Strong support for renewable energy, by Victorian government
Victorian Government To Invest $1 Million Into Regional Renewable Energy Development https://cleantechnica.com/2017/04/12/victorian-government-investment-1-million-regional-renewable-energy-development/
by Joshua S Hill The Victorian Labor Government has announced it will commit $1 million in funding to establish a series of community hubs to drive renewable energy projects in regional Victoria, while also exploring the renewable energy potential of empty mine shafts in the state’s center.
An announcement made on Wednesday by the state’s Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio, by the Andrews Labor Government, will see a total of $900,000 committed for three, two-year pilot Community Power Hubs in the towns of Bendigo, Ballarat, and the Latrobe Valley region. The community-owned and operated hubs would aim to drive investment into regional Victoria renewable energy projects, create jobs, and help reduce electricity bills. The hubs would also provide legal and technical expertize, as well as start-up funding.
An additional $100,000 has been committed to a feasibility study into the renewable energy potential of empty mine shafts in Bendigo. A further $50,000 will be provided to the City of Greater Bendigo to support the study, which will specifically investigate the potential of using solar powered pumped hydro to generate and store electricity in mine shafts which have long been empty. Early calculations already suggest that such a project could generate up to 784 kilowatt-hours, while simultaneously boosting the reliability of the local electricity grid, creating much-needed local jobs, and supporting the growth of local businesses.
“Interest in community energy projects has increased significantly over the years, with communities wanting greater control over their energy and associated costs,” said Lily D’Ambrosio. “Solar pumped hydro has the potential to store and generate significant amounts of energy. This feasibility study is the first key step towards realising the benefits of solar pumped hydro for the Bendigo region.”
Northern Australia fund board risks legal action over Adani loan
http://www.afr.com/business/mining/coal/northern-australia-fund-board-risks-legal-action-over-adani-loan-20170411-gvipjp
~ Laura Tingle, Political Editor, Australian Financial Review@latingle http://www.afr.com/business/mining/coal/laura-tingle-j7ges.html11 April 2017:
“Directors of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility are likely to be in breach of their duties
if they approve a controversial $900 million government loan for a railway to serve the Adani coal mine,
and face possible legal action, according to legal advice received by the Australian Conservation Foundation.
“Lawyers at Environmental Justice Australia wrote to the directors of the NAIF on Tuesday
sharing legal advice that the loan would put the directors personally in breach of duties to consider the financial risks associated with climate change if they make an investment decision in support of the Galilee Basin rail project. … “
Adani faces strong Indigenous fight despite court outcome
http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/adani-faces-strong-indigenous-fight-despite-court-outcome/ ~ Members of the Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners Council 12 April 2017:
“Members of the Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners Council say there is nothing in today’s court decision on the Native Title Act Section 66B application that will stop them in their fight against Adani in the courts.
“Senior spokesperson for the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J)Traditional Owners Council, and member of the existing Applicant, Mr Adrian Burragubba said, “The decision today shows how vulnerable the rights of Traditional Owners are when they don’t agree to the destruction of their country by big miners like Adani.
““Adani has actively worked to divide our community, undermine our representatives,
and register a sham agreement with our people to pave the way for the destruction of our lands and waters. …
“Youth spokesperson for the W&J Traditional Owners Council, MsMurrawah Johnson, said,
“Adani are pretending this mine is inevitable but it still faces a series of other court cases we are running.
We are currently in the Federal Court, working to prove Adani does not in any event have our consent
and its land use ‘deal’ is a sham and a cover for the destruction of our country.
““Adani is also before the Queensland Court of Appeal in May, when we challenge the Queensland government’s issuing of mining leases to Adani”.
““This proposed mine project will wreck our land and waters, and destroy our culture.
It will ride roughshod over our rights. It will unleash enormous environmental damage and
drive dangerous climate change in the process. … “
Turnbull offers to sacrifice Aboriginal rights to Adani in an act of national betrayal
http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/turnbull-offers-to-sacrifice-aboriginal-rights-to-adani-in-an-act-of-national-betrayal/ ~ Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) Traditional Owners 11 April 2017:
“The Turnbull government is willing to sacrifice Aboriginal people’s rights in pursuit of a deal with Adani for its proposed coal megamine, sanctioning the destruction of the lands and waters of the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) traditional owners.
