9 May 2012 –The Property Council of Australia, ClimateWorks and Seed Advisory has called on the Australian Energy Market Commission to streamline the grid connection process for embedded generators, and asked it to change the national electricity rules.
The Property Council said that the electricity rules needed to be changed to:
Provide an improved connection process for embedded generators that are ineligible for automatic access and a right of export.
Allow electricity network companies to charge an optional fee-for-service to promote collaboration with their customers.
Oblige electricity network companies to publish annual network reports identifying where capacity is limited.
Provide an automatic right of connection to the grid and standard access terms. This would apply to generators that meet automatic access standards.
Enable embedded generators a right to export electricity to the grid.
“These improvements will replace electricity customers’ case-by-case negotiations...
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3 May 2012 – South Korea has passed legislation for a national emissions trading scheme, bringing to 34 countries around the world including Australia that, that will use emissions trading as the primary vehicle to drive carbon pollution reduction.
“We are far from leading the world, as some have claimed,” Read More
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By Lyn Drummond
24 April 2012 – The federal government is providing $3.75 million towards the City of Sydney’s Sydney’s trigeneration plant at Green Square, the major inner urban redevelopment project where work is now underway. Read More
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10 April 2012 –From Treehugger A set of crazy looking new era windpower generators to beat the anti windpower lobby with quiet turbines, no blades and even almost invisible versions starting to hit the market. One of these turbines, shown here, floats high in the sky, tethered to the ground. One version is from Australia, profiled here last year.
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By Lyn Drummond
5 April 2012 – Energy expert Alan Pears says the current inquiry into the feed-in tariffs in Victoria runs the danger of looking only at pricing issues within the existing framework and ignoring the huge benefits that a “free and fair market” might allow.
Another factor is the potential benefits of ridding the system of the monopoly power of network operators and providing better more fair treatment of investors in distributed generation, he says. Read More
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By Tina Perinotto
4 April 2012 – City of Sydney and Origin’s Cogent Energy have overcome some of major barriers to ambitious plans for a low carbon emissions trigeneration energy network in Sydney and signed a heads of agreement for the first tranche of the rollout. Read More
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28 March 2012 – General Electric says it can see significant business opportunities in the distributed energy industry in Australia, after its natural gas-fired Jenbacher engines were selected for the cogeneration plant to be installed in the revitalised commercial district of Dandenong, south east of Melbourne. Read More
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By Lyn Drummond
20 March 2011 – Energy All-Star awards, initiated by the Australian Alliance to Save Energy, not only recognised excellence but inspired new generations of energy efficiency and smarter energy practitioners, the alliance’s chief executive officer, Chris Dunstan told The Fifth Estate.
“Recognition for the achievements of people working in these areas has been a long time coming and the industry has been very positive about the awards’?introduction, “ he said. Read More
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14 March 2012 –NICTA will spearhead a $5 million dollar project, initiated by the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy, to locate geothermal energy sources deep in the Earth.
It is the first project to be funded under the Australian Government’s $126 million Emerging Renewables Program, which has been established to provide support for the development of renewable energy and enabling technologies across the innovation chain.
Data Fusion and Machine Learning for Geothermal Target Exploration and Characterisation is a two year program with $1.9 million of the total cost funded by ACRE.
Geothermal energy comes from the intense heat generated by rocks located several kilometres underground. It is abundant, renewable; and has zero carbon output – making it an ideal energy source.
Locating suitable hot rocks, however, is a manual, expensive exercise, a NICTA statement said.
NICTA – Australia’s Information and Communications Technology Research Centre of Excellence.– is leading...
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22 February 2012 – The Total Environment Centre will today (Wednesday) launch the first report card on the national electricity market and says that poor environmental performance is no surprise given that the system encourages greater use of electricity rather than to save it. Read More
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27 January 2012 – The case against wind farms on health grounds took a dramatic step backwards this week after Freedom of Information documents obtained by Friends of the Earth slammed claims that wind turbines are bad for local residents’ health.
The Climate and Health Alliance also this week rejected claims of anti-wind farm groups that wind power poses a health threat. Read More
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17 January 2012 – A report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows a 36 per cent surge in total investment in solar technology in 2011 to $US136.6 billion, nearly double the $US74.9 billion investment in wind power, which was down 17 per cent on the previous year.
