Electricity retailers may be ripping off solar households
Solar Households May Be ‘Ripped Off’ By Electricity Retailers http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3893 16 Aug 13, For solar households, it really pays to shop around for the best electricity retailer deals.
According to a new report commissioned by the Alternative Technology Association (ATA), there is potential for solar households to be ‘ripped off’ by electricity retailers as solar customers can be treated as second-class citizens.
The report, Retail Offers and Market Transparency for New Solar Customers, states depending on the region; the difference between the best and the worst offer may translate to between $150 to $300 per year.
It’s not just about feed in tariff rates says the ATA – other factors may have a more substantial financial impact on the overall economics of a household solar installation. “There’s been a lot of attention and publicity about feed-in tariffs for solar, but very little about retail consumption tariffs and other aspects of retail deals, including where retailers take away pay-on-time discounts when someone installs solar,” said Damien Moyse; the ATA’s energy projects and policy manager. Continue reading
CT not advisable for bone density scans, less radiation in alternative method
DXA, not CT, still best for bone density scans, Endocrinology Update, 15 August, 2013 Nicola Garrett Endocrinology Update
But after consulting experts in the field the network concluded that there was no evidence that CT scans were better than DXA.
In fact CT scans posed unique problems not seen with DXA scans, the communication noted. For example spine CT could be ‘spuriously low’ in a patient with normal…(doctors only registration) http://www.endocrinologyupdate.com.au/latest-news/dxa-not-ct-still-best-for-bone-density-scans
Minister Gary Gray is disingenuous about radioactive wastes
Christina Macpherson, 15 Aug 13, Australia’s new Energy Minister Gary Gray appears to be an improvement on the previous Minister, in that Gray at least met with some Traditional owners of land in Northern Territory – designated for a nuclear waste dump.
Australian govt’s nuclear waste plan contravenes UN Declaration
Northern Territory nuclear waste dump ‘contravenes UN declaration’ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/14/test-nuclear-waste-nova-peris Oliver Milman theguardian.com, Wednesday 14 August 2013
Conservationists say plan falls foul of agreement on Indigenous people’s rights, with senator-in-waiting Nova Peris also opposed Nova Peris is strongly opposed to the proposed plan for a nuclear waste dump.
The government risks breaching an international agreement if it goes ahead with a controversial nuclear waste dump in a remote part of the Northern Territory, conservationists say, with Labor Senate candidate Nova Peris calling for the plan to be dropped.
Conservationists claim that the Muckaty dump, near Tennant Creek, would be in contravention of the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, which states that nations must “ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples without their free, prior and informed consent”.
The basis of this consent is currently being challenged in the federal court, with a directions hearing set to take place in Melbourne on 26 August. Continue reading
Australia not getting new coal power investment any time soon
New Coal Power Investment To Be Deferred – AEMO by Energy Matters, 15 Aug 13 Thanks in part to Australia’s home solar power revolution, the prospects for new fossil fuel based power generation investment look rather bleak over the next decade in much of the nation.
The recently published Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO) from the Australian Energy Market Operator AEMO says the rise of residential rooftop solar, increasing energy efficiency in response to electricity price hikes and more large scale renewable energy development “is expected to defer new thermal electricity generation investment.”…….
Rooftop solar panels are treated as a demand offset for supply–demand balance, and are not included in the 522.7MW figure. However, in 2012-13, the AEMO estimates 774 MW of rooftop PV generation capacity was installed in the NEM. ….. Of the 1,000 MW in new large scale generation committed since last year’s ESOO; 95% consists of wind generation and 5% solar generation…… http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3889
Australia’s Aboriginal Establishment – it’s a Patriarchy, (with a Marcia Langton token)
NACCHO political alert: 14 Aug 13 The Guardian reports Tony Abbott’s plan for Aboriginal Australians is fatally flawed by Louise Taylor Louise Taylor is an Aboriginal (Kamilaroi) woman and a barrister/solicitor practising in the Australian Capital Territory. Louise is the convenor of the Women’s Legal Centre, an Indigenous Law Centre associate, and a member of the Law Council of Australia’s Indigenous Legal Issues Committee. Her piece is written in a personal capacity (and not the views of NACCHO)
Perhaps you nodded along and thought “good, let’s get moving on this”. Perhaps you thought Mundine surely must have been given a mandate from community representatives. Or perhaps, like me, you wondered how this announcement was anything new……..
