Australian farmers missing opportunity to profit by farming energy
Farmers squeezed out of energy boon, MATTHEW CAWOOD, Stock and Land 04 Feb, 2012 LANDHOLDERS should be capitalising on seismic changes in how we generate energy, says Matthew Wright, but instead they are being
pushed aside.
Mr Wright, executive director of Beyond Zero Emissions, thinks the thrust of current government policy will be to deny many landholders the ability to profit from wind generation, while compromising the enterprises of other landholders who host coal seam gas (CSG) operations without sharing in CSG profits.
Beyond Zero Emissions, a non-profit organisation, has the goal of moving Australia “from a 19th century fossil fuel based economy to a 21st century renewable powered clean tech economy”.
Wind turbines are “about as benign as it gets” for power generation, Mr Wright said, adding CSG is a “fairly destructive option for resource exploitation”.
Read more »
Renewable Energy Project for Wagga
Energy plant back on the agenda Daily Advertiser, 02 Feb, 2012 THE development of a proposed $13 million renewable energy plant in Wagga looks to be back on the agenda after the company behind the project received $800,000 to put towards new business ventures.
Representatives from the Adelaide-based company, Syngas, arrived in Wagga on Tuesday to continue the negotiations which began in April last year. Plans were first announced then for a power plant that would use green waste from Wagga’s kerbside collections to generate electricity.
Last September Syngas managing director Merrill Gray said the plant would be established on a 16,000 square metre block at the Bomen Industrial Park, with an underground cable connecting the power plant to neighbouring abattoir Tey’s Australia. The renewable energy generated by the plant would then be sent through
the cable, circumventing the grid….. http://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/news/local/news/general/energy-plant-back-on-the-agenda/2441039.aspx
Dubious claims that wind farms make people sick
Science on wind turbine illness dubious, say experts. SMH, Ben Cubby, January 24, 2012 FEARS that wind turbines make people sick are ”not scientifically valid”, and the arguments mounted by anti-wind farm campaigners are unconvincing, according to confidential briefings given to the state government by NSW Health.
Documents obtained under freedom-of-information laws show that health officials repeatedly warned ministers last year that there was no evidence for ”wind turbine syndrome”, a collection of ailments including sleeplessness, headaches and high blood pressure that some people believe are caused by the noise of spinning blades.
But the department’s advice contrasts with the view of the Planning Minister, Brad Hazzard, who was responsible for draft guidelines, released in December, that significantly tighten the approvals process……
One study by Nina Pierpont, which is central to the claims that wind turbines make people ill, was dismissed as ”not of sufficient scientific rigour” by NSW Health. ”This ‘study’ is not a rigorous epidemiological study; it is a case series of 10 families drawn from a wide range of locations,” according to the ministerial briefing on July 5 last year. ”This work has not been properly peer reviewed. Nor has it been published in the peer-reviewed literature. The findings are not scientifically valid, with major methodological flaws stemming from the poor design of the study.”
The documents, obtained under FOI laws by the environment group Friends of the Earth, say existing studies had been examined and no known causal link could be established. The assessment undermines the claims of an anti-wind farm group, the Waubra Foundation, which had been lobbying the government for a moratorium on new wind farms.
“The documents from NSW Health confirm our belief that the foundation has been ‘cherry picking’ data that supports its allegations about ‘wind turbine syndrome’ by talking with people who believe they have … symptoms,” said a Friends of the Earth spokesman, Cam Walker. ”This becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy and is not the basis of good science … Yet, as has been noted by a growing number of medical authorities, there is no credible evidence of a causal link between turbines and ill health.”……
A landowner near Lake George, Marcia Osborne, said her family had had no medical problems or trouble sleeping from the seven or eight turbines close by. ”Quite the opposite really, they’ve done nothing but help us,” she said.
”We are farmers … things were pretty tough [during the drought] … When they asked us if they could put a wind farm on the place it was like a gift from God. We used to curse the wind, now we get paid for the wind.”
The guidelines are on exhibition until March 14. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/energy-smart/science-on-wind-turbine-illness-dubious-say-experts-20120123-1qe98.html#ixzz1kPuwgvpd
Anti business policies of Liberal governments in Victoria and New South Wales – war on renewable energy
Now, however, backed by the fossil fuel industry, the campaign against solar and wind power in Australia has exposed many of the very anti-business policies of the Coalition. With dropping costs and increasing reliability for renewable energy, conservatives have had to turn to ‘community concerns’ to wage their attacks. These concerns are based around a very tiny, loud minority, and apparently don’t exist for the coal or coal seam gas industry. They also go against strong evidence that show that renewable energy is extremely popular.