This is not the first time that Bloomberg has shown total investment in solar out-pacing that in wind (on today’s revised figures for prior years, solar exceeded wind in 2004 and again in 2010), but this is the first time there has been such a huge gap.
Bloomberg’s chief executive Michael Liebreich said: “The performance of solar is even more remarkable when you consider that the price of photovoltaic modules fell by close to 50 per cent during 2011, and now stands 75 per cent lower than three years ago, in mid-2008.
“The cost of PV technology has fallen, but the volume of PV sold has increased by a much greater factor as it approached competitiveness with other sources of power.”
The report says total new investment...
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By Alan Pears
15 December 2011 – What is “conservative” when it comes to energy policy?
As energy expert Ian Dunlop pointed out at a recent Climate Alliance conference, humans are investing billions of dollars in exploration for more fossil fuels, when we cannot burn Read More
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By Tina Perinotto
6 December 2011 – Cogent Energy has been confirmed to deliver the first of the City of Sydney’s ambitious low carbon energy systems. The news follows just weeks after the company said that at Dandenong in Melbourne’s south west Read More
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10 November 2011 – The City of Sydney last night officially became the first first council in Australia to achieve formal certification as carbon-neutral, under the National Carbon Offset Standard, introduced by the Australian Government last year.
Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Minister Greg Combet presented the award to Lord Mayor Clover Moore, on behalf of Low Carbon Australia,
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the City had reduced and offset its carbon pollution by 210,000 tonnes since unofficially achieving carbon neutrality in 2008.
“Carbon neutral means the City’s net emissions are zero,” Ms Moore said.
“Carbon emissions by the City’s vehicles, the coal-fired electricity it uses and other emissions sources are reduced by actions such as improving energy efficiency and installing solar panels. Remaining emissions are offset by buying carbon pollution credits from projects such as wind farms.
“We are on track to reach one of the most ambitious emissions...
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5 October 2011 –Spain’s Gemasolar Solar Power Plant, the first commercial plant in the world to use molten salt thermal has been formally inaugurated.
According to a statement from the company:
“Gemasolar is a revolution in the CSP sector and its commercial operation is expected to lead the way for other central tower plants with molten salt receiver technology, an efficient system that improves the dispatchability of electric power from renewable sources.
“Gemasolar is a high temperature solar plant, Read More
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By Alan Pears
28 September 2011 – The carbon price is really a relatively small factor in the perfect storm facing the conventional energy sector. Photo voltaic solar now undermines the case for network investment and removes a disproportionately large chunk of profit by being available on hot days. And just wait until LED lights hit the supermarkets, argues Alan Pears
When is a lie a lie in politics? Julia Gillard is under enormous pressure about a semantic issue: whether a three-year fixed price Read More
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28 September 2011 – Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited has won a contract in The Netherlands to supply 100 BlueGen gas-to electricity generators.
The company’s distributor in The Netherlands, Zestiq will market the units to small commercial and residential customers.
Zestiq is part of the consortium of innovative companies which in March 2011 bought and installed a BlueGen in a 17th century canal house “De Groene Bocht” in the centre of Amsterdam.
Ceramic Fuel Cells managing directorBrendan Dow said the order came on top of one for 100 units from German distributor Sanevo.
The units will be installed and maintained by Eneco Installatie Bedrijven, the service company of Dutch energy company Eneco.
BlueGen uses ceramic fuel cells to turn natural gas into electricity and heat for hot water.
Each unit is capable of producing more than three times the electricity needed to power the average Dutch home which consumes an estimated 3,700 kilowatt hours of electricity per year.
BlueGen customers...
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27 September 2011 – The Alternative Technology Association’s latest solar payback calculations show a marked increase in the payback time of grid-connect solar power systems in most states.
Payback times are expected to increase to at least 11 years in SA with feed-in tariff changes in October. In WA, the net feed-in tariff of 47 cents per kilowatt hour reached its capacity and was closed to new applications.
In WA the net feed-in tariff of 47 cents per kilowatt hour reached its capacity and was closed to new applications. Electricity retailer Synergy will pay a 7c/kWh hour net feed-in tariff to WA customers Read More
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By Leon Gettler
22 September 2011 – A top level report has recommended a radical overhaul of Australia’s electricity rules to speed up the adoption of cogeneration and trigeneration, creating more greener buildings around the country.