Abbott’s Garma speech invoked his “friend” Noel Pearson. Pearson was absent from any alignment with the Abbott plan. Curiously, Mundine and Abbott were the headline act in the mainstream media. A weird choice, given I’ve yet to see any major support from other Indigenous people or organisations for the Coalition’s plan with Mundine at the helm……….
I see a common theme in both camps – the almost complete absence of Aboriginal women at the national leadership table. It troubles me that the domain and face of national Indigenous leadership is portrayed consistently as Indigenous men.
Noel Pearson. Warren Mundine. Mick Gooda. Mick Dodson. Patrick Dodson. Where are the women? When Rudd and Abbott speak of their Indigenous “mates”, they always name men. There are many competent and capable Indigenous women who are thinking innovatively and deeply about solutions for their communities. Do we see or hear from them?…….
they are absolutely there – Andrea Mason, Fiona Jose and Jenny Hayes to name a few. But we are rarely treated to the benefit of their views at a national level. Apart from the formidable professor Marcia Langton, who we do see and hear from now and then, the debate is missing the presence of Indigenous women at what appears to be a crucial time in the shaping of policy.
We know this is not a reflection of what is going on in our communities, where Indigenous women are front and centre of the grunt work being done to improve outcomes and keep communities together. Perhaps Abbott considers Aboriginal women too busy “cowering in their houses or their huts” to participate in policy discussion directly affecting the lives of their families and communities. We have a new female co-chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, and I have yet to see one single mainstream media engagement with her – on anything. Is her number in Rudd’s contacts list? I wonder…… http://nacchocommunique.com/2013/08/14/naccho-political-alert-the-guardian-reports-tony-abbotts-plan-for-aboriginal-australians-is-fatally-flawed/
Heathcote locals unhappy with Victoria’s anti-wind farm laws
Heathcote locals question Victoria’s anti-wind farm laws http://yes2renewables.org/2013/08/13/heathcote-locals-question-victorias-anti-wind-farm-laws/ August 13, 2013 by Leigh Ewbank
Yes 2 Renewables visited Heathcote recently to present to the local U3A (university of the third age) about wind energy technology. Given that Heathcote is located in the hearth of the McHarg/Macedon Ranges ‘no-go zone’ for wind farms, we took the opportunity to brief attendees about the Victorian government’s anti-wind farm laws. The presentation prompted U3A member, Louise Joy, to submitted the following letter to the editor to The McIvor Times:
Heathcote U3A “Understanding New Technology” group heard Leigh Ewbank from Friends of the Earth speak on “Wind Power” at the Guide Hall for an illuminating and entertaining two hours on Wednesday 3 July 2013 from 10 am.
Such a simple solution to the problems of pollution where unfortunately Victoria leads the way in developed countries. Renewable energy has strong public support with 94% opting for Solar and 87% for wind power. There have been Wind Power community projects planned for Woodend, Surf Coast and Anglesea with opportunities for job creation in manufacturing, construction, maintenance and computer programming. Farms in drought areas benefit, a lid is kept on Electricity prices, communities gain control over their own clean and safe energy future.
So what is stopping implementation with so much community support and so many advantages? There are strong lobby groups with vested interests against Wind Farming. In Victoria, Amendment VC 82 has created no go zones in the Yarra and McHarg Ranges, among others. Heathcote U3A members left the meeting encouraged to make known the advantages of Wind Farming and to lobby politicians to rescind Amendment VC 82.
Why Energy Australia opposes renewable energy and energy efficiency
EnergyAustralia says solar PV causing rapid structural change By Giles Parkinson on 13 August 2013 EnergyAustralia, one of the big three utilities operating in Australia, says that rooftop solar PV and energy efficiency measures are causing “unprecedented structural change” to the national electricity market.
