Member for Northern Victoria Donna Petrovich called to account on her claims against wind power
there is an onus on Ms Petrovich to come clean on her research if she is to stand by her claim that communities right across the Macedon and McHarg Ranges and big chunks of Central Victoria are “not appreciative” of this form of green and sustainable energy.
Yes to renewables
http://yes2renewables.org/2012/05/07/where-did-the-no-go-zones-come-from/Where did the ‘No Go’ zones come from? May 7, 2012 by Cam Walker The following is a letter from last weeks Macedon Ranges Weekly. Where did the ‘No Go’ zones come from? Last year, the state government created a series of ‘No Go’ zones, which block wind energy developments across much of Victoria, including the Macedon – McHarg Ranges. The government seems to think these ranges extend almost as far north as Bendigo.
Member for Northern Victoria Donna Petrovich has said in state parliament that the No Go zones were “carefully” selected where communities “on the whole have told us that they are not appreciative of wind farms”.
Given the controversial nature of the No Go zones, and the widespread support for the Macedon and Castlemaine community wind proposals, it would be useful to understand how Ms Petrovich consulted the community
to reach her conclusion that wind power is unpopular. Read more »
Australian company selling award-winning solar panels to Bulgaria
REC Inks 20MW Bulgarian Solar Panel Deals, by Energy Matters, 7 May 12, http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3193 Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) has signed agreements to supply 20 MW of its award-winning solar panels for facilities throughout Bulgaria.
The company says it signed a deal for 10 MW with ALMA-D Ltd. to provide its 240 watt Peak Energy series modules to a 6 MW solar farm in Kamenar and a 4 MW plant in Kameno – both near the Black Sea in Bulgaria.
REC also signed three separate contracts with local Bulgarian partner Elektro-Solar Systems Ltd. for 2, 3 and 5 MW solar electric generation plants; all of which will be constructed this year.
The company says the latest deals bring the total amount of REC modules installed in Bulgaria to 50 MW; boosting REC’s share in Bulgaria’s solar market to 15%.
Among the other accolades for REC – a nomination for 2010′s prestigious Intersolar Photovoltaics Award and a Solar Industry Award for Module Innovation, also in 2010.
REC’s Peak Energy solar modules have become a common sight on the rooftops of Australian homes after Melbourne-based Energy Matters introduced the panels to the local home solar power market in June 2010.
Energy Matters is a REC Platinum Partner – the only company in the Asia-Pacific region to achieve that standing. The company was also Australia’s first accredited REC Solar Professional and is able to offer an extra 2 years product warranty on REC solar panels the firm installs.
Australia’s State governments fervently slashing renewable energy
Not so fast to the green scheme graveyard Crikey, by Fergus Green, climate change lawyer and policy analyst, 2 May 12, Federalism of the co-operative and unco-operative variety is back in the news. As the July 1 start date for the federal government’s carbon pricing scheme looms, the uppity conservative state premiers’ league is out in force, crying foul about the “tax” and fervently slashing “redundant” and “costly” state-based climate change schemes. Meanwhile, federal programs such as the Renewable Energy Target are under the microscope, with the Coalition and big business calling for an end to this kind of “green tape”
Victoria’s Baillieu government recently accepted the recommendation 
of a review of the Victorian Climate Change Act to scrap the state’s 20% emissions reduction target by 2020 — the latest in a long line of anti-environment, pro-fossil fuels policy developments during its first 16 months in office. Queensland’s newly elected Newman government has opted for a more expeditious approach, axing just about every Queensland government program with a tinge of green — from the $430 million Queensland Climate Change Fund (which provides $30 million a year for climate change initiatives) to the $50 million Smart Energy Savings Program (which helps businesses improve energy efficiency).
Amid this carnage, it is worth considering just what is the appropriate role of complementary state and federal policies in tackling climate change in the context of the new carbon price……
The federal cap only covers a limited number of emissions-producing sectors – notably energy generation, industrial processes, landfill waste and fugitive emissions (for example, methane released from coalmines). Sectors not covered by the scheme include agriculture, forestry and (via changes to the fuel tax and rebate regimes) parts of transport.* Any state or federal government policies that reduce emissions in these sectors will result in abatement beyond that brought about by the federal cap. As the PC points out in its Garnaut Review submission, policies to target these sectors make sense to the extent that they would reduce the costs of achieving an overall national emissions reduction target.