Australia already has a few state of the art commercial buildings Read More
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By Lyn Drummond
14 September 2011 – Moreland Energy Foundation Ltd is in an alliance with nine local councils in Melbourne’s north for greenhouse gas action – an arrangement that has resulted in cheaper energy benefits for the communities, says Foundation chief executive Paul Murfitt Read More
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By Tina Perinotto
14 September 2011 – Dexus Property will reap a major upside to its industrial investment property at Perris in Southern California in the US with the lease of the rooftop space for a massive solar power installation. Read More
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30 August 2011 – The Victorian Coalition Government has bowed to pressure groups and announced it would scale back wind farms in a move that the clean energy industry said could cost the state $3 billion in lost investment.
Planning minister Matthew Guy said the government had approved Amendment VC82, which prohibits a wind turbine being constructed Read More
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24 August 2011 – The City of Sydney expects to save $1.3 million a year by overhauling the energy and water performance of its major buildings.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the $6.9 million project would also be a big step to achieving the City’s ambitious carbon reduction targets.
“Retrofitting the City’s buildings with energy and water efficiency technologies will
significantly reduce our costs – in fact, the project will pay for itself within six years,” she said. Read More
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By James Morgan-Payler and Lucy Watts.
27 July 2011 – The residential and commercial building sectors produce 23 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse emissions.
Although the carbon tax covers a broad range of industry sectors, it is important to note that only facilities directly responsible for emitting carbon pollution will have obligations under the mechanism to reduce their emissions or purchase carbon permits
As the construction industry principally contributes to emissions indirectly, through its acquisition of materials, resources and services Read More
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19 July 2011: Low Carbon Australia and Wagga Wagga City Council, NSW are to cooperate on energy efficiency in the first agreement of its kind for regional Australia in the second major agreement for the new agency.
See our recent article on Low Carbon Australia
Low Carbon Australia springs to life with first deal
The total project will cost $257,602 with LCA providing a direct loan for $209,725 (about 81 per cent of the project cost). Wagga Wagga council is paying for energy efficiency activities at its airport.
Project planning assesses that approximately 2,200 to 3,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent will be avoided over the life of the project – a saving of nearly $60,000 in energy costs.
Low Carbon Australia chief executive officer Meg McDonald said the project was a very important development for local governments and businesses to access expertise and finance to purchase energy saving equipment.
“This agreement means local governments and businesses can implement...
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10 July 2011 – Following are reactions to the carbon price package from the Green Building Council of Australia, Energy Efficiency Council, Climate Active Australia, Climate Institute, the Australian Conservation Foundation
The Green Building Council of Australia’ chief executive, Romilly Madew said:
The Green Building Council of Australia, welcomed the Australian Government’s carbon price scheme, Securing a Clean Energy Future, but said more needs to be done Read More
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8 July 2011 – The Greens have claimed victory in the fight for a new independent authority to manage $3.2 billion of renewable energy funding in “an effective and coordinated manner” announced by the federal government today.
“As part of the agreement, all existing Commonwealth government renewable energy programs (except the Renewable Energy Target) will be administered by a new independent statutory body, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, for the first time creating a systemic, whole-of-government approach to renewable energy at arm’s length from government,” Australian Greens Deputy Leader, senator Christine Milne, said.
The federal government said today that ARENA will have responsibility for managing:
Solar Flagships Round 1;
Renewable Energy Demonstration Program;
ACRE Solar Projects;
Geothermal Drilling Program projects;
Australian Biofuels Research Institute (ABRI) initiatives;
Emerging Renewables Program;
Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund;
Australian...
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By Tina Perinotto
29 June 2011 – Shooting camels, burning savannah in special mosaic formations and capturing methane gasses from pig manure to make energy are just some of the methodologies under consideration before the federal government’s carbon farming legislation can make it through the Upper House. Read More
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By Lyn Drummond
22 June 2011 – New research has shown that cutting greenhouse gas emissions from Sydney office buildings can also help reduce the pressure on electricity supply infrastructure citywide.
The findings are in a report by Jesse Steinfeld, sustainability and environment engineer at Investa Sustainability Institute, released on the Green Buildings Alive website.
Craig Roussac general manager of sustainability, safety and environment of the Investa Property Group said: “Accommodating growing peak demand is one of the major drivers in Sydney’s electricity network expansion. Read More
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