Antinuclear

Australian news, and some related international items

Puerto Rico cancels Trump’s crony contract to rebuild electrical power grid

Swamp Tales: Puerto Rico Cancels $300 Million Trump Crony Electrical Grid Rebuild Contract, The Progressive, by Harvey Wasserman October 30, 2017, The swampish saga would be hard to invent. In early October, Puerto Rico’s Energy Power Authority awarded a $300 million tax-funded contract to reconstruct the island’s hurricane devastated power grid to a two-person, two-year-old firm based in the small Montana hometown of Trump Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. The company is financially backed by a major donor to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

About eighty percent of Puerto Rico is still without power. Many hospitals are still dark. Local citizens needing medical treatments such as surgeries or dialysis have been forced to flee to places where electric power is available.

Puerto Rico’s power grid centers on antiquated oil, gas, and coal generators, the median age of which is forty-four years. Just two percent Puerto Rico’s juice came from wind and solar. One wind farm, on the south side of the island, survived Hurricane Maria largely intact, as did at least one small commercial solar array.

For Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million residents, restoring power is a matter of life and death. But the $300 million dollar contract was handed, with no public hearings, legislative discussion or long-term planning, to Whitefish, an obscure company from rural Montana.

At least one Zinke relative—his son—has worked on part-time contract for Whitefish. Zinke claims he had nothing to do with the deal.

Anti-Trump sentiment is rampant throughout the island, fed by a lack of concern expressed by the President for Puerto Ricans’ dire situation, and capped by a recent visit in which he pitched paper towels to a crowd of bewildered local residents. When San Juan mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz questioned the contract with Whitefish, the company threatened to stop work, then apologized.

The Puerto Rican power company’s contract astoundingly exempted Whitefish from official audits, stating, “In no event shall [governmental bodies] have the right to audit or review the cost and profit elements.” It also waived “any claim against Contractor related to delayed completion of the work,” meaning Whitefish was empowered to pretty much take as long as it wanted to complete the job……..

the uproar should also focus on the growing demand that the electric power systems in Puerto Rico and the rest of the Caribbean be reconstructed around renewables and microgrids, rather than fossil-fired central distribution networks.

Most likely those systems will not be built by Trump cronies flown in at huge expense, who then must dodge rocks and bottles being thrown by angry locals.

Long-time Progressive contributor Harvey Wasserman is a safe energy activist and radio talk host based in Los Angeles. His Solartopia! Our Green-Powered Earth is at www.solartopia.org. http://progressive.org/dispatches/swamp-tales-puerto-rico-cancels-300-million-trump-crony-elec/#.WfeMOwoqpXw.email

November 1, 2017 Posted by | General News | Leave a comment

1 November More REneweconomy news

  • Gupta plans to take Sydney, Melbourne steel plants 100% renewable
    Gupta says bigger steel plants in Sydney and Melbourne will go 100% renewable, and there is no reason why an aluminium smelter could not follow.
    VisitGiles Parkinson, 
  • Five reasons not to build new coal plant in Queensland
    Climate Council report on Queensland renewables offers timely reminder that building a new coal plant in the state’s north is a terrible idea.
    VisitSophie Vorrath, 
  • Explainer: The big 3 projects making South Australia capital of battery storage
    The 100MW/100MWh battery storage project proposed for Whyalla is one of three big projects that will make South Australia the leader in battery storage, as well as wind and solar.
    VisitGiles Parkinson, 
  •  
    NEG must grow new renewable energy capacity, not shrink it
    It remains unclear how the NEG will ensure the investor confidence required to deliver a strong pipeline of new clean energy projects.
    VisitKane Thornton, 
  •  
    Battery of the Nation worthy of national significance
    Battery of the Nation would double Tasmania’s renewable energy capacity from 2,500MW to about 5,000MW, through a combination of pumped hydro storage development, private wind power development, and boosting the efficiency of existing hydropower assets.
    VisitHydro Tasmania, 
  •  
    Vector wins new Australian smart metering contract
    Vector has announced it has executed a contract to provide metering services to EnergyAustralia with an initial three-year deployment period that will commence before the end of 2017.
    VisitVector, 
  • LONGi selected into “New China Nifty 50” by Goldman Sachs
    Recently, the world’s largest investment bank Goldman Sachs selected 50 stocks reflecting the Chinese economy at the new stage, known as the “New China Nifty 50”.
    VisitPR Newswire, 

November 1, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy | Leave a comment

Shock Jock Alan Jones comes out swinging against Adani coal megamine project

“I’m not so stupid as not to understand the money is being tipped into major political parties with a view to getting an end result they seek, including a billion dollars of taxpayers’ money to build a railway line. Why? When they get the railway line they believe further mine approvals will be given and make a fortune out of the coal traffic along the railway line. This is smelly no matter how it’s viewed.”

