Jamison Report Calls for Fast-Tracking Development of Electric Vehicles in Australia
23 July 2008

A report commissioned by Australia’s National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA) calls on the Australian Government to set a target of reducing oil dependence by 20% by 2020; 30% by 2030 and 50% by 2050 and to do all it can to fast-track the development of the electric car in Australia, charged by renewable energy sources such as wind or solar.

The NRMA established the Jamison Group following the company’s Alternative Fuel Summit in 2006. The group, comprising David Lamb, Mark Diesendorf, John Mathews and Graeme Pearman, produced the report: A Road Map for Alternative Fuels in Australia: Ending our Dependence on Oil.

Australia has been a modest producer of crude oil, but production is now in decline. Oil production increased gradually since 1980, peaking in 2000 at 805,000 thousand barrels per day (bbl/d), according to the US Energy Information Administration. In 2003, production fell plummeted to 630,522 bbl/d. In 2006, Australia produced approximately 562,000 bbl/d of oil.

Imports, which accounted for 7% of total consumption in 2000, have rapidly increased to represent around 39% of total consumption. Under current trends, the nation will have an oil trade deficit of A$25 billion by 2015, causing enormous inflationary pressures on the economy and further damage to the environment.

Australia is 99.9% dependent on fossil fuels for private transport, and the this consumption is rising despite a move towards smaller vehicles and greater awareness of the need for energy conservation and energy efficiency. The only ‘alternative’ fuel with penetration in the Australian market is Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

Australia currently consumes just over 38 billion liters (10 billion gallons US) of fuel annually for road and off-road vehicles, of which 19.3 billion liters (50%) comes from gasoline, 17.0 billion from diesel (44%) and 2.3 billion liters from LPG (6%). E10 blends account for less than one percent of fuel sales (with the ethanol itself accounting for only a tenth of this, or 0.1% of total road transport fuel sales).

The Jamison report outlines a 12-step roadmap to reduce the country’s dependence on oil. The steps are:

*Set the goals of reducing oil dependence in Australia by 20% by 2020; 30% by 2030; and by 50% by 2050.

*Promote and develop alternative fuels, defined as fuels not derived from oil or coal. They include fuels derived from natural gas, biomass, and from electricity generated from renewable sources.

*Set compulsory fuel consumption and carbon dioxide standards.

*Strengthen criteria pollutant emissions standards. Australian emissions standards for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates lag behind the Euro 5 standards.

*Set alternative fuel market mandates: 5% in 2010; 15% in 2015; and 20% in 2020. Mandates beyond 20% will not be needed, the authors conclude, as market forces will take over beyond that point.

*Provide tax incentives for vehicles running on alternative fuels or propulsion systems.

*Provide tax incentives for alternative fuels and infrastructure.

*Wind back subsidies that reinforce oil dependence. Subsidies amounting to about A$10 billion per year support the production and use of fossil-based transport fuels in Australia

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*Use the Green Car Fund to support innovative small and medium-sized components producers in Australia that move the industry towards oil independence.

*State governments need to adjust their tax and tariff arrangements. This is particularly relevant for vehicle registrations, which should be adjusted so that drivers of lower fuel consumption vehicles pay lower registration fees. Feed-in tariffs need to be extended or introduced to allow renewable sources to sell electricity generated direct to the grid, thereby accelerating the swing towards renewable sources for electricity generation and moderating the greenhouse impact of electric vehicles.

*Allow carbon credits to grow alternative fuel industries.

*Foster urban public transport and sustainable mobility options.

The shift towards electric vehicles is likely to happen far faster and earlier than could have been imagined. By putting electric vehicles at the top of its priority list, the government in Australia could play a major role in creating a fundamental shift away from fossil fuel dependence—provided the electric power being generated is coming increasingly from renewable and low-carbon sources.

The major issue to do with electric vehicles, apart from the technology itself and innovations that are already underway, is infrastructure. Drivers of all-electric cars need to be guaranteed that there will be recharging points either at special plug-in roadside points such as in shopping centres, car parks and workplaces or at existing service stations. (electric vehicles may be designed to allow separate batteries to be charged independently, thus saving time.)

Indeed electric vehicles’ batteries could be used (when parked at home) to power domestic appliances such as air conditioners, and ultimately to provide power to the grid from excess charge built up.

Just think: if Australia’s 14 million cars were able to generate just 3 kW of excess power from their charged batteries, and feed this into the grid, they would provide power equivalent to Australia’s current generating capacity from all its power stations combined.
—The Jamison Report