There is no doubt that the renewable energy industry will continue to grow throughout the world. Wind and solar are booming and will soon be cheaper than current fossil fuels.
The war against renewable energy The Drum, Simon Copland, 19 Jan 12, It’s an odd scenario when the Coalition becomes the main opponents to a new, profitable business. Long seen as the small government, pro-business party, the Coalition has engrained itself in the business community and business interests.
Yet, with the election of the Victorian and New South Wales Liberal Governments, it has become increasingly apparent that the Liberal’s pro-business pedigree is only extended to certain business operations – normally the dirtiest ones to boost.
It all started with new regulations in Victoria in 2011. Passed through both houses of the Victorian Parliament in 2010, these rules set strict new regulations on the development of wind farms in the state. Based on the idea of ‘community concerns’ about wind development, the regulations state that any person who lives within 2km of a proposed wind turbine will now have the ability to veto the project, with very little discourse for wind operators. The bill has the potential to cost Victoria $3 billion in wind investment and means that it would now be easier to get approval for a coal power plant in Victoria than a wind farm.
Despite outcry from the Victorian environmental and business community, on the eve of Christmas the New South Wales Coalition Government followed its Victorian counterparts inadopting similar regulations. The New South Wales Government boasted that these were the “toughest wind farm guidelines in Australia and possibly the world”. As Barry O’Farrell said, if he had his way, there would be no more wind farms ever approved in New South Wales. Read more »
Community solar energy for Australia – Mallacoota shows the way
While these types of schemes are still relatively uncommon in Australia, a popular method of using the power of collaboration to install solar here is the solar buyers group. Consisting of people within a local area, these groups use their collective clout to secure better pricing for installing solar panels on their own rooftops…
In an initiative led by local resident Jim Sakkas, the community banded together to form a solar buyers group and since that time, close to one hundred solar power systems have been installed in Mallacoota by national solar solutions provider Energy Matters under the model.
A Co-operative Approach To Going Solar, by Energy Matters, 6 Jan 12, A growing number of people are starting renewable energy schemes in their communities through co-operatives and other forms of collaboration. A recent report from Co-operatives UK and The Co-operative Group states 43 communities are in the process of or already producing renewable energy by investing money to install solar panels, large wind turbines or hydro-electric power in their area.
£16 million has been invested by over 7,000 people in these schemes, which include a £2 million wind farm and a 98kW solar photovoltaic installation on the roof of a brewery.
The report says green economy co-operatives are the most rapidly growing part of the UK co-op sector, jumping 24% since 2008. In addition to these co-operatives’ efforts seeing clean, renewable energy being supplied to their communities, there is also a financial return to participants through the sale of electricity produced.
The co-operative approach covered in the report basically works like this: Read more »
Success for Australia’s coal lobby, with new laws against wind farms in N.S.W. and Victoria
The state’s conservative Premier, Barry O’Farrell, .. has said that he personally opposes any no new wind farms.
public concerns about turbines have been ”aided and abetted” by climate sceptics who have launched a Tea Party-style fear campaign. The campaign has featured local lobby groups protesting under the banner of “landscape guardians” – believed to be based on Britain’s Country Guardian.
The NSW Greens said the proposal would kill off the wind-generation sector in favour of coal seam gas projects
Australian state launches world’s toughest wind turbine laws, Telegraph UK 24 Dec 11 Australia’s most populus state has proposed the world’s toughest laws on wind turbines, with a plan to give all residents within 1.25 miles a veto over new projects.By Jonathan Pearlman in Sydney 23 Dec 20111. The New South Wales Government proposed the new rules following controversial rural wind farms which angered residents over noise and raised claims the vibrations cause stress and illness.
Under the proposals, turbines will be subject to a noise limit of 35 decibels, five decibels less than in the state of Victoria, which has similar guidelines. The NSW planning minister, Brad Hazzard, said the measures were “some of the toughest wind-farm guidelines in the country, possibly the world”. ”One hundred per cent of neighbours have to be happy within that
two-kilometre zone,” he said. Read more »
NSW Labor opposes uranium mining, Liberal government discussing it
Labor Opposition says NSW uranium ban should stay Big Pond News, 10 Dec 11 The NSW opposition has slammed any move to lift the state’s ban on uranium mining, saying nobody wants a uranium mine in their backyard.