The Prime Minister has courted Gautam Adani with the offer of ‘fixing the native title problem.’
This is an act of national betrayal, says the W&J Traditional Owners Council. …
“Senior spokesperson for the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J)Traditional Owners Council Mr Adrian Burragubba said,
“The Prime Minister is another in a long line of political leaders, Federal and State,
who are willing to sacrifice Aboriginal peoples’ rights if a profit or a deal is attractive enough.
It is extraordinary to have the Prime Minister travelling to India to tell a businessman that he will change the Native Title Act in Australia and undermine our rights so that his destructive project can proceed. …
“Youth spokesperson for the W&J Traditional Owners Council, MsMurrawah Johnson, said,
“The Prime Minister has promised a foreign billionaire and head of a shady industrial conglomerate
that he will fix his ‘native title problem’ by changing the law in Australia.
We have always maintained that the Government’s rushed changes to the Native Title Act were ‘Adani amendments’. Today the Prime Minister has made it plain that this is another special favour for Adani. …
“For more information and to arrange interviews: Anthony Esposito, W&J Council advisor … “
Poor little dill Matt Canavan whinges about “bullying” opposition to Adano coal mine expansion
Loaning $900m for Adani’s central Queensland coal railway too risky, environmental lawyers say The World Today By Katherine Gregory 12 Apr 17
“………’If we stop this project, it will be worse for the environment’
The Minister for Northern Australia and Queensland senator Matt Canavan said the letter sent to NAIF’s directors was a bullying tactic.
“These guys are bullies trying to stop jobs being created in north Queensland. Their stated aim is against coal and development. Against coal, and coal is the second largest exporter in Queensland,” Senator Canavan said.
He said the Queensland Supreme Court has already dismissed environmentalists’ arguments that the mine should not go ahead because of climate change.
“If we don‘t supply India with coal, other countries will,” Senator Canavan said.
“So from global climate change perspective to argue that this mine in and of itself will warm the planet and cause global warming disasters is wrong and misguided.
“There are other parts of the world India will get its coal from and it will. The Indian resources minister has said that to me specifically.
“If anything, if we stop this project, it will be worse for the environment, because the coal that is there in the Galilee Basin is higher quality, much higher quality than what exists in India.”
Senator Canavan said Adani’s rail line would open up opportunities for other mines and create more jobs for regional Queensland.
But shadow resources and northern Australia minister Jason Clare said federal Labor does not support using taxpayer money to fund the rail line.
“What are the rules that this Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility have to comply with when they decide when they’re going to tip taxpayer money into private projects?” Mr Clare said.
“And one of the rules here is that they can only provide funding if the project is unlikely to go ahead without it. And Adani has said this funding isn’t critical.
“So on that basis it doesn’t meet the requirements of the fund.” say http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-12/adani-queensland-coal-mine-railway-$900m-loan-too-risky/8439582
How Prime Minister Robert Menzies, and Sir Ernest Titterton sold us all out for British nuclear testing
Australian tolerance of the British and their obsessive secrecy may be explained by the deference and loyalty to the ‘motherland’. Prime Minister Menzies identified so strongly with Britain that he considered British national interest as Australia’s national interest.
Another factor which underlay Australian deference during the course of the testing program was the role of Sir Ernest Titterton.
The full legal and political implications of the testing program would take decades to emerge. The secrecy which surrounded the British testing program and the remoteness of the tests from major population centres meant that public opposition to the tests and awareness of the risks involved grew very slowly.
Wayward governance : illegality and its control in the public sector / P N Grabosky
Canberra : Australian Institute of Criminology, 1989
“…..Admittedly, in the 1950s knowledge of radiation hazards was not as advanced as it is today. At the time it was not generally recognised that small doses of low level radiation might increase the risk of cancer years later. But even in the light of knowledge of the time, the information on which Menzies based his decisions was seriously deficient.