Alan Jones Cries Conspiracy Over Adani’s Carmichael Coal Mine, “This is smelly no matter how it’s viewed.”  Huff Post 30/10/2017 Veteran radio broadcaster Alan Jones unleashed a scathing rant against Adani’s proposed $21 billion Carmichael mine on Monday night, criticising the connections the Indian group has in Australian politics through foreign donations.

 Appearing on the ABC’s ‘Q&A’, Jones attacked the multinational company, saying he doesn’t “understand how we would regard these people as proper people to have the kind of involvement in Australia that they now seek.”

“There’s something very smelly about this that the Federal Liberal Government, the Federal Labor Opposition, the Queensland Labor Government and the Queensland Liberal Opposition all have got their hands up saying they’re going to support this entity,” he said.

 “Here are these companies tipping in money to the major political parties… There has to be something on here. There’s got to be people knocking on people’s doors with money saying, ‘please vote for us. Please support all of this’. They’re throwing any amount of money at getting approval.

Continue reading →

November 1, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics | Leave a comment

Australia’s clean energy transition is underway – and fast!

Time for Australia to wake up to scale and pace of clean energy transition, REneweconomy By Giles Parkinson on 1 November 2017 UK billionaire Sanjeev Gupta is a very rich man, with a very big business that consumes a lot of energy.

In the last few months he has come to the same conclusion as tens of thousands of Australian homeowners and thousands of businesses, big and small: the best way to cut your bill for energy is to generate your own.

Gupta this week unveiled the details of his plans to build 1 gigawatt of large-scale solar, battery storage, pumped hydro and demand management for the Whyalla steel works and other big energy users in South Australia.

Gupta reckons it will slash his company’s energy bills by around 40 per cent, and he intends to repeat the dose in his even bigger steel plants in Melbourne and Sydney, which he says will be powered 100 per cent by renewable energy within a few years.

Most businesses reckon they can achieve similar savings, which is why the likes of Nectar Farms are turning to wind and battery storage for a $750 million investment in a new glass house and energy park near Stawell in Victoria, and why zinc refiner Zinc Metals is turning to solar to slash the costs of electricity in north Queensland and, like Gupta, help to expand the business.

It’s why Telstra has contracted to take the output of a 72MW solar farm in Queensland, and will do the same with many more such facilities; it’s why Foster’s Brewing is going 100 per cent renewables;why Woolworths is also turning to solar, along with countless other large retailers, and mining groups.

Households can do even better. The pay-back for a rooftop solar system is probably less than five years – for an asset that will last 25 years. The savings on an electricity bill, even without the generous “premium” tariffs that too many still enjoy, are well over 50 per cent.

As Gupta says, and nearly two million household and businesses understand, it’s not a difficult equation. The cost of solar has plunged 90 per cent in the last five years, and the cost of storage is following suit.

The cost of grid power, on the other hand, has more than doubled…… http://reneweconomy.com.au/time-for-australia-to-wake-up-to-scale-and-pace-of-clean-energy-transition-

November 1, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy | Leave a comment

Well deserved award for RenewEconomy founder Giles Parkinson

RenewEconomy founder Giles Parkinson wins award, as RE page views hit 25 million, http://reneweconomy.com.au/reneweconomy-founder-giles-parkinson-wins-award-as-re-page-views-hit-25-million-61271/ RenewEconomy founder and editor Giles Parkinson on Monday was announced as the winner of a major environmental prize, the Deni Greene award, as the cumulative total of page views on the website passed 25 million.In a ceremony in Hobart on Monday, the prize for environmental leadership in a professional capacity was presented to Giles by Bob Brown, the head of the Bob Brown Foundation and the former Senator and Australian Greens leader.

Also receiving awards were Stop Adani activists Adrian Burragubba, (Environmentalist of the Year),  Murrawah Maroochy Johnson (Young Environmentalist of the Year), and Ken Peters-Dodd, on behalf of Reef Defenders (Community Environment Prize).

Brown said it was appropriate that the prizes went to activists working to stop the Adani mega coal mine, given that it was a landmark issue that ranked in importance with the Franklin Dam campaigns in Tasmania in the 1980s.

 Brown has promised to lead a “cavalcade” of buses and cars to north Queensland to prevent work on the mine, which will be dependent on Australian government funding if it is to go ahead and will be one of the key issues in the upcoming Queensland state election.

Brown quoted polls that showed the overwhelming majority of Australians were opposed to the mine. Yet, he noted, in the last federal election, 90 per cent of votes were made for parties that do not oppose the project. (The Greens are the only party that do).

Parkinson said he was delighted to receive the reward, and the recognition of RenewEconomy’s growing stature as a source of news, information and analysis that is all but impossible to find in mainstream media.