It says rooftop solar and energy efficiency are causing a significant fall in household energy consumption, more than offsetting any gains from population growth. It says these factors, combined with an increase in renewable energy generation due to the Renewable Energy Target (RET), has caused wholesale electricity prices to fall. “This is likely to continue,” it says. “These factors are impacting the industry as a whole, providing difficult trading conditions for ourselves and our major competitors alike.”
The comments came as EnergyAustralia, which owns the Yallourn coal-fired generator – and recently purchased coal-fired generators in NSW and a range of gas and wind energy assets, along with a retail arm – recorded a loss of $HK45 million in the first half of 2013. That compares with earnings of HK$268 million for the same period the previous year. Operating profits fell to HK$55 million from HK$807 million.
“The Australian energy market is facing unprecedented structural changes that are taking place at a rapid pace,” the company noted in a statement.
“In particular, the past two years have seen a pronounced decline in residential electricity demand in response to rising prices, and the deployment of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems and energy efficiency savings have more than offset any increase in demand from population growth.”
EnergyAustralia has been one of the most vocal opponents of both the RET and energy efficiency measures, because of the impact on its generation assets. It has been joined by Origin Energy and many state-owned coal fired generators in pushing for the RET to be diluted or halted…….
Despite the problems and the losses, Richard McIndoe, the managing director of EnergyAustralia, received total remuneration of $HK15.4 million ($2.2 million) million in the six month period, with nearly two thirds of this coming from performance bonuses. He was the best paid in the last six months of all senior executives of CLP, the Hong Kong-based parent company, including group CEO Andrew Brandler. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/energyaustralia-says-solar-pv-causing-rapid-structural-change-83521
Deluded optimism in uranium industry, with price in free fall
Since the Fukushima disaster — a continuing nuclear crisis fuelled by Australian uranium — the price has been in free fall.
Industry advocates remain adamant or delusional that there will be a commodity price recovery but, looking at the sector’s vital signs, we find a weak pulse….. people outside of the uranium industry do not share the optimism about a uranium price recovery.
For new comers like WA uranium hopeful Toro Energy this does not bode well.
When a small inexperienced company like Toro are competing with existing operating mines for scant finance and market access, the $260 million needed to start the proposed Wiluna mine and the further $150-$260 million in upfront bonds looks more and more like “the dream that failed” a term coined by The Economist.
Uranium industry in crisis of confidence http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/54727#sthash.TOxcBrLT.dpuf August 11, 2013 By Mia Pepper, Perth While Australia’s mining sector shows signs of resilience, there is one mineral whose outlook may be terminal.
There are five significant events that have occurred recently that send a clear message about the future of the uranium sector and the wider nuclear industry.
The uranium price dropped to US$34.50 a pound Energy Resources of Australia, the operator of the Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu, announced a $54 million loss.
Perth-based uranium miner Paladin Energy failed to sell a stake in its Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia. French nuclear giant EDF announced its exit from nuclear power in the US and Duke Energy cancelled two proposed reactors in Florida.
These incidents are neither isolated nor unrelated — they are significant indicators about the health of nuclear industry. The uranium price was around US$20 through much of the 1980s and 1990s. It increased dramatically around 2005 with the promise of a “nuclear renaissance” but began a steady drop in 2007 through to the end of 2010.
Since the Fukushima disaster — a continuing nuclear crisis fuelled by Australian uranium — the price has been in free fall. Continue reading
Solar Citizens bring about Government U-turn in Western Australia – national repercussions?
Barnett Backs Down From Solar Backflip http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3885 13 Aug 13, Solar supporters rejoiced after the Western Australian State Government yesterday reversed its decision to slash the feed in tariff rate for tens of thousands of solar households.
“Quite simply, we got this decision wrong and we have to fix it,” Premier Colin Barnett said in a short statement.
