Australian Minister for Broadband speaks about broadband and climate change

[The Australian government gets it. The fact that they have a minister for broadband, communications and digital economy speaks volumes about the importance the government places on this issue. It is also likely that the Australian R&E network AARnet will play a critical role in the deployment of the nation’s broadband strategy. Being a facilities based R&E network (i.e it owns the underlying fiber) gives AARnet considerable flexibility and adaptability to such opportunities. Thanks to Paul Budde for a posting on Gordon Cooks Arch-econ list for this pointer . Some excerpts– BSA]

http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/speeches/2009/013

“Digital technologies will underpin our future carbon constrained economy.

broadband infrastructure will be the platform upon which the economy operates in the 21st century.

Australia has set ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions by 2020 and this will require an economy-wide response.

The fact is, broadband is green technology.

In fact, it is an enabler of efficiencies that could drive major reductions in carbon emissions.

In the energy sector, providers plan to use broadband to improve the way they monitor and manage power distribution.

Using broadband to connect power consumers with power generators allows them to harness ways to make distribution more efficient and reliable.

Smart grids connected by broadband raise the potential to not only monitor energy use but to allow remote adjustment of lights or temperature.

For households this means opportunities for reduced power consumption and costs.

Remote control of connected appliances, thermostats and electric meters will help energy companies balance the peaks and troughs of daily usage.

This in turn allows them to sell the recovered power on the market, reducing the need for new power generators.

For the country it means the very real possibility of significant carbon emission reductions.

In Australia and elsewhere, providers are already testing smart grid networks.

Estimates in the US have put the cost savings for consumers between 5 and 25 per cent.

One couple, early adopters of a pilot smart grid in Miami, claim they are saving $100 a month simply by keeping an eye on their digital energy meter.

The information allows them to understand household consumption trends and to adjust their habits accordingly.

The Fibre-to-the-Home Council commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers to research the potential sustainability benefits of broadband.

Based on a count of 20 million FTTH users in Europe with 10 per cent of the population teleworking three days per week by 2015, it estimates greenhouse-gas emission savings per user of 330kg, equivalent to a car travelling 2,000 kilometres.

Research also shows that improving telecommunications use could result in significant savings for Australia.

In fact, Climate Risk has estimated that local energy and travel savings alone could be worth up to $6.6 billion annually.

It noted a number of major opportunities for communications to improve energy efficiency, including:

* Remote appliance power management,
* De-centralised business districts,
* Real-time freight management,
* Increased renewable energy, and
* High Definition video conferencing.

These are exactly the kind of applications that will be enabled via the National Broadband Network.