There seems little doubt that the secrecy in which the entire testing program was cloaked served British rather than Australian interests. Continue reading
Huge 300MW solar farm begins construction near Port Augusta,
Isn’t this a brilliant outcome? For the last few years, the nuclear lobby has been touting Port Augista as the place for a nuclear power station. Following the absolute defeat of the shonky South Australian Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission, and thanks to all those who fought against it, so brilliantly – South Australia now could become a world leader in modern clean energy.
REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson on 11 April 2017 The first two stage of a 300MW solar farm – Australia’s biggest – has begun construction near Port Augusta in South Australia after its developers last Friday reached financial close on the project, and agreed to sell it to two of Europe’s biggest investors in renewables, Italy’s Enel Green Energy and the Dutch Infrastructure Fund.
The first two stages, totalling 220MW, of the Bungala project is being built around 12kms from Port Augusta, where the state’s last coal fired generator closed last May. Ironically, project developer Reach Energy is headed by Tony Concannon, the former head of the owners of the Hazelwood brown coal generator in Victoria which closed late last month.
The two first stages of Bungala will be completed late in 2018, and will be built by Spanish company Elecnor, which recently completed the 57MW Moree project in NSW and the smaller 21MW Barcaldine project in Queensland.
Bungala will be built “battery storage ready”, and will also likely be the first major solar farm to participate in Australia’s FCAS market (frequency control and ancillary services), using SMA inverter technology to provide voltage control for the grid.
Concannon says the remaining 80MW of capacity could be built – along with battery storage – should the company win a South Australian government tender for 25 per cent of its electricity needs with “dispatchable” renewables.
Reach has submitted proposals for both 20MWh of battery storage and 100MWh, although it did not participate in the other tender for a separate 100MWh battery unit. If the tender is not successful, there are also discussions with other potential off-takers in train…….
The new plant, he says, will be designed to provide FCAS – even at night, after the sun has gone down. “What a number of people don’t realise is that you can design ancillary services for solar plants to operate at night time.
“We can draw in power from the grid at night, and use the inverter technologies to regulate voltage, and that helps stabilise the system, even when the sun is not shining.”
Unlike battery storage in households, which he describes as mostly “passive” and focused on converting the output of solar panels from DC power to AC power so it can be put into the grid, utility-scale inverter technologies are able to shape voltage and current very quickly and in a very flexible manner. Modern wind farms are also using the same technologies.
“The inverter changes phase between the voltage and current … inverters can pull the current in, and change the phase to what grid wants.”
Concannon, a power engineer, says it is a tricky subject to try and explain, but says a lot of the articles he has read in the media – about wind and solar not being able to provide grid services – are wrong……..http://reneweconomy.com.au/huge-300mw-solar-farm-begins-construction-near-port-augusta-63411/
Prime Minister Turnbull actively lobbying for Adani and the coal industry, not without attracting criticism
“His idea of protecting the Reef is giving a coal billionaire a billion dollars to build a coal mine right on the Reef’s doorstep.
Turnbull slammed for “sucking up” to Adani, as business pushes 50-year life for coal plants, REneweconomy, By Sophie Vorrath on 11 April 2017 Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has come under renewed criticism from Australian environmental groups after meeting with senior executives from Indian coal mining giant Adani Group as part of his three-day state visit to India.
The meeting with Adani chair Gautam Adani and other company executives in New Delhi on Monday coincides with deliberations on company’s final investment decision on the $21-billion Carmichael coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee basin, which is set to be Australia’s largest coal mine, if built. Continue reading
Turnbull govt in for a shock, with new CEO of Australian Energy Market Operator, Audrey Zibelman.
Turnbull, ScoMo and coal-lovers look out: Here comes Audrey Zibelman, Independent Australia, Norm Sanders 10 April 2017, Once they work out that Audrey Zibelman is pro-renewables, her appointment as AEMO’s new CEO is bound to upset the Coalition, writes Dr Norm Sanders.
WHO IS Audrey Zibelman?
On 17 March 2017, she became the new CEO of AEMO, that’s who! And what is AEMO? It is the Australian Energy Market Operator.