Deni Greene was a US energy expert, who first came to Australia to advise on energy efficiency and co-generation projects to provide an alternative to damming the Franklin River and building other dams.

She became a leading expert and helped design some of Australia’s formative climate change and clean energy policy documents.

Alan Pears, a previous winner of the award, told RenewEconomy that in 1990 Greene led a project that produced a report showing how Australia could cut its emissions by 20 per cent by 2005 – and benefit from this effort by $6 billion.

“She was mercilessly attacked by the energy establishment, and paid a high price in lost work. But that study was very solid – it just challenged the group-think about the cost and practicality of addressing climate change. In another decade or so, many people will realise she was right,” Pears said.

And as a sign of that growing interest in climate and clean energy solutions, RenewEconomy’s total page views since its launch in 2012 has soared through 25 million in October.

Page views have grown 50 per cent over the last 12 months and now average around 800,000 per month. Monthly unique visitors average nearly 300,000 – an extraordinary number for a niche publication.

Parkinson said that readers were attracted to the website’s two major themes: the falling costs and exciting developments in renewable and storage and grid technologies, and the growing frustration with policy design, politicians and regulators.

November 1, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy | Leave a comment

California governor Jerry Brown heads to Europe for climate talks

California governor heads to Europe for climate talks   http://m.startribune.com/california-governor-heads-to-europe-for-climate-talks/454332843/?section=nation By KATHLEEN RONAYNE , ASSOCIATED PRESS October 31, 2017  SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Jerry Brown is continuing his international fight against climate change with an 11-day trip to Europe starting Saturday including stops at the Vatican and a United Nations conference in Germany.

Brown is a chief adversary to Republican President Donald Trump in the battle over U.S. climate policy, promising to help the country reach its emissions reductions targets even as Trump withdraws from an international climate accord. He’s been named the special adviser for states and regions at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany.

“While the White House declares war on climate science and retreats from the Paris Agreement, California is doing the opposite and taking action,” Brown said in a statement announcing the trip. “We are joining with our partners from every part of the world to do what needs to be done to prevent irreversible climate change.”

The non-profit California State Protocol Foundation, which accepts donations from private businesses, pays for Brown’s international travel. Travel for Brown’s staff members will be partially covered by money from the non-profit Climate Registry and the Climate Action Reserve, a program that deals with carbon offset projects, spokesman Evan Westrup said.

Brown’s November trip follows visits to China and Russia earlier this year to promote international collaboration on climate change. Next year, he plans to host a summit in San Francisco.

He will give a speech Saturday to the Vatican Pontifical Academy of Sciences symposium. During the week, Brown will address European Parliament leaders, the state parliament in Baden-Wurttemberg Germany, meet with representatives from national scientific academies and serve on several panels at the U.N. conference.

Govs. Kate Brown of Oregon, Jay Inslee of Washington and Terry McAuliffe of Virginia — all Democrats — will join him on a panel about states’ roles in fighting climate change. California Senate leader Kevin de Leon, also a Democrat, is scheduled to speak Friday at a Vatican workshop on climate.

His trip ends Nov. 14.

November 1, 2017 Posted by | General News | Leave a comment

1 November REneweconomy news

  •  

    • Is there a future for ‘pro-nuclear environmentalism’?
      Nuclear lobbyists – especially the self-styled ‘pro-nuclear environmentalists’ – are few in number. So how much longer can they keep flogging a dead horse?
      VisitJim Green, 
    • Could Tesla have bigger plans for Australia than the Big Battery?
      A comment posted, and then deleted, by Tesla marketing has piqued interest in the EV maker’s plans for Australia.
      VisitStaff Reporter, 
    • Graph of the Day: Victoria nears 50% renewables over weekend
      Hot and windy Spring weather saw Victorian solar and wind power generate enough to meet to 44.6 per cent of local demand on Sunday.
      VisitSophie Vorrath, 
    •  
      Labor needs to head left, and drop Adani, to win Queensland poll
      Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today called the state election for 25 November, about two months before the three-year anniversary of Labor’s shock win in January 2015.
      Visit1d ago
    • Know your NEM: Climbing a wall of worry over wind and solar
      Wind and solar PV account for 54 per cent of demand in South Australia since the closure of Hazelwood, and the grid is still functioning.
      VisitDavid Leitch, 
    • “Shame on you:” Frydenberg admits he doesn’t have rooftop solar
      60 Minutes interview reveals Australia’s energy and environment minister has not installed rooftop solar at his family home – and why.
      VisitSophie Vorrath, 

  • Concerns over 5-minute rule as ESB warns of perils of wind and solar
    ESB briefing raises concerns about future of 5-minute rule, its description of wind and solar as a threat to the system, and the hiring of Frontier Economics to do its modeling.
    VisitGiles Parkinson, 

November 1, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy | Leave a comment

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