An Appropriate technology Renaissance?

Ecodemocratic Appropriate economic transitional/transformative/resilience planning to map our way out of the COVID-19 recovery with a focus on appropriate technology and de/re-carbonisation of the economy/Planet.

How could it work?

Solar Impulse Foundation label accreditation which permits rebates for those technologies accredited, produced and sold by apptech companies anywhere in the world including Australia. However Australian apptech would have larger rebates over imported apptech that meets similar standards because locally/Nationally produced technology is even more appropriate and ticks more boxes eg. sustainable local employment, lower logistical Carbon footprint compared to imports, use of Australian supply chains, manufacturing and local resources eg. steel, people

REFERENCES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._F._Schumacher

https://solarimpulse.com

https://www.appropedia.org/Welcome_to_Appropedia

http://www.i4at.org/library.html

https://globalsolaratlas.info/map

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-29/military-leaders-warn-australia-prepare-for-worse-coronavirus/12193228

https://practicalaction.org/

https://www.ewb.org.au/

https://permacultureglobal.org/

https://www.resilience.org

I've made a list of applications of biochar on the 'The biochar economy' page. This is mainly a list of applications that will help de/re-carbonise and clean up the economy over the long term. I imagine that many of these biochar-related technologies could meet the Solar Impulse Foundation label standards.

-The Kon-Tiki 'Rolls'

Local 'Green steel' from ?Whyalla, local jobs, local biomass feedstock, local biochar application, de/re-carbonisation apptech with loads of apptech applications for biochar eg.Green Hydrogen economy (see previous blog 'A 'Green Economics' for the future?')

-Green Hydrogen

-As opposed to 'Brown Hydrogen' from brown coal eg.Latrobe Valley...duh. Maybe they didn't check out the global solar map (see link above)

A plan...

Why not set up a Green Hydrogen research cluster/'theme park' at Port Augusta for Australian and international greentech companies that want to build prototypes of Green Hydrogen plants? In that way, the whole industry can compare prototypes with the same solar insolation and compare freshwater and seawater electrolysis systems. This could be a global Green Hydrogen industry accelerator - much needed in the face of climate emergency.

After the collapse of the Concentrated Solar Thermal plant project and the rise of the Bungala Solar PV farm (assuming Stage 2 has overcome 'technical problems' and all the power doesn't get dumped on the NSW energy market once the interconnector is complete) there could be cheap green renewable energy to power the prototypes.  Or an integrated system -look what's possible with Sundrop Farms at Port Augusta. A seawater pipeline could be built between the site and the sea which could then provide 2 options for prototyping - with seawater or desalinated water for electrolysis powered from either solar PV or a solar thermal power tower. There's also more options for desal found at solarimpulse.com - some of the solutions, like the highly efficient and low maintenance system built in French Polynesia could be scaled up and used.

The companies could pay rent to TOs with their approval and would bring services dollar to the region. Over time, there could be tourism, University and VC dollars as well once the borders start opening up around the world.  We've already got one Green Hydrogen prototype at Port Lincoln with the Whalers Way Launch Complex also nearby but maybe there isn't enough land with low cultural or ecological value or local interest for a Green Hydrogen research cluster so why not create a Green Hydrogen research cluster in Port Augusta and create more jobs there since there is also a high unemployment rate (9.7% according to 2016 Census...probably much higher now due to COVID-19)? There's also established infrastructure.

For starters...why not try and get 10 Green Hydrogen prototypes built using many different technologies from all over the world - a showcase for the world to learn from! These prototypes could aim to meet labelling standards from the Solar Impulse Foundation.

Overall, increased competition and collaboration between companies and Universities and reasonable international labelling standards, such as those offered by the Solar Impulse Foundation, could ensure that the most appropriate and sustainable technologies are built for the next and de/re-carbonised 'Green' world economy/Third Industrial Revolution. With a world population set to reach 9.8 billion people by 2050, and more consumption, there's an opportunity to lock in sustainable and scaleable apptech to meet rising world demand for Green affordable energy.

It could be an apptech Renaissance if we want it!!