Emissions embodied in the fossil fuels we export, which far exceed our domestic emissions, are not subject to the carbon price either. This gives states (which largely control mining policy) a critical role in influencing global greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/05/01/not-so-fast-to-the-green-scheme-graveyard/
Victoria’s Baillieu government YES to coal, NO to wind – despite the facts
– A wind farm cannot be built within two kilometres of a person’s home without their consent. But a coal mine can be opened within 100 meters of a home without the owner’s consent.
– Wind farms are now excluded from ‘no go’ zones stretching across the state. But coal mines face no such ‘no go’ zones: the only place they are excluded from is national parks (for now).
– All wind farms require planning approval from the local council. Coal projects, on the other hand, can avoid the need to obtain certain planning approvals at all in some cases.
– Wind farms must comply with environmental laws like any other project. Coal projects, on the other hand, are exempt from parts of key laws like the Environment Protection Act 1970 (Vic).
Coal or wind in your backyard? http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/coal-or-wind-your-backyard Michael Power, 30 April 12, If you’re going to ‘pick winners’ from the energy market, you at least want to choose wisely. So it’s hard to see why Victorian laws treat coal and coal seam gas more favourably than renewable energy.
The Environment Defenders Office (Victoria) (EDO) released a report last week that finds Victoria’s laws give the mining industry privileged treatment that few other industries enjoy. In particular, they now make it easier to obtain approval for a coal mine than a wind farm in Victoria.
The planning rules for wind farms introduced by the state government last year are some of the toughest that apply to any type of development anywhere in the country. No new wind projects have been proposed in Victoria since they have been introduced.
At the same time, the government has moved to relax the laws that apply to new mining projects, developing a strategy to encourage brown coal export in Victoria, and initiating a Parliamentary Inquiry to identify and remove barriers to further ‘Greenfields’ minerals exploration and mining. Read more »
Aboriginal landowners in court – their case against Muckaty nuclear waste dump will continue
news today from the federal court in Melbourne re the Muckaty legal case - Dave Sweeney, 28 March 12
The judge did not accept moves by the Commonwealth and Northern Land Council (NLC) to have the Traditional Owners case struck out.
A wide range of previously secret documentation – including the nomination deed and key anthropological advice and evidence – will now become public and a trial date will be set sometime in the future.
A move by the NLC/Commonwealth to have proceedings re-located to Darwin was also rejected and proceedings will continue in Melbourne:
Commercial Eco Whisper wind turbine installed near Tullamarine, melbourne
The Eco Whisper Turbine is set to revolutionise delivery of renewable electricity supply to midsize commercial, manufacturing or industrial facilities, particularly in rural or remote locations that rely on diesel replacement.
Queensland renewable energy company Eco Whisper installs first commercial turbine, NewsMaker, , March 28, 2012 - The first commercial application of the Eco Whisper turbine, the world’s quietest 20kW wind turbine, is being installed and will be connected to the grid near Tullamarine in Melbourne. Produced and developed by Queensland-based Renewable Energy Solutions Australia (RESA), the 30 blade Eco Whisper turbine delivers virtually silent operation and produces up to 30 percent more power than conventional 3-bladed turbine designs.
Ideal for mid-sized facilities and perfect to replace diesel generation facilities, the Eco Whisper collects wind more efficiently and can operate in both high and low wind conditions. One turbine can produce enough power for around three average homes. Read more »
Ballarat, Victoria launches drive for big solar energy
National campaign aims to shine spotlight on big solar. ABC Ballarat, By Margaret Burin, 26 March, 2012 Renewable energy advocates have begun a national campaign to promote large-scale solar power generation. About 50 groups around Australia are behind a campaign to push building large solar energy plants.
Supporters from Ballarat are the latest to launch the movement. Andrew Bray from the 100% Renewables group says large-scale solar energy is an underutilised resource in Australia. ”We’re the sunniest country on Earth pretty much and we have no operating large-scale solar stations,” he says.