“We understand that this measure would have had an unfair impact on one section of the community and it has to be reversed.”
Within hours of the original decision to slash the incentive, solar households and supporters mobilized. Mainstream and social media was buzzing with condemnation. A Solar Citizens petition was launched that very quickly attracted over 9,000 signatures protesting the reduction.
Even within the State Government’s ranks, there was dissent. Overall, the backlash was such that it had the potential to impact results in the Federal Election. Continue reading
Australian Aborigines welcome refugees – and shame our politicians!
In an open letter to Rudd released on August 5, Aboriginal activist and president of the Indigenous Social Justice Association Ray Jackson said: “Both Nauru and Papua New Guinea are countries very susceptible to the rattling of the bags of silver proffered by Australian governments to allow us to dump what we see as ‘undesirables’ or ‘queue jumpers’ or ‘illegals’.
“They, of course, are none of these. Under the UN Declaration on Refugees they have every International Human Right to seek comfort and refuge here in Australia.
“You parliamentarians do not speak in my name.”
Aboriginal groups welcome refugees http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/54726#sthash.fMUMhBTG.dpuf August 11, 2013 By Kerry Smith Asylum seekers are welcome on Aboriginal lands in Australia despite the inhumane approach of both major political parties, the Aboriginal Provisional Government said on July 29.
Secretary Michael Mansell said: “As people who know what it’s like to be invaded by boat people we are in a better position to judge how the current boat people should be treated. Where the original boat people who took over our country were armed to the teeth and bent on conquest, asylum seekers in 2013 are unarmed and seeking sanctuary.
“The ancestors of Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott most likely came by boat. It is certain they never sought Aboriginal permission to enter our shores. It is hypocritical of both Rudd and Abbott, who gained all the benefits of migration to rise to the positions they hold, to deny other migrants the same opportunity. The only difference is that Aborigines are giving permission, not being ignored.
“Some may believe it strange that a people dispossessed and dominated by migrants over two centuries would welcome more. Asylum seekers are not trying to take over anything. They are hoping they will be treated as fellow humans escaping persecution and despair, willing to risk death on the high seas to gain access to a life Rudd and Abbott would deny them.” Continue reading
International win for University of Wollongong’s fibro solar energy cottage
University of Wollongong’s fibro cottage wins international renewable energy competition http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-12/fibro-cottage-wins-international-eco-prize/4880032 By Nick McLaren A team from the University of Wollongong has won a worldwide competition to design a zero-emissions solar house by refitting a humble Australian fibro cottage.
It is the first time an Australian team has entered the Solar Decathlon, which has been held in Datong, China since 2002.
The 51-strong team built the Flame House – a retrofitted fibro cottage designed to appeal to older clients nearing retirement.
The Australians beat 20 other finalists to place first in the engineering, solar and architecture categories, with a team from China second and Sweden third.
Project Manager Lloyd Niccol says the competition is about producing a home that is comfortable and generates more energy than it consumes. “We’re trying to find some way to make an immediately and positive impact on our environment,” he said.”There are eight million homes existing in Australia, and quite a few hundred thousand fibro homes.
“Only 2 per cent of those are replaced every year, so if we do want to make a real impact…we thought the best way to do that is to retrofit our homes. “So it’s showing how you can bring the typical home built in the 1950s into the current modern age so its comfortable, its got all the amenities you require, and it produces more energy than it consumes.”
Mr Niccol says the team used a range of technologies to modernise the cottage………… “In terms of the rest of the world…there are a lot of Chinese people that have actually asked whether we can just build them in Australia, so rather than actually retrofitting, just building the timber frame from scratch, essentially, and building this home.
“So there’s a market and a desire out there.” Mr Niccol says the competition home would cost approximately $300,000 to build in Australia.The prize-winning pad is set to be pulled apart before being shipped back to the University of Wollongong to be used for education and research.
