Climate scepticism behind Abbott’s idea to scrap Renewable Energy Target
According to the Australian Energy Market Commission, the RET makes up less than 1% of the average household electricity bill.
Renewable energy: Tony Abbott signals he could wind back or scrap targetsPM says while Coalition supports ‘sensible use’ of renewable energy, scheme is ‘causing pretty significant price pressure’ Lenore Taylor, political editor theguardian.com, Wednesday 18 December 2013
Tony Abbott has signalled next year’s review of the renewable energy target could wind back, or even scrap, the scheme, saying lower power prices are the government’s primary goal and the rationale for the RET no longer exists.
Announcing modest government assistance for Holden, the prime minister also revealed he would chair a new taskforce to find ways to make industry more competitive, with reducing the cost of energy a primary aim.
Asked whether that could involve scaling back the RET, which was set up by the Howard government and requires energy retailers and large customers to source a proportion of their energy from renewable sources, Abbott said: “We support sensible use of renewable energy, and as you know it was former Howard government which initially gave us the RET and at the time it was important because we made very little use of renewable energy.”
But times had changed, he said. “We have to accept that in the changed circumstances of today, the renewable energy target is causing pretty significant price pressure in the system and we ought to be an affordable energy superpower … cheap energy ought to be one of our comparative advantages … what we will be looking at is what we need to do to get power prices down significantly,” he said.
Abbott said he would also “consult closely” with his Business Advisory Council, chaired by Maurice Newman, as the taskforce looked for ways to increase industry competitiveness.
Newman has previously called for the RET to be scrapped because he believes the scientific evidence for global warming and the economic case for renewable energy no longer stack up. Continue reading
Australia’s uranium industry on its last legs?
Is time up for Australia’s uranium industry? ABC , DAVE SWEENEY , 18 Dec 13, Times are tough for Australia’s yellow-cake industry. It is best to put the whole thing out of its misery? “………The Australian uranium industry has long been a source of trouble. Now it is increasingly in trouble. The commodity price has collapsed, projects across the country have been stalled, deferred or scrapped and the recent Kakadu spill has again raised community attention and concern.
Business as usual in a most unusual business is not an option and there is an urgent need for an independent review. For those who make judgements on the basis of evidence rather than enthusiasm the alarm bells have been ringing loud for a number of years. Continue reading
Australian government insists that it says NO to nuclear power
Government rules out nuclear power for Australia by Trish Murphy The Guardian Oliver Milman December 18, 2013 The government has insisted it has no intention of introducing nuclear power to Australia after releasing a paper that states the technology continues to be an option for “future reliable energy”.
An issues paper released by the Department of Industry, which will inform an upcoming energy white paper, states that the need for low-carbon fuels means that nuclear is an option that can be “readily dispatched into the market”.http://fssalerts.wordpress.com/2013/12/18/government-rules-out-nuclear-power-for-australia/
Coalition government’s somewhat hypocritical statement on “no nuclear power”
Government rules out nuclear power for Australia Coalition insists it will not adopt the technology despite industry department paper calling it an option for ‘future reliable energy’ Oliver Milman theguardian.com, Tuesday 17 December 2013 The government has insisted it has no intention of introducing nuclear power to Australia after releasing a paper that states the technology continues to be an option for “future reliable energy”. Continue reading
Now on the endangered list- the critically important South Australian Environmental Defenders Office
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS OFFICE (EDO) FACES CLOSURE AFTER FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING CUTS 18 December 2013 The Federal government yesterday cut $10 million in funding for across Australia. EDOs specialise in public interest environmental and planning laws. A further $810,000 in funding will cease from mid-2014, reducing Federal support to zero.
The shock funding cuts will result in an immediate significant decline in services and the likely closure of the South Australian EDO office by June 2014. The EDO provides numerous individuals and community groups across the state with free legal advice on environmental and planning laws relating to building or mining developments, water issues, pollution, and heritage issues. Clients are provided with advice and assistance on how decisions are made and potential ways to challenge those decisions. The EDO also has an integral role in providing responses to proposed changes to environmental law and policy.
The SA EDO has run a number of high profile cases including in relation to the proposed expansion of the Olympic Dam mine, a project likely to have significant impacts on the Great Artesian Basin and the Upper Spencer Gulf marine environment.
“This is an extremely disappointing decision for many South Australians whose access to expert legal advice to help them protect their environment will be severely curtailed. The community should be alarmed about the very real threat to the survival of the EDO – we are now on the endangered list. We call on the Federal Government to restore the funding otherwise defending property rights, community amenity and the environment could become unaffordable for many South Australians.” said Melissa Ballantyne, Coordinator and Principal Solicitor of the EDO.
Australia’s new “Freedom Commissioner”, Tim Wilson – what a (bad) joke!
He made clear on Monday he supported repealing the section of the Racial Discrimination Act that made it illegal to insult or offend people on the basis of their race.