During a question and answer session at the Lowy Institute in Sydney on Friday night, Premier Barry O’Farrell opened the door to the possibility of allowing uranium exploration and mining in NSW…..http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2011/12/10/Oppn_says_NSW_uranium_ban_should_stay_695152.html
Big energy purchase deal for New South Wales wind farm
Origin Energy Buying Electricity From Gunning Wind Farm by Energy Matters, 24 Nov 11 Origin Energy has expanded its renewable energy portfolio, entering into a long-term power purchase agreement to buy electricity from Acciona’s Gunning Wind Farm.
Under the deal, Origin will initially purchase federal government issued Large-Scale Renewable Energy Certificates (LSREC) from Acciona for a period of two years, beginning January 2012. From January 1st 2014, the agreement allows Origin to buy both the LSRECs and the power generated by the wind farm for a further eight years; with an option to extend. Read more »
Pro nuclear union pushing to lift NSW’s ban on uranium mining, Lithgow not keen
Council airs uranium mining fears ABC News, 16 Nov 11, The Lithgow City Council says it would have concerns about any open-cut mining proposals that might come from a uranium discovery.
The Australian Workers Union has suggested deposits of the material could be found in the Lithgow area, if a ban on exploration was lifted.
Lithgow Mayor Neville Castle says despite wide exploration for other metals, he has never heard of it being found in the region.”Well as far as I’m aware there’s been no identified deposits of uranium and we’ve had obviously a lot of geologists,” he said….. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-16/council-airs-uranium-deposit-fears/3674062
NSW wind farm plan to power 80,000 homes, save 10 million tonnes of greenhouse gas
Seventy new turbines planned for Collector, Goulburn Post, BY MADELINE HAYMAN,07 Nov, 2011 A SYDNEY company has planned the construction of almost 70 wind turbines in the vicinity of Collector. Brochures from energy provider RATCH Australia state that the Collector wind farm is now at stage five of the 10 stage approval process, and is currently being assessed under part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
“The proposed Collector wind farm is an important renewable energy project that will bring benefits to Collector, NSW and Australia,” RATCH Australia CEO Steve Loxton said. “The proposal is to build 69 wind turbines and associated electrical connections on the hills to the west of Collector. “Wind turbines are an efficient and cost effective way of generating clean, renewable electricity.
“Over its operating life the wind farm is expected to generate more than 10,000 gigawatt hours of renewable energy, equivalent to powering 80,000 homes per year for 25 years,” he said. Mr Loxton also said that the wind farm would save more than 10 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its life time…..
“Economic benefits include the revenues earned by the businesses that we will rely on during the construction and operation of the project and by local landholders who are hosting turbines…..
“The local community will directly benefit through the employment opportunities that are generated by the project.”… Mr Loxton said. “As with any new development, there will be some aspects of the proposal that some people will object to. We are working with the community to minimise the impact of these aspects.” http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/news/local/news/general/seventy-new-turbines-planned-for-collector/2348948.aspx
People power effective against New South Wales government plan to dump radioactive waste on Kemps Creek
People power stops Kemps Creek toxic waste plan Liverpool Leader, 1 Nov 11 RADIOACTIVE waste will not be dumped on Kemps Creek following an outpouring of community anger. The state government announced on Monday that more than 5000 tonnes of radioactive material will now be treated on-site by a federal agency at Hunters Hill before it will be removed.
Previous coverage: Kemps Creek dumping ground for radioactive waste
It ends a week of speculation after Finance Minister Greg Pearce agreed there were “no alternative waste sites in NSW”, during budget estimate hearings. Angry that the material from the former Hunters Hill uranium smelter seemed destined to be dumped at the SITA Environmental Solutions site, Kemps Creek residents last week kicked off a campaign to get a 10,000 signature petition to be debated in Parliament…. http://liverpool-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/heated-local-reaction/
NSW government does not know what to do with Hunter’s Hill radioactive uranium waste
Kemps Creek spared radioactive waste, but contaminated soil may be dumped elsewhere in NSW, Henry Budd , The Daily Telegraph October 31, 2011 RADIOACTIVE waste dug up in Hunters Hill will not be dumped at Kemps Creek, the NSW Government announced today, but the opposition says another NSW community could now be the site where material will be dumped.Up to 5000 tonnes of contaminated soil from the site of a former uranium smelter at Hunters Hillwas to have been trucked to Kemps Creek, near Penrith, allowing the sale of three blocks of land in the waterside suburb….
NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson said: ”The Premier is treating the people of NSW with contempt if he thinks it is OK to dump radioactive waste in someone’s backyard and keep it a secret.”The Premier is clearly trying to avoid a second backlash by refusing to tell residents their community is about to become a radioactive dumping ground.”….http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/kemps-creek-spared-radioactive-waste-but-contaminated-soil-may-be-dumped-elsewhere-in-nsw/story-e6freuzi-1226181281010
Send radioactive waste offshore: NSW Labor 9 News 1 Nov 11 Radioactive waste from the north shore should be sent offshore and not trucked to western Sydney, says NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson. The government on Monday announced that radioactive waste from the former Hunters Hill uranium smelter would be stored at a secret Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) facility at Lidcombe….. Read more »
Sydney’s Western suburbs don’t want Hunter’s Hill radioactive uranium waste
Uranium plant waste unwelcome in western suburbs, SMH, Ben Cubby, October 26, 2011 THE state government will face tough local opposition if it intends to take contaminated waste from a radioactive site in Hunters Hill and bury it at Kemps Creek in the city’s west.
It conceded at a budget estimates hearing this week that Kemps Creek was the only viable option if 5800 tonnes of mildly radioactive dirt and rock were to be removed from the site of a former uranium-processing plant.
The waste cannot be taken overseas or interstate, but Penrith City Council remains firmly opposed to the plan, which was first floated under the previous state government. Documents produced last year showed waste was to be placed in sealed trucks and driven to Kemps Creek, and warned that protests against the operation were likely to take place in western Sydney……
Hunters Hill Council wants the site cleaned up and the earth removed but does not want to simply transfer the problem to another part of Sydney. The land, on Nelson Parade, was the site of a radium smelter between 1911 and 1916. About 500 tonnes of uranium ore were processed at the plant and radioactive tailings are still mixed in with soil.
At least six people who have lived on or next door to the site have died of cancer, but there is no proven link between elevated levels of radiation on the site and health problems. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/uranium-plant-waste-unwelcome-in-western-suburbs-20111025-1mi4y.html#ixzz1bx7aVolq
Sydney’s Hunter’s Hill uranium radioactive wastes might be dumped in western suburb
Sydney’s uranium waste could still go west, Josephine Tovey, October 18, 2011 The Premier, Barry O’Farrell, will not rule out sending waste from a former uranium plant in Hunters Hill to western Sydney, despite the Coalition campaigning against the move when it was in opposition.
The Keneally government had signed a contract with SITA Environmental Solutions at Kemps Creek to dispose of the waste but withdrew from it last year after an outcry from the community.
Liberal candidate for Mulgoa Tanya Davies, who won the seat, had accused the former government of using her electorate as “dumping ground for Sydney”…. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/sydneys-uranium-waste-could-still-go-west-20111017-1ltfb.html
Australia’s New England area has bright future for farmers and wind energy
The huge commercial wind farm planned for Sapphire, between Glen Innes and Inverell, has negotiated with more than 20 landholders to take between 150 and 170 turbines.
“Those turbines are all on large properties,” Mr Cruickshank said. “They can run their sheep and cattle without any difference, they get a good return, and there aren’t any neighbours who are affected.”
Wind power puts region in renewable energy box seat, The Armidale Express JANENE CAREY 17 Oct, 2011 NATURAL advantages are making New England a significant part of the push to source 20 per cent of Australia’s energy from renewables by 2020.
Paul Cruickshank, one of the speakers at a low-carbon economy seminar held in Armidale said that although this region has the potential for large scale solar, our real advantage lies in wind power. Read more »
This month
For international news, go to nuclear-news
Check on the Ugly Australian company, Lynas, in Malaysia http://baddevelopers.nfshost.com/Docs/L.htm
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/49872 Peter Watts at Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World
Aboriginal protest in Canberra. Scroll down page. Video news shows no violence from protestors, only from police http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/breaking-news-blog/the-referendum-died-today/20120126-1qj4x.html
of the week. http://www.radiationreport.com/effects-of-radiation/nuclear-apologists-play-shoot-the-messenger-on-radiation/
Energy Matters Video News – Episode 56 – February 1, 2012
http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3021
Anti nuclear action below: - more info at Action Australia « Antinuclear and at Event details « Antinuclear
EVENTS
- February 13 Adelaide Fukushima and the Future of Nuclear Power
- February 23 - Adelaide Nicole Foss – a Mentor For Turbulent Times. Nicole Foss speaks on Energy and the Economy http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=FqRGVNUK5x0
LATEST AUDIO & VIDEO ITEMS. arrive – so fast and so good – go to our audiovisual page Audiovisual « Antinuclear for information on these websites
Nuclear power and WATER – theme for February 2012
For Australia especially, Global warming means WATER shortage – drought over wide areas, more evaporation.
