US government report finds steady and persistent global warming
Skeptical Science 6 December 2017 by John Abraham The US Global Change Research Program recently released a Climate Science Special Report. It is clearly written – an authoritative summary of the science, and easy to understand.
The first main chapter deals with changes to the climate and focuses much attention on global temperatures. When most people think of climate change, they think of the global temperature – specifically the temperature of the air a few meters above the Earth surface. There are other (better) ways to measure climate change such as heat absorbed by the oceans, melting ice, sea level rise, or others. But the iconic measurement most people think of are these air temperatures, shown in the top frame of the figure below. [on original] ……..https://www.skepticalscience.com/report-steady-persistent-gw.html
Australia’s first offshore wind farm wins international funding
The Age , Cole Latimer, 6 Dec 17, Australia’s first offshore wind farm, an $8 billion 2000 megawatt project, has secured financial backing from a major international green energy investment fund.Offshore Energy has joined with Danish fund management group Copenhagen Infrastructure Partnership to develop the renewable energy project.
The offshore wind farm, dubbed the Star of the South, will be built 10 to 25 kilometres off the coast of Victoria’s Gippsland region, in the Bass Strait, and could provide one and a half times the energy of the now-closed Victorian Hazelwood coal-fired power station.
Offshore Energy managing director Andy Evans told Fairfax Media the partnership would transform the company and lift the viability of offshore wind for Australia………
Star of the South is currently Australia’s only offshore wind project.
“The industry doesn’t really exist at the moment,” Mr Evans told Fairfax Media.
He said there is currently a greater focus on solar and onshore wind projects in Australia, as they are currently cheaper than offshore wind, however, “the cost of offshore will come down, and has already seen falling costs in Europe.”
However, it is not Australia’s only offshore renewable energy project in development.
There are a number of wave energy projects currently underway around the nation’s coast. Wave Swell Energy is one wave energy generator that is also using the Bass Strait as its testing grounds.
The group is carrying out commercial validation of its technology off King Island, in the Bass Strait.
It has signed an offtake agreement with Hydro Tasmania for an initial 200-kilowatt trial unit, and will operate during 2018 after its initial funding goals are reached. http://www.theage.com.au/business/energy/australia-s-first-offshore-wind-farm-international-funding-20171205-p4yxfb.html
Dramatic and continuing rise in energy storage in USA
U.S. Energy Storage Surges 46% Led by Big Project in Windy Texas https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-07/u-s-energy-storage-surges-46-led-by-big-project-in-windy-texas By Brian Eckhouse
Driven by regulatory demands and sharp price declines, energy-storage is becoming more common. Prices for lithium-ion battery packs have fallen 24 percent from 2016 levels, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Utilities including Exelon Corp., Duke Energy Corp. and American Electric Power Co., meanwhile, are increasingly receptive to storage projects, which potentially will facilitate wider adoption of wind and solar power.
Downward trajectory of solar energy costs make coal power economically unviable
Renew Economy 6th Dec 2017, Burning coal to generate electricity in today’s era of cheap power from the sun makes as about as much economic sense as “burning dollar
notes”, one of Australia’s leading solar researchers has said.
Speaking at the APVI Asia Pacific Solar Research Conference in Melbourne this week,
UNSW Professor Martin Green said the world had entered a “new area”
where solar was well and truly the cheapest way of generating bulk
electricity.
Green, who recently predicted that the cost of solar would
fall to around $US10/MWh, or 1c/kWh by 2020, repeated that bullish
projection on Wednesday, based on the new lows in prices being bid at
international auctions for the long-term supply of electricity.
Green said this downward trajectory had taken the cost of solar from still “a
relatively expensive option” just two years ago, to a point two months
ago where a price of $US17.86/MWh was bid at an auction in Saudi Arabia. It
has since fallen even lower, to $US17.70/MWh, or $A23.40/MWh, in Mexico’s
latest tender, for 3 terawatt-hours of solar electricity.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/burning-coal-for-power-like-burning-dollar-notes-in-era-of-cheap-solar-47928/
8 December REneweconomy news
RenewEconomy-
AusNet, Deakin Uni to build 7.25MW solar, storage micro-gridAusNet and Deakin Uni to build solar and storage micro-grid on Geelong campus, to act as R&D for similar projects.
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The Community Grid Project launches with a ‘Local Energy Hero’ competitionMornington Peninsula Shire were joined by representatives from electricity network provider United Energy and technology company GreenSync to officially launch the Community Grid Project at the Eco Living Display Centre, at the Briars in Mount Martha.
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Improper creation of STCs results in compliance actionFollowing recent enforcement action against one of Australia’s largest solar retailers, the Clean Energy Regulator has taken enforcement action against one of the largest registered agents, Emerging Energy Solutions Group Pty Ltd.
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The Australian utility first to embrace era of “base-cost renewables”West Australia’s regional utility Horizon Power has become the first major Australian utility to embrace the concept of “base-cost renewables”, recognising that the plunging cost of solar and wind is set to turn traditional theories of energy supply on their head.
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Acciona supports Australian manufacturing as Mt Gellibrand transformer deliveries beginAcciona Energy is about to take delivery of critical components for its 132 MW under-construction wind farm at Mt Gellibrand in Victoria.
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The climate effect of the Trump administrationOver its first year, the Trump administration has taken extreme steps to unravel progress on U.S. climate action domestically.
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Tesla battery and “hidden demand” added to popular NEM-WatchThe popular NEM-Watch facility now includes the Tesla big battery, state demand levels and “hidden demand” from rooftop solar PV.
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Polluting robots win big, clean energy workers get screwed in Trump tax billThe Trump tax bill will devastate the renewable industry and jobs, while incentivising automation, and the manufacture of polluting, unprofitable robots.
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Five ways that cities can slash carbon pollution right nowA new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute lists 22 policies that could help get the job done.
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 