Electricity prices will rise if carbon tax is scrapped
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/axing-carbon-price-will-hit-power-prices/4882394 AUDIO: Scrapping the carbon tax will lead to electricity price rises: report 13 August 2013 A new report out today says that the Coalition’s promise to ending carbon pricing in Australia would lead to higher wholesale energy prices. The report’s author told RN Breakfast that the policy would be a blow to renewable energy and household power bills, asJames Bourne reports.
An independent report released today has found that ditching the carbon price in Australia will hit investment in the renewable energy sector—and almost certainly lead to an increase in electricity prices.
Bret Harper, the Director of Research at advisory firm RepuTex which was commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund to write the report, says that without proper investment in renewable energy—made possible by a carbon price—wholesale electricity prices could rise by between five to ten percent by 2020.
And while the findings of today’s Renewable Energy and the Carbon Price report appear to be counter intuitive, Mr Harper says the potential price hikes are already common knowledge among government and business.
‘Renewable energy, when it’s put onto the system, tends to cut household electricity bills, not push them up,’ he told RN Breakfast.
‘It represents a very low-cost form of energy that displaces other fossil fuel generators which have very high fuel costs.’………..
Renewable energy revolution having an impact on energy prices
EnergyAustralia hurt by falling prices August 12, 2013 – SMH, Brian Robins EnergyAustralia, one of the country’s largest energy groups, has fallen into the red, hit by the downturn in wholesale electricity prices with little prospect of a quick revival in its fortunes……
The Australia energy market is facing unprecedented structural changes,” the Hong Kong-based parent said.
“The past two years have seen a pronounced decline in residential electricity demand in response to rising prices, and the deployment of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems and energy efficiency savings have more than offset any increase in demand from population growth……. Commercial and industrial demand has also been impacted … by a difficult manufacturing environment, in part due to rising energy costs, a highly valued Australian dollar and a slowing global economy.”
Wholesale electricity prices are also being pressured by a high level of output from renewable energy sources, it said, which is “likely to continue”. http://www.smh.com.au/business/earnings-season/energyaustralia-hurt-by-falling-prices-20130812-2rry3.html#ixzz2bt6ZK8vH
Australia’s supposed nuclear non proliferation policy: it’s hypocrisy
Australia’s retreat on nuclear non-proliferation http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/environment/australias-retreat-on-nuclear-non-proliferation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=australias-retreat-on-nuclear-non-proliferation 11 Aug 13, This week marked the anniversaries of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Australia’s signing of the South Pacific Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty. Dave Sweeney comments.SIXTY-EIGHT YEARS AGO this week our world changed forever – and tens of thousands of lives instantly ended – when the atomic bomb was unveiled.
The destruction of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (6 August) and Nagasaki (9 August) in 1945 heralded the end of the Second World War and the beginning of the nuclear age.
It is a long way from Hiroshima in 1945 to election mode Canberra in 2013, but lessons learned and actions taken to stop the chance of further nuclear threats are being forgotten in the rush to advance risky Australian uranium sales.
In December 2011, the Labor Party narrowly voted to overturn a long standing ban on the sale of uranium to countries that had not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — the world’s main check and balance on the spread of the world’s worst weapons.
Labor’s backflip was designed to allow uranium sales to India, a nuclear weapon state that has consistently refused to sign the NPT.
The move was condemned by the Australian Greens but enthusiastically welcomed by the Coalition, which paved the way with its August 2007 decision to support uranium sales to India and is an active supporter of an expanded uranium sector.
But the controversial sales plan is in clear conflict with Australia’s obligations under the South Pacific Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty – also known as the Treaty of Rarotonga – and is putting Australia on a collision course with our Pacific neighbours.
Professor of International Law at ANU, Professor Donald Rothwell, has examined the treaty and the planned sale deal and concluded ‘Australia is obligated under the Treaty of Rarotonga to not provide India with nuclear materials until such time as India has concluded a full-scope safeguards agreement.’
The Treaty, signed twenty eight years ago this week in the Cook Islands, bans the use, testing and possession of nuclear weapons within the South Pacific region and places constraints on non-military nuclear activities, including the export of uranium. 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.
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PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
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