Although few are aware of it, AEMO plays a major role in our lives. It manages the NEM(National Electricity Market) and the Victorian gas transmission network. It also oversees retail electricity and gas markets in eastern and southern Australia and is working on the establishment of a Short Term Trading Market (STTM) for gas.
AEMO is also responsible for national electricity transmission planning. It investigated the South Australian blackouts and had a brief moment of media fame when the results of the investigation were released. ……..
Since the Turnbull Government was too busy shooting itself in the foot to exert any leadership over the energy situation, the task was left to AEMO. That organisation surprised some observers and delighted others by recruiting Audrey Zibelman from New York to head the task of sorting out the mess.
Once they understand what this means, the Government will be appalled by the appointment. Not only is Ms Zibleman extremely knowledgeable in the field of electricity generation, she was a major force in New York State’s the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) plan, which has 50 per cent renewables by 2030 as one of its goals. (Hang in there, Bill!) REV’s other 2030 goals are to achieve a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels and a 23 per cent decrease in energy consumption from buildings from 2012 levels. Ms Zibelman’s appointment is an indication of a new direction for AEMO’s culture and technology……. Continue reading
Senate Committee Report recommends market-based carbon trading scheme, but shows idealogical divisions between political parties
Senate inquiry sparks ideological fight over Australia’s energy supply and climate change, ABC News, By political reporter Angelique Donnellan, 10 Apr 17, A Senate inquiry report into Australia’s electricity supplies has descended into a slanging match between members, prompting questions about its value for taxpayers.
The Select Committee into the Resilience of Australia’s Electricity Infrastructure in a Warming World heard from 60 witnesses in Adelaide, Canberra and Melbourne, including major energy generators, retailers and industry regulators.
But in the committee’s draft report released today, Federal Greens senator and chairwoman Sarah Hanson-Young took aim at the Coalition and its policies.
“The introduction of a market-based carbon trading scheme would effectively end the decades-long subsidy that coal has received in the electricity generation market,” she said.
“Yet like the proverbial ostrich, the Coalition Government has buried its collective head in the coalmine and refuses to address in any meaningful way the crisis facing the nation.”
The committee had seven other members, including three Labor senators, two Liberal, One Nation and Nick Xenophon.
All dissented to Senator Hanson-Young’s draft report, with Coalition senators calling it biased, false, misleading and dismissive of coal as a generator for electricity…….
Senator Hanson-Young questioned the use of gas as a transition fuel and the need for more gas mining.
“The misplaced notion that coal seam gas could provide a solution to the gas shortage on Australia’s east coast displays a profound ignorance of how the market works,” she said.
“Any unconventional gas will surely find its way onto the export market.”http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-10/coalition-senators-take-aim-at-senates-draft-electricity-report/8431790
Malcolm Turnbull, Marketing Man for Coal in India – despite the glut in India’s coal market
Malcolm Turnbull talks up coal in Delhi, despite India’s aim to stop imports Glut in Indian coal market, plans to phase out imports and lower than forecast energy demands cast doubt on future for exports from proposed Adani mine, Guardian, Michael Safi , 11 Apr 17, Malcolm Turnbull is adamant that Australian coal will play “a very big role” in powering India’s future despite a glut in the local market and clear signals from Delhi that it aims to eliminate imports of the fossil fuel as soon as possible. ………..On Monday Turnbull met Gautam Adani, the mining magnate whose company will soon decide whether to begin building the world’s largest coalmine in Queensland’s Galilee basin. Continue reading
People self-diagnosing “windfarm diseases” ?
People who blame sickness on windfarms ‘may be bypassing doctor’ Windfarm commissioner’s first report says complainants may fail to seek medical advice ‘due to the possibly incorrect assumption’ that nearby turbines are to blame,Guardian, Elle Hunt, 10 Apr 17 The office of the national windfarm commissioner is concerned people are not going to the doctor because they are incorrectly attributing symptoms of illness to windfarms.
Commissioner Andrew Dyer published his first report to the Australian parliament on 31 March which revealed the office had received 90 complaint between November 2015 and 31 December 2016.