Tim Wilson: Freedom Commissioner, The Age, Tony Wright, Dan Harrison December 18, 2013 The Abbott government has sent shockwaves through the anti-discrimination and political establishments by appointing one of the nation’s most vociferous critics to the Human Rights Commission. Continue reading
Abbott’s new energy white paper spruiks Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs)
nuclear is pricing itself out of most markets..
Abbott’s new energy white paper to consider nuclear power REneweconomy By Giles Parkinson on 17 December 2013 The Abbott government is to consider the possibility of introducing nuclear power into Australia, in particular small modular reactors, as part of its new energy white paper. Continue reading
100% of Australia’s new power sources to be renewable through 2020
AEMO: Renewables to account for all new power in Australia through 2020 Penn Energy December 16, 2013 By Dorothy Davis Content Director A new report from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) forecasts 100 percent of new power in Australia will be generated from renewable energy sources through 2020.
The AEMO’s National Transmission Network Development Plan (NTNDP) The AEMO’s National Transmission Network Development Plan (NTNDP) 2013, predicts the majority of new electric generation will be based on wind power (84%), followed by solar (13%) and finally biomass(3%). This includes 168 MW of new wind generation that has recently come online in Tasmania, and a further 131 MW in Victoria, 270 MW in South Australia, and 386 MW in New South Wales committed to come online from 2014–15. AEMO said it is aware of close to 15,800 MW of proposed wind generation projects.
The NTNDP estimates approximately 8,700 MW of new wind generation to connect to the transmission network by 2020, resulting in a total installed National Electricity Market wind generation capacity of around 11,000 MW………..
Read the full report here: National Transmission Network Development Plan 2013 (pdf) http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2013/12/renewable-energy-to-account-for-nearly-all-new-power-in-australia-through-2020.html
Australian Government opposes efforts to ban nuclear weapons.
The bitter reality is that because of its willingness to support and assist deployment, targeting and potential use of US nuclear weapons, Australia is more part of the problem, holding back disarmament, than it is working for the solution”.
NO-NUKE AUSTRALIA THWARTS NUCLEAR FREE WORLD BY NEENA BHANDARI* | IDN-INDEPTH NEWSANALYSIS SYDNEY (IDN) – 17 Dec 13 Australia has been expressing support for a nuclear weapons-free world, but documents obtained by disarmament advocacy group, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), reveal that the Australian Government sees the increasing international focus on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons as “rubbing up against” its reliance on the United States nuclear weapons.
ICAN has obtained declassified diplomatic cables, ministerial briefings and emails under freedom-of-information laws, which show that the Australian Government plans to oppose efforts to ban nuclear weapons. Continue reading
AUDIO: Australia’s radiation affected veterans denied justice yet again
they’ve been treated like second-class citizens.
“This really is disgusting. How is it that these people, subject to the fury of a nuclear blast, aren’t even entitled to a gold card for their medical treatment as other veterans are?”
AUDIO Aussie nuclear veterans ‘disgusted’ by bid failure http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/12/17/aussie-nuclear-veterans-disgusted-bid-failure Australian veterans of British nuclear tests say they’re disgusted by the latest setback to their campaign for compensation. (Transcript from World News Australia Radio) Australia’s Human Rights Commission has decided it can’t consider the case of the 300 veterans because the matter is out of its jurisdiction.
The decision has left the veterans’ lawyers saying it’s the end of their campaign.
Murray Silby spoke to some of the veterans, including Avon Hudson “They’ll act with extreme disgust at the government and the Human Rights Commission. I mean we shouldn’t wait on the Human Rights Commission. This should have been addressed by governments of the past, but given the Human Rights heard this I have no time for the Human Rights (Commission) now.”
Avon Hudson says he and his fellow veterans have lost faith in a system that should have protected their rights.”I don’t know anybody that was there when I served there that hasn’t had either cancer or some other illness induced by radiation. Continue reading
With development of battery storage, Australia’s renewable energy will go ahead
Storing renewable energy starts at home, DW Jonathan Gifford 16 Dec 13 Almost all of Australia’s solar energy comes from the roofs of private homes. There’s no shortage of sunlight, but to develop solar power, a storage solution is needed. Vast solar power plants may be commonplace in Germany, but in Australia the turn to renewable energy has largely taken place on an individual basis. More than one million Australian homes now have solar panels, but how to store that energy for when it’s needed is emerging as the next challenge.
Australia’s recently elected coalition government has wasted no time in taking measures to halt the expansion of renewable energy. It has passed legislation to repeal the previous government’s carbon price mechanism, closed the Climate Change Commission and slashed funding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
Much of Australia’s renewable energy, and almost all of its solar efforts, however, have been deployed in the country’s suburbs on the roofs of private households.
