abare.gov.au - Energy in Australia 2009

Transport and infrastructure

The transport sector is the largest user of final energy in Australia. Around 34 per cent of Australia’s final energy use is employed moving people and goods across the country. Being a large continent characterised by major population centres located along the coastline, significant amounts of freight are transported long distances. The transportation sector is the largest consumer of liquid fuels (including LPG and refined products) accounting for 72 per cent of Australia’s total use.

Energy consumption

Road transport is the largest user of final energy in the transport sector, accounting for around three-quarters of the sector’s fuel consumption. Growth in road transport fuel consumption has slowed over the past 30 years, from almost 5 per cent a year to less than 2 per cent a year.

Passenger vehicles account for the majority of fuel consumption in the road transport sector. In 2005-06, 61 per cent of the fuel consumed in the road transport sector was in passenger vehicles.

Air transportation has been the fastest growing mode of transport in Australia. Growth in the consumption of aviation fuels averaged 6 per cent a year during the 1990s, compared with an average of 3 per cent during the previous decade. The majority of this growth was driven by increased international aviation, which now accounts for the majority of the air transportation sector’s fuel consumption.

34	Energy consumption in the transport sector a

1979-80

1989-90

1999-00

2004-05

2006-07

Road transport

611.8

811.4

980.4

1 044.4

1 014.1

Railway transport

30.7

33.3

38.4

35.8

Water transport

97.6

55.6

58.2

Air transport

80.6

108.6

184.6

178.4

217.8

Other

3.6

6.2

12.8

22.4

24.6

Total

824.6

1012.5

1 266.7

1 341.8

1 359.3

a Net energy consumption (defined as total fuel input less energy produced).
Source: ABARE, Australian energy statistics.

The increase in international air transportation has been at the expense of international sea transportation. As such, energy use in water transport has declined steadily over the past 30 years.

Automotive gasoline is the main fuel used in the transportation industry, accounting for around 48 per cent of total energy consumption in the sector.

The phasing out of leaded automotive gasoline, starting in 1986 using pricing differential incentives, was completed in 2001. Over the same period, the consumption of automotive LPG, free of fuel excise tax, grew by an average of 13 per cent a year. LPG suffered a temporary decline in demand when a phasing in of taxes on excise exempt fuels was announced. Demand recovered with the reintroduction of subsidies on LPG conversions in the Australian Government’s LPG Vehicle Scheme to promote the use of cleaner burning fuels.

Fuel efficiency

Buses are the most fuel efficient mode of passenger transportation, travelling around 670 passenger kilometres for every gigajoule of energy consumed. Buses account for only a small proportion of Australian road fuel consumption.

Domestic shipping is the most fuel efficient form of freight transportation, travelling around 6 kilometres per 1000 tonnes of cargo for every gigajoule of energy consumed. This is closely followed by freight rail, travelling 4.8 kilometres per 1000 tonnes of cargo for every gigajoule of energy consumed.

35	Energy use in Australian transport sectors by fuel type, 2006-07

sea

air

domestic

international

domestic

international

road

rail

other

Black coal

5.2

Aviation
gasoline

Aviation
turbine fuel

80.3

134.5

LPG

61.4

Diesel

18.4

4.6

300.8

27.7

6.4

Fuel oil

7.1

31.6

Natural gas

0.1

1.4

16.7

Electricity

8.1

1.4

Auto gasoline-
unleaded

650.2

Energy consumption

30.8

36.2

83.3

134.5

1013.9

35.8

24.5

Source: ABARE, Australian energy statistics.

Passenger vehicle fuel efficiency in Australia, 2005-06 – passenger kilometres travelled using 1 GJ of energy a

Freight fuel efficiency in Australia, 2005-06 – kilometres travelled per thousand tonnes of cargo using 1 GJ of energy a

Port capacities

The ability to import and export energy in Australia is heavily dependant on the capacity of major ports. Australia has nine major coal exporting terminals located in New South Wales and Queensland. In 2007-08, these ports had a combined capacity of more than 330 million tonnes and loaded around 255 million tonnes of coal. Australian ports did not operate at capacity in 2007-08 for a number of reasons including the temporary closure of some capacity for expansion work and weather related incidents.

Infrastructure capacity constraints (including port and rail) have limited the Australian coal industry’s ability to respond to growing global demand over the past few years. However, recent additions to capacity, together with more expansions planned over the short to medium term will help alleviate these constraints. As at October 2008, there were 11 coal infrastructure projects (including both port and rail) at an advanced stage of development with a combined capital cost of around $4.2 billion. The seven advanced port infrastructure projects will add a combined 116 million tonnes to annual capacity. There were a further 19 coal infrastructure projects at less advanced stages of planning (see Appendix 1).

Australia has 11 major deepwater ports which have facilities to export petroleum liquids. The ports at Fremantle and Dampier in Western Australia are Australia’s largest exporting centres of oil and petroleum and gas, respectively. Australian exports of crude oil and condensate are increasingly sourced from the west coast, while exports of refined product are largely sourced from the east coast.

37	Export loadings and capacity for major coal ports

loadings

capacity

short term

medium term

2007-08

capacity

Mtpa

New South Wales

Newcastle a

102

113

157

Port Kembla

Queensland

Abbot Point

110

Brisbane

Dalrymple Bay

Gladstone b

100

Hay Point

a Includes Carrington and Kooragang Island. b Includes RG Tanna and Barney Point.
Sources: McCloskey, Ports Corporation of Queensland, Port Waratah Coal Services, Port Kembla Coal Terminal, Gladstone Ports Corporation.