Nuclear power and uranium mining are water-intensive
Uranium mining is water intensive. Already outback communities are being hit by water shortage, as water is being extracted from the Great Arterial Basin faster than it is being replenished.
Yet BHP Billiton has open slather, at no cost whatever, to its daily guzzle of 35 million litres, and BHPB plans to extract an additional 120 million litres of publicly-owned artesian water per day, every day, for the next 70 years.)
Out of sight, out of mind
Groundwater is a major resource, but one that has been taken for granted for decades. In the past, groundwater supplies were treated as an infinite resource, and subject to an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude. But that’s changing. There’s now an enormous interest in the way our groundwater resources are measured, managed and utilised. There are also concerns over issues such as over-extraction of water, pollution, wastage, allocation and licensing issues, water pricing and groundwater salinisation.
The water source beneath one-fifth of Australia
The most well-known and important groundwater source in Australia is the Great Artesian Basin, or GAB. This is a vast groundwater source that underlies 22 per cent of Australia – extending beneath the arid and semi-arid regions of Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales. It covers about 1.7 million square kilometres, and contains an estimated 8700 million megalitres of water. Not surprisingly, it’s one of the largest artesian water basins in the world……
The sustainable yield of a groundwater source depends on balancing the use or discharge against recharge rates. Normally discharge of groundwater occurs through vegetation, into streams and lakes, or through evaporation into the atmosphere. Sustainable yield cannot simply be determined by a measure of the recharge rate. If water is extracted for human use at the recharge rate, discharge to other areas can be affected…..
Extraction of groundwater can also lead to salinity problems and have a negative impact on native vegetation with roots that tap into groundwater, as well as wetlands, rivers and streams. The full impact of using these aquifers as planned is not known, but is likely to reduce the rate of water flowing to support rivers and wetlands and other groundwater dependent ecosystems…. http://www.science.org.au/nova/100/100key.htm
Garlick said water from the Great Artesian Basin in Central Australia is being depleted to keep residual radioactive dust from uranium mining wet in order to keep it from blowing across the continent. Seven million gallons of water is being extracted from the basin per day to keep the radioactive dust in place, she said.
Despite its profits more than tripling in the last three years, BHP has never paid a cent for the vast amounts of water used by the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine near Roxby Downs. The mine currently uses approximately 35 million litres of water a day from the Great Artesian Basin. Under the Roxby Downs Indenture Act BHP is not required to pay for this water usage.
The Indenture Act applies specifically to the Olympic Dam mine, and provides for wide-ranging legal exemptions and overrides from environmental and Aboriginal heritage protection laws that apply elsewhere in the state, including the Environmental Protection Act and the Natural Resources Act (which incorporates water management issues).
“The Indenture Act means that the Olympic Dam mine is not subject to the same environmental regulatory framework as other industrial projects in the state,’ explained Nectaria Calan of Friends of the Earth Adelaide. “Additionally, by allowing BHP to take water from the Great Artesian Basin for free, the South Australian government is essentially providing BHP with a massive subsidy,” she continued.
The water intake from the Great Artesian Basin has already had adverse impacts on the unique Mound Springs found near Lake Eyre, which are fed by the underlying Artesian Basin, and are sacred to the Arabunna people, the traditional owners of the area.
As part of the proposed expansion of the Olympic Dam mine, BHP Billiton proposes to increase its water consumption by an additional 200 million litres per day. Water intake from the Great Artesian Basin will increase to up to 42 million litres per day, with the remainder to come from a proposed desalination plant at Point Lowly. This amounts to over 100,000 litres of water per minute.
“The vast water usage of uranium mines is often forgotten in the debate about uranium and nuclear energy. Here we are, in the driest state on the driest continent on earth, host to a mine which needs millions of litres of water each day. Due to the Indenture Act, we are essentially exporting our water overseas for free,” said Ms. Calan. (FOE)
