Last week the Coalition announced it would scrap the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) if it forms government. As the main renewable energy investment measure included in the Clean Energy Future…
Project: Quantify the benefits of decentralised, renewable energy production Cost: $3 million Timeframe: Three years Burning fossil fuel causes CO₂ pollution. But organisations making profits from selling…
Could offshore be a new dawn for wind power in Australia?
Vattenfall
The Victorian Government is severely limiting areas where onshore wind farms can be built. The New South Wales Government might soon attempt to follow. So, if Australia is to cut its greenhouse gas emissions…
Responses to climate change are becoming a crucial part of business strategy.
AAP/Google
In early September, Google publicly disclosed details of its carbon footprint for the first time, launching the Google Green website in the process. The search giant revealed a carbon footprint of 1.5…
Climate and weather are vital in planning energy generation.
AAP
Billions of energy-investment dollars are exposed to the vagaries of climate. Those billions include dollars committed to or planned for renewable energy generation in this country. Now a new branch of…
There are several options for future energy generation. We just need to get there.
waldopepper
In news today, the Greens are calling for an end to federal funding for a proposed coal- and gas-fuelled power plant in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley. Others have suggested the plant provides a source of “transition…
Victorian planning amendments treat wind farms as a menace on the horizon.
greenery/Flickr
Wind farms, like much new technology, have generated both strong community support and vocal opposition. Victoria has recently amended its planning laws and regulations to restrict locations for wind farms…
Everyone has an opinion on how best to fund renewable energy.
kincuri/Flickr
With the anticipated introduction of an Australia-wide carbon pricing scheme, there have been some calls to rationalise or scrap targeted climate policies, such as renewable energy support schemes, both…
Which way is the wind blowing for NSW’s renewable energy policy?
Auntie K
Not so long ago, Victoria was the poster child for renewable energy policy in Australia. It had a Climate Change Act put in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% between 2000 and 2020. It had…
Taking on climate change can put us on the path to a green industrial revolution.
Matt de Neef
Despite the poor outlook for the Earth’s climate, putting in place acceptable solutions is proving difficult. Mired in economic uncertainty, some countries are scaling back climate change efforts. But…
To meet the energy challenge we have to think big.
AAP Image/Snowy Hydro Limited
Today’s carbon navel-gazing by politicians, business leaders and media scribes seems determined to constrain Australia to the stone age of industrial competence, workforce skills and international environmental…
The debate about coal seam gas drilling in Australia is intensifying, amid calls from The Greens to further investigate its emissions profile. So what is the emissions profile of coal seam gas? How does…
Solar is now a viable industry that should be taken seriously.
AFP Photo/Sakis Mitrolidis
A solar energy revolution is brewing that will put the coal and nuclear industries out of business. Solar is already reaching price parity with coal in many parts of Australia. In contrast to coal and…
Project: To develop better batteries for renewable energy Cost: Around $1.2 million per year (for a team of eight people across several disciplines) Timeframe: First generation technology within three…
A renewables boom is on the horizon for Australia.
Adrian S Jones/flickr
Last week, Griffith University’s Vlado Vivoda argued that renewable energy “makes no economic or political sense” for Australia. While we welcome Vivoda’s contribution to the national energy policy debate…
Winds of change: Julia Gillard’s comparison is politically convenient, but doesn’t make sense.
AAP
Prime Minister Julia Gillard last week used the example of Spain to indicate how Australia’s energy mix could be transformed. The potential for this transformation is nothing more than wishful thinking…
We can use renewable energy even when the sun doesn’t shine.
Martin Cathrae/flickr
The myth that renewable energy sources can’t meet baseload (24-hour per day) demand has become widespread. After all, the wind doesn’t blow all the time, and there’s no sunlight at night. But detailed…
Four times Australia’s GDP could be hiding in here.
AAP
Rare earth elements (REEs), for so long ignored by big mining companies, have recently become incredibly popular. But, contrary to what their names suggests, they are not particularly rare. They do, however…
The process of extracting REE from the ocean floor presents a Catch 22.
STR/AFP
News outlets recently reported a new paper in Nature Geoscience from a Japanese team documenting very large amounts of Rare Earth Elements (REE) in the mud at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. REE are essential…