieve exactly what this day has already become, and representing a potent symbol of the type of society and economy we need to develop.

I think that all societies and associations should get involved with this initiative.  We need cooperation and collaboration and teamwork to pull off intelligent change.

This should not be a competition!  It is our kids and grand children’s future we are helping to create.

Let’s applaud John Reed’s initiative and get on with it!

 

Garry Baverstock AM

Solarday 2011 Letter from John Reed

Solarday 2011 Media Release

Solarday 2010 Participants

SolarDay 2011 letter from Doris Matsui from the U.S. Congress

Cottesloe Foreshore Plans For Development

Often the truth is missed in a good story. This is clearly the case with the media portrayal of the Cottesloe Foreshore Plans and issues surrounding the new proposed planning scheme and the rules guiding future development along Marine Parade. As a follow up to the recent public meeting at the Civic Centre Hall, regarding the beachfront, the Cottesloe foreshore plans and the ensuing media frenzy, I have decided once and for all put my opinion clearly for the public record where I stand on this issue.

As explained many times to the Town of Cottesloe, my employer on this issue, I am not here to have my opinion ‘bought’ to serve official opinions with which I do not necessarily agree. In being commissioned for the work for the Town of Cottesloe I have made my position very clear that my opinion is a professional one and but it cannot be twisted to suit any dogmatic standpoint in this important argument about future development along the foreshore and commercial strip along the beachfront.

2004 Solar Study  Cottesloe Foreshore Plans

Image WSW CoverMy presentations made since 2004 have really been consistent.  The problem is that some of my principles have been respected when it has suited the political stance of many in the Council – others conveniently ignored and in some cases, simply corrupted. The same could be said of the pro-development government personnel who attended the Enquiry by Design, and who are in my opinion, if anything, more political and fundamentalist about developmental action.

When it came to planning strategies at the Enquiry by Design (‘EbD’) consultation process some 5 years later, Councillors and officers alike ignored reason, in regard to a review of the development zone and the principles for protecting a future beach alignment.  Then to make matters worse, the State Government ignored their own advice regarding ocean level rises in submitting their own version of 3D envelopes for beachfront development.

At the public meeting on the 16thMarch, 2011, along with private discussions with the Council I pointed out as clearly as I could that the ‘elephant in the room’ is ocean rises due to Climate Change. But it is a rather like the ‘Inconvenient Truth’ : people listen, are stunned,  yet do not even try to join up the dots to deduce what this means for any town planning scheme. Even at the EbD this key issue was virtually ignored in the final design concepts and most importantly, not addressed in the draft scheme LPS3, when it clearly is the single most important influence on our coastline development and beach amenity for the rest of this century and beyond.

Apart from ocean rises there are going to be even more serious threats to the beachfront, our culture and the business world that must be seen in the context of opening the doors to big developers to take over the beach front built environment. After 2035 the global population is now predicted to diminish dramatically till the end of the century.  There only 25 years left of ‘boom’ times for this planet as energy sources are greatly degraded and changing life as we currently know it dramatically.

Proper Decision Making Process

Why is it not being dealt with?  Why is all the argument concentrated on height and view of the beach,  when the current location of the commercial zone will be overlooking sea walls by the end of the century? It make one wonder how fervent minds can be deluded by their own locked-in fears and perceived solutions. For what duration are we planning and designing the future commercial zone and foreshore?

What has not been clearly published in the papers is that I am not actually  ‘anti-development’ at all. My firm Ecotect-Architects, worked hard as a paid consultant at the Enquiry by Design (EbD) to ensure that maximum development could be achieved, while at the same time serving the public interest for now and well into the future.

The Enquiry by Design Process

The process was well conducted by Andrew Jackson of the Town of Cottesloe to be able to influence a change in direction for Cottesloe within the proposed LPS3. What the people of Cottesloe and the wider general public need to understand is that the EbD was a guideline to framing the LPS3 as a draft.

I believe a lot more work by independent consultants, acting under the Authorities’ inputs and guidance, could have delivered the best planning rules and guidelines for developers, before it became law. At the same time it would have served the community interest.  It appears that misguided advice by some public servants convinced the government that they could do better to serve the ‘big development’ lobby.

As we now know their efforts have produced results which are primitive, unprofessional and offending to most of the community. They do not incorporate sustainability in any way.

Image Cottesloe Beach shadows

Overshadowing the beach

 

This EbD delivered community consultation as well as representation by the key landowners/developers of the two main sites in question: the Ocean Beach Hotel and the Cottesloe Beach Hotel.  Unfortunately it seems that the powerful developer lobby has convinced the politicians that somehow the EbD was “orchestrated by community groups with a twisted view of what is good for the community”.  Many community groups with varying opinions and the land owners along with their commissioned consultants, were given ample time to present their viewpoints during the process.

For those who did not contribute or attend the Enquiry by Design, my presentation  is downloadable from here, to show clearly what all the government people, consultants, councillors and general public as well as community interest groups offered to the process. For those who did attend, perhaps you may like to refresh your memory

Where from here now?

Future For Cottesloe Foreshore Plans and the Beachfront

I believe that we need a credible sponsor for a select group of consultants, managed by Ecotect-Architects, to devise a developed concept and acceptable plan, from which proper 3D envelopes will establish what can actually work and serve the public interest and local residents. It needs a tick of approval by all parties. Some compromise may be needed. For sure the scheme is not even close to having served due process or any chance whatsoever of gaining public support.

This needs to be sponsored by an appropriate independent party to design a stage-by-stage solution that will serve as a guide to finalizing the LPS3 and future amendments as well as provide the solid principles for any future scheme in the future so the beach facility will be available to our children and grandchildren and their offspring.

What say you?

I know I am prepared to put some spadework in to make sure this happens.

Refer to my strategy plan presented to council in order to counter the objectionable submission that amends the LPS3.

Please be aware that although my presentation was involved in the Enquiry by Design, we were ‘conveniently’ left out of the final process and final drafting of the LPS3.  The subject of ocean rises never made it to the table and was therefore ignored, as it was by the main planning consultants during the process.

Reference Documents

Cottesloe Solar and Shade Analysis 2004

Predicted Sea Level Change in WA 2009/10

Cottesloe 2011 Planning Scheme Review

Garry Baverstock’s Letter To the Town of Cottesloe Mayor