Complainants cited health conditions including “sleep disturbance, headaches, earaches, ‘pounding’ in the ears, tinnitus, tachycardia, high blood pressure, sight impairment, diabetes, chest-tightening, nausea and general fatigue”, which they blamed on both audible and low-frequency noise, “including infrasound, emanating from turbines”.
Because complainants gave only “anecdotal evidence” it was difficult to establish causality with the windfarm’s operations, the report noted. It expressed concern that complainants may fail to seek medical advice “due to the possibly incorrect assumption” that a nearby windfarm was to blame.
But the report also noted that the presence of a windfarm or concerns about a proposed one could cause stress, annoyance or anxiety that could, in turn, result in health conditions. When relating to a proposed windfarm, that pressure could extend for several years.
In February last year, Dyer said half the complaints his office had received pertained to windfarms that had yet to be built.https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/10/people-who-blame-sickness-on-windfarms-may-be-bypassing-doctor
Telecommunications company joins Click energy to challenge coal electricity utilities
Telco, online energy retailer merge to take on coal-laden utilities, REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson on 10 April 2017
The potential merger of telecommunications and energy offerings has long been mooted. But, despite Telstra snapping up PowerShop’s Ben Burge last year to head the newly created Telstra Energy and promising its own line of solar and storage, little has happened to date, although combined offerings have become common in the US and Europe.
“I think it will be standard here in the next few years time,” says Dominic Drenen, who will continue his role as CEO of Click Energy. “We think we can put together a bundled product that is quite compelling. For consumers, they will be dealing with one platform, so it’s just one less hassle.”
The two companies think there are significant opportunities for an “asset-light” retailer that is not burdened by legacy assets such as ageing coal-fired power stations.
“Retailing industry players are burdened with complex legacy systems and pricing structures, with most major providers also owning ageing coal-fired generating assets,” amaysim CEO Julian Ogrin said in a presentation. “Customers face large confusing bills, bill shock, no real online engagement or DIY experience and poor customer service is common.”
Ogrin sees a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity in the forced migration of around 8 million Australian homes changing their broadband service by 2020. He says the telco and energy sectors are typically “inert”, so the opportunity to increase market share in the forced migration of NBN is a unique opportunity.
It expects to have its first combined offers available in 2018, and sees major savings in “back-end” IT platforms and other synergies of around $5 million a year…….http://reneweconomy.com.au/telco-online-energy-retailer-merge-to-take-on-coal-laden-utilities-99299/
New poll shows very high public support for renewable energy
Polling brief: renewable energy http://apo.org.au/node/75503, Tom Swann, 10 April 2017
Summary:
New polling shows that despite a concerted campaign from sectors of the federal government and coal and gas industries, public support remains very high for renewable energy, and for the strengthening of state and federal targets.
The poll, conducted by The Australia Institute through Research now, asked a representative sample of 1420 Australians about renewable energy policy.
- 67% said Australia was moving into renewable energy too slowly. Only 9% said Australia was moving too fast.
- 77% of Australians support a state renewable energy target to provide extra renewable energy in their state – virtually unchanged over the last 18 months.
- 52% supported increasing the current federal Renewable Energy Target for 2020, only 9% wanted to reduce it.
Young Nationals split from party policy, now to back emissions trading
The motion taken by the Young Nats brings them into line with the National Farmers’ Federation, the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group and much of the energy sector, including the electricity transmission and distribution businesses
Young Nationals reject federal party policy to back emissions trading, The Age, Heath Aston , 10 Apr 17, The Young Nationals have split with the senior ranks of the party, voting to support the introduction of a carbon trading scheme. Continue reading
1 This month.
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/235274195556
19 May – Webinar- Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia
Start: 2026-05-19 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
End: 2026-05-19 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
20 May – Webinar – The dangerous world of AUKUS, US, military occupation and suppression of dissent
National Webinar, 20th May, 2026, 6.30pm AEST. Confronting laws restricting/suppressing protest speech and action
Speakers: Former Sen. Rex Patrick, Lawyer Nick Hanna ,Arthur Rorris ,Jorgen Doyle, Sen David Shoebbridge,
Facilitator Kelley Tranter.
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 