This also brings with it challenges, and electricity grid operators have begun taking measures to limit the amount of solar power that can be added in an area. In Western Australia, the utility Western Power is preventing large installations – bigger than 30 kilowatt peak (kWp) – from feeding any electricity produced back into the grid. The utility that supplies remote or rural parts of the state, Horizon Power, announced in October that if a solar system is installed, it needs to be equipped with some kind of “renewable energy smoothing” technology – essentially some form of battery………
http://www.dw.de/storing-renewable-energy-starts-at-home/a-17266796
Right wing climate sceptic appointed to Australian Human Rights Commission
Thinktank director Tim Wilson appointed human rights commissioner Attorney general says director of right-wing Institute of Public Affairs will ‘restore balance’ to Human Rights Commission Bridie Jabour theguardian.com, Tuesday 17 December 2013 The attorney general has appointed a director from the right-wing thinktank, the Institute of Public Affairs, as Australia’s human rights commissioner.
George Brandis said Tim Wilson, a member of the Liberal party until this month, had been appointed to “restore balance” to the Human Rights Commission.
Wilson, a self-declared classic libertarian, directs climate change policy at the IPA as well as the Intellectual Property and Free Trade Unit.
Wilson said he had stepped down from his position at the IPA as well as resigned from the Liberal party to take up the appointment.The IPA called for the Human Rights Commission to be abolishedearlier this year with Simon Breheny, director of its Legal Rights Project, saying it did not protect human rights.…..http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/17/thinktank-director-tim-wilson-appointed-human-rights-commissioner
Australia can have defence co-operation without supporting nuclear weapons
NO-NUKE AUSTRALIA THWARTS NUCLEAR FREE WORLD BY NEENA BHANDARI* | IDN-INDEPTH NEWSANALYSIS
SYDNEY (IDN) – 17 Dec 13 “…..Defence cooperation sans nukes possible “To make matters worse, Australia’s increasing military involvement with the US is making particularly the huge and expanding military spy base at Pine Gap near Alice Springs an even higher priority nuclear target in the event of any war the US gets embroiled in with China or any other nuclear armed state,” Ruff, who is also co-president International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, told IDN.
New Zealand’s healthy and growing defence cooperation with the US makes plain that it is perfectly feasible for countries to have a military relationship with the US which excludes nuclear weapons. “Pursuing such a path would be the best thing Australia could do to actually help in freeing the world from nuclear weapons,” Ruff added.
Advocates for a nuclear free world argue that a global ban on nuclear weapons can be achieved through sustained public pressure and leadership from governments. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, who was critical of Australia’s decision not to endorse the humanitarian statement, is of the view that the current Australian Government may wish to please the US even more than the previous government. Continue reading
Queensland Government’s unreasonable attack on renewable energy
The large scale renewable energy target is probably the smallest component of the electricity bill. It’s interesting that McArdle chooses to attack this, and not the network costs, which account for around half of consumer bills.
It’s all about self-interest, and McArdle has just underlined the untenable conflict of interest in having governments acting as owner, regulator, price-setter and policy developer.
Queensland energy minister launches wild attack on renewables http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/queensland-energy-minister-launches-wild-attack-on-renewables-15549 By Giles Parkinson on 16 December 2013 The Queensland government has declared its hand in the upcoming review of the renewable energy target with an extraordinary – and in many places misinformed – attack on the costs of renewable energy.
The Queensland Energy Minister Mark McArdle wrote an opinion piece in The Australian on Monday challenging an assertion by Miles George, the head of Infigen Energy and a director of the Clean Energy Council, that renewable energy has a dampening impact on electricity prices. Continue reading
For the moment – limits to traditional battery storage of renewable energy
Falling battery prices coupled with a desire for self-sufficiency and the need for resilience against extreme weather events may mean that families purchasing a house Down Under may soon ask: “does it come with batteries?”
Storing renewable energy starts at home, DW Jonathan Gifford 16 Dec 13 “……At this stage the problem is that batteries are either expensive or inefficient. Even homes with a relatively large solar installation find that they cannot rely on it exclusively – even under the Australian sun. “The main problem for me is the storage of electricity hasn’t improved a great deal in the 41 years I’ve been here,” said Peter Holland, a Western Australian who has been living on a ‘bush’ property outside of the state’s capital, Perth.
“I’ve always had a bank of 12 two-volt batteries, but there’s a huge amount of loss,” Holland said. “The batteries are relatively inefficient and they’re extremely expensive.” Because of this, Holland’s off-grid system still requires a backup generator to cope when the sun isn’t shining or when large household appliances are switched on.
The solar industry has long understood the necessity of electricity storage. Shaun Qu, founder and CEO of Canadian Solar, says that the development of storage technologies will allow for more renewable energy to be installed. Continue reading
1 This month.
20 September –National Day of Action in Melbourne on the International Day of Peace
Help Aunty Sue Protect Her Land and Sacred Sites From Destructive Rocket Testing.
.
Australians deserve the truth
about
AUKUS – https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 