Mr Bray says large-scale solar power projects – which includes building solar towers and constructing panels in paddocks – are economically viable and can counter coal-fired power stations. ”To give you some proportion, the normal coal-fired station is 750 to 1000 megawatts, and there’s no reason why solar power stations can’t scale up to that size.
“There’s a lot of know-how, lots and lots of know-how, in fact some of the major solar advances have come out of Australian universities and CSIRO, but industry needs to start putting out modest sized ones to learn how to do it and teach the financiers that the risks are quite modest.”
The Gillard Government has committed $10billion towards a new commercial fund, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Mr Bray says if parliament passes the legislation, it will help drive funding for big solar projects….
http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2012/03/26/3464085.htm
Federal Court hearing on Muckaty station legal challenge
“It is alleged that the Northern Land Council engaged in misconduct and breach of fiduciary duty because of the way they nominated the Muckaty site.”
26 March 12, Lawyers representing Traditional Owners in the Northern Territory will appear in the Federal Court in Melbourne tomorrow (Tuesday 27th March) to continue their legal challenge to the proposed nuclear waste dump at Muckaty Station. Read more »
Vital importance of renewable energy to rural Victoria’s future
Renewable energy ‘vital’ to region, The Warrnambool Standard, 21 Mar, 2012 MP Lily A’mbrosio yesterday continued the Opposition’s attack on state government wind farm polices when she visited Warrnambool to gauge the importance of renewable energy projects for the region. She also drove through Hawkesdale for a view of the Macarthur wind farm towers’ construction.
Ms A’mbrosio, the Opposition’s spokeswoman on energy, said government policy could strangle potential jobs growth and force companies to build their projects interstate. “You’ll see a faltering of jobs particularly in regional Victoria,”
she told The Standard. “Energy and Resources Minister O’Brien has been deathly silent in the debate. “I call on him to visit the Great South Coast to see for himself how important for the local economy renewable industry is. “He needs to account for the government’s failure to back renewable energy.”
Ms A’mbrosio said she was “enthralled” by her briefing from city council chief executive Bruce Anson and mayor Cr Jacinta Ermacora about the economic and jobs potential for the region from the renewable energy industry.
Ms A’mbrosio said she would also visit other shires in the next couple of months including Moyne, which has the region’s largest collection of wind farm projects….. http://www.standard.net.au/news/local/news/general/renewable-energy-vital-to-region/2495044.aspx
Victoria’s Liberal government pushing ahead with brown coal
Victoria announces plans to cash in on brown coal reserves 
ABC Radio National P.M. March 20, 2012 MARK COLVIN: A carbon tax was supposed to spell the death of brown coal but the Victorian Government has announced plans to export more of the energy source.
It’s announced plans to cash in on the billions of tonnes of brown coal in the La Trobe Valley. The Energy Minister, Michael O’Brien, says a number of companies overseas are developing low emissions technology for brown coal power
generation.
But one environmental mining engineer says it’s a fanciful suggestion and there’s no evidence of clean, brown coal anywhere in the world…. http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3459690.htm
Huge commercial rooftop photovoltaic solar system for Port Melbourne
Australia’s Largest Rooftop Commercial Solar Power Project Announced, by Energy Matters, 19 Mar 12, NEXTDC Limited (ASX:NXT) (“the Company” or “NEXTDC”) has made another unprecedented move for the Australian data centre industry by committing to build what will be Australia’s largest privately-owned rooftop photovoltaic solar system at its Port Melbourne data centre called “M1″.
NEXTDC will spend approximately $1.2 million to install up to 400kW of solar panels to generate around 550 MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity per annum. A system of this size will offset over 670 tonnes of CO2 per annum. This equates to taking around 200 cars off the road, or powering NABERS 4 star office space for over 890 people….
NEXTDC has already incorporated energy efficient measures into its new-build data centres such as trigeneration plant and outside free air-cooling. After successful deployment of the solar panels at M1, additional investments will be made at their other data centres around Australia.
“We are proud to be the first data centre operator in Australia to invest in solar energy,” Mr Slattery said. “In fact, we are also committing to install up to 1MW of solar energy within the next 12 months at our upcoming data centre facilities”….
http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3109
The Eco Whisper – small, silent wind turbine in operation in Geelong
New polish on the factory floor, The Age, Jo Chandler, March 16, 2012 Geelong manufacturer Austeng ticks many of the boxes nominated by industry gurus as crucial to survival in the globalised world. Is this modest firm the template for the future?……..
The latest proud product of their collective skills sits outside in the yard. It’s a prototype 21-metre high wind turbine, its blades whizzing silently in the breeze, generating 20 kilowatts of energy. It’s emblematic of the kind of future George is determined to be part of. He has put his money where his mouth is, buying back the Eco Whisper prototype that he had built for a renewable power company, and he estimates it will generate about a third of the energy required for his factory. Read more »
Premier Baillieu out of step with voters, on climate chnage
Voters call for action on climate change, The Age, Adam Morton March 9, 2012 AS THE Baillieu government prepares to reveal the future of Victoria’s climate change laws, a poll has found two-thirds of Coalition voters think the state has a responsibility to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The Essential Media poll of 1009 Victorians, commissioned by conservation group Environment Victoria, found 76 per cent believed the state government should cut emissions and not leave it to the federal government to take action through a carbon tax or other steps.
Among Coalition voters, 66 per cent said the state had a responsibility to cut emissions.
Victorians want the state government to act despite belief in climate
change being split between those who think that it is caused by human
activity (47 per cent) and those who think it is either due to natural
variation or not happening at all (44 per cent).
The poll comes as the state government is due to this month release a
review of the Climate Change Act introduced by the previous Labor government, which includes a target of cutting Victoria’s emissions by 20 per cent this decade.
The Baillieu government has wound back some clean energy programs and fuelled expectations the target could be reduced or scrapped.
Other findings from the poll conducted in December and January were:
■ Just 22 per cent of voters consider wind farm laws that give households right of veto over turbines within two kilometres of their house fair. Fifty per cent said the laws were not fair. ■ A majority said they wanted fewer coal-fired power plants (63 per cent) and more renewable energy (78 per cent) and energy efficiency (82 per cent). : http://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/voters-call-for-action-on-climate-change-20120308-1un7y.html#ixzz1ofcfEu4I
Call to National Party M.P. to back Clean Energy Finance Corporation
Stawell Climate Action Group call to build big solar Stawell Times, 09 Mar, 2012 STAWELL – Stawell Climate Action Group, got to work this week building a huge sign spelling out the words ‘big solar’, to show their support for the development of large scale solar power in Australia….They gathered at Central Park, Stawell with overalls, hardhats and tools to
build the big solar sign… .
They are calling on John Forrest to get behind a new $10 billion fund for renewable energy. Read more »
A history of dishonesty – Waubra Foundation, Landscape Guardians, and the Baillieu government.
The question we, the voters, need to ask is: ‘how did such a sorry lot with such a transparent and dishonest agenda succeed in bringing the wind industry to its knees thus depriving the public of a chance to reduce our carbon emissions?’
The answer is that no government could have been so easily duped unless it was complicit.
It is clear that the scuttling of the wind industry in Victoria was a deliberate political ploy to appease the coal industry, with the Guardians’ scare campaign simply serving as window dressing to dupe the public into thinking it was all in our interest.
This is the third part of Independent Australia environment editor Sandi Keane’s trilogy on the role of deception in the public debate on global warming. The first part, Deception is our Product, looked at the role of clever PR practitioners hired by the mining oligarchs to trick the unsuspecting into sacrificing their interests for those of their clients. The second part was the handy guide: The Practical Guide to Trickery & Fakery in the Digital Age. This thirdinstalment is the actual case study of Sandi’s investigation of the Landscape Guardians and the Waubra Foundation.
CASE STUDY: The Landscape Guardians and the Waubra Foundation, Independent Australia, 6 March 12, It began early last year, when a mate who likes to argue the toss with me on enviro-issues tipped me off about the anti-wind group, the Landscape Guardians.
The first hint that these people were not the self-appointed protectors of the landscape they claimed to be was the name. No dinky di greenie group would knowingly jump into bed with the notorious UK Country Guardians, with its links to both climate skeptics and the nuclear industry. The pressure group was set up by Sir Bernard Ingham, who was a former press secretary to Margaret Thatcher, consultant to the nuclear industry and an acknowledged “black belt” in the art of spin. Read more »
This month
For international news, go to nuclear-news ion for Western Australia’s energy future
http://ifyoulovethisplanet.org/?p=5755 Mary Olson on how women are more vulnerable to atomic radiation
- Muckaty Gathering 25 May 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1J9q-OeEO4 - NuclearKop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpMhhzkeYjk
Anti nuclear action below: - more info at Action Australia « Antinuclear and at Event details « Antinuclear
- http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/put-the-brakes-on-toxic-trucks-no-nuclear-waste-at-muckaty
- Online Petition - against the proposed national radioactive waste dump at Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory http://www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/no-nuclear-waste-dump-at-muckaty.htmlUranium Free WA Sign the online charter saying no to uranium mining in Western Australia http://ccwa.org.au/takeaction/uraniumnotforsaleSIGN THE PETITION TO STOP LYNAS RARE EARTH EXPORTS TO MALAYSIA http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ban-rare-earth-exports/
EVENTS
- May 29 – Melbourne - Amnesty International panel on weapons and war .
- May 29 – 30 Melbourne - Wind Farms conference
- May 30 Darwin - expert Panel on Nuclear Waste Dump plan for Muckaty
- June 2 - Nuclear Abolition Day
- June 13 - Melbourne -Lizards Revenge -Shut Roxby Down
- June 14 Melbourne Beyond Zero Emissions ZCA 2020 plan.
- June 19 - Melbourne Public meeting US FORCES IN AUSTRALIA: SECURITY OR THREAT? USforcesflyer-2.pdf
The Nuclear/uranium industry and WOMEN - theme for May 2012
Deceptive information given to women about breast cancer. Women are repeatedly told about “genetic causes”, about “risks of obesity:. about “diet factors”, about “not having babies”, or “having a baby at a later age” even about “stress” – as causes of breast cancer. The not so subtle message is that it is THEIR FAULT – a problem caused by the individual woman, so – the only preventive actions must be those made by individual women.
The facts are otherwise. The single most proven cause of breast cancer is ionising radiation. After that, other environmental causes exist, amongst the wash of chemicals, and synthetic hormones, that pervade our environment. After that – probably some hereditary susceptability, amongst some women.
Why is this so? One could conclude that breast cancer is a growth industry. There’s money at every point in this sorry cycle – from the radiation from nuclear fuel through to the medical radiation used to detect and treat breast cancer. There is no money clearly involved in shutting down a toxic industry, and preventing millions of breast cancers.
How does ionising radiation cause breast cancer? Ionising radiation comes in several forms. for example, Gamma rays, x-rays, and some sub-atomic particles such as alpha particles and protons In ionising radiation, a tiny electron is released from an atom, and enters a body cell, hitting the DNA in the cell’s nucleus, and damaging it. The damaged DNA sends out ‘wrong’ messages telling the cell to divide in an uncontrolled manner – cancer develops.
“...the time between radiation exposure and breast cancer development is longest in young women and shortest for older women; young children do not show a detectable elevation in breast cancer occurrence for some 35 to 40 years after exposure. Radiation-induced breast cancers appear to occur later in life during the same ages when breast cancer rates, in general, begin to increase. It appears that a single exposure of sufficient dose during early life can increase breast cancer risk even 50 years later...
the relationship between radiation dose and breast cancer risk can be described by a straight line which implies that no matter how low the dose, there is some small risk associated with the exposure.…
The risk of subsequent breast cancer from very high doses is lower than that which might be expected from the effects of lower doses. This is because radiation at high doses is an effective killer of cells and dead cells are not able to develop into cancer…..
Young girls are at highest risk …when a young girl is exposed to radiation, she will have menstrual cycles for several decades that might enhance the development of any underlying damage caused by the radiation. There is evidence to suggest that exposure to the immature breast during early development, and around the age of beginning menstruation, carries a higher risk than at other times of a woman’s life.
It is unclear how radiation exposure of the breast during pregnancy affects a woman’s breast cancer risk. However, a recent study of women treated for Hodgkin’s disease concluded that pregnancy might be a time of increased sensitivity of breast tissue to the cancercausing effects of radiation……”
.” John D Boyce, Jr, DSc, Scientific Director,Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors in New York State.. Ionizing Radiation and Breast Cancer Risk
