Rooftop solar energy will be an issue in Australia’s 2013 election
MP’s – How Many Pro-Solar Voters In Your Electorate? http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3450 by Energy Matters, 5 Nov 12 Some MP’s will get a nasty shock and others a pleasant surprise this morning as they gain more insight into how many pro-solar voters live in their electorates.
A map and accompanying tables compiled by consultancy firm Sunwiz and released by the Australian Solar Council, 100% Renewables and the Solar Energy Industries Association shows substantial solar uptake in many marginal seats and a particularly strong showing in the mortgage belts of our big cities and in rural regions. For pro-solar MP’s, the news will be heartening, but to those opposed, the results could be a little worrying.
The map indicates Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s electorate of Lalor in Melbourne has the second highest uptake of solar panels and solar hot water systems.
“Four million Australians now have solar on their roofs, thanks to the Renewable Energy Target, and we know many more Australians want to go solar to cut their power bills”, said John Grimes, Chief Executive of the Australian Solar Council. “This is true peoples’ power.” Lindsay Soutar, 100% Renewables National Campaign Co-ordinator, says solar will be an important issue in the election next year.
“Solar offers householders the ultimate financial control over their power bills so voters will be looking to see which party will help them manage their energy bills now and in the future.”
Our politicians shouldn’t just be concerning themselves with the favour of current solar households, but those wanting to make the switch. An additional estimated 1.5 million Australians are likely to install solar panels on their roofs over the next two years – if the Renewable Energy Target isn’t interfered with.
“Politicians in all electorates are on notice,” says Brian England, National Chairman of the Solar Energy Industries Association
The Climate Change Authority’s (CCA) Review of the Renewable Energy Target Discussion Paper had an unpleasant surprise for small scale solar. The CCA has suggested reducing the level of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) attached to home solar power systems; which would impact on the subsidy available. This suggested action would be in addition to the Solar Credits multiplier ending next year.
The Australian Solar Council has strongly opposed the recommendation and 100% Renewables recently undertook a “People’s RET Review” to show the Climate Change Authority the depth of support for an unchanged RET in the wider community.
Exposing lies about Queensland’s uranium “bonanza” – ?jobs, ?revenue, amid nuclear stagnation
Talk of a nuclear ‘bonanza’ is just an elaborate con job http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/talk-of-a-nuclear-bonanza-is-just-an-elaborate-con-job/story-e6frerc6-1226510118799?sv=d2b3eec93f11454538c10b543b37282b by:Gavin Mudd, Jim Green The Courier-Mail November 05, 2012
THE push to mine Queensland’s uranium is a con job and the con goes further than the LNP’s decision to take a no-uranium position to the election, only to reverse it months later on the flimsiest of pretenses.
Another part of the con concerns jobs. The Australian Uranium Association says 2620 new jobs will be created by uranium mining in Queensland, a figure repeated by state MP Rob Katter among others.
But IBISWorld’s market report says there are just 650 jobs across Australia in uranium mining. The World Nuclear Association puts the figure at 1760 jobs, including exploration and regulation and even that generous figure amounts to less than 0.02 per cent of all jobs in Australia. Continue reading
Who’d have thought it? Solar PV becoming a political issue
Climate-Action Canberra via 100% Renewable News in today! Get set for the 2013 solar election. Rooftop solar in Australia is spreading like wildfire, especially in marginal seats. Check out new data released today by Australian Solar Council, SunWiz and us, showing number of solar homes in each Australian electorate. Sunny days ahead!
How rooftop solar PV suddenly became a hot political issue http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/how-rooftop-solar-pv-suddenly-became-a-hot-political-issue-13825 By Giles Parkinson 4 November 2012
For years, some politicians have wanted to dismiss rooftop solar PV (and other renewables), as a middle class fetish for wanting to be green. The last thing they would have expected was solar emerging as a political issue, not just on the state and national scale, but in their own electorate.Both views have now been shown to be mistaken.
A whole series of surveys and postcode analysis have shown that Australia has one of the highest deployments of small scale systems on household roofs in the world – beaten only by Japan – and most of this has been put on the rooftops of households in the nation’s mortgage belts, in the city and in regional areas.
Finally, someone has done the obvious and made the effort to link these installations with electoral divisions. The results will take many politicians by surprise. Now they must now sit up and take notice. Continue reading
VIDEO: Gutless Australian government is gutting environmental protection laws
VIDEO Australian Government Abandons World Heritage Sites http://larissa-waters.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/australian-government-abandons-world-heritage-sites 01 Nov 2012 | Larissa Waters Australia’s World Heritage sites, such as the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu and the Franklin River, will be abandoned by the Federal Government and left to the whim of the state governments, as revealed in Senate Question Time today.
“Senator Evans has confirmed today that, in a reversal from the Prime Minister’s statements in April, the protection of World Heritage sites will indeed be given to the pro-mining states, and the federal government will no longer have any right to intervene,” Australian Greens environment spokesperson, Senator Larissa Waters, said. Senator Waters’ Take Note Speech
“The Australian Government has taken another step towards the complete gutting of environment protection in this country.
“Only uranium mining will still require federal oversight – and as the Australian Government is intent on shipping uranium to India, it would seem that they’re keeping this power to ensure the uranium gets dug up, not to protect the environment from its toxic effects.
“The major environment wins of the past – like the Franklin River – are now up for grabs again. This is the Labor Government using John Howard’s laws to trash Bob Hawke’s legacy.”
Parramatta riverside sites under threat from rising sea levels
Rising sea a threat to riverside homes November 3, 2012 SMH Nicole Hasham WATER will swamp homes and businesses from Haberfield to Homebush as rising sea levels inundate the Parramatta River foreshore over the next century, a new analysis shows. The findings are critical as valuable river frontage becomes increasingly urbanised and former industrial sites are redeveloped into housing. Continue reading
USA solar PV sales set to grow in Australia
Mixed Greens: USA solar giants target Australia and Asia, REneweconomy, 2 November 2012 The two largest US solar PV manufacturing companies, First Solar and SunPower, said they will target growth in “sustainable” markets such as Australia as part of a new focus on the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East markets. SunPower CEO Tom Werner said Asia-Pacific is offering the best opportunity for growth, with shipments to Japan up 30 per cent and growth expected in Australia, China and India, he told Bloomberg in an interview. First Solar CEO Jim Hughes said his company will be looking to expand in the same regions, along with the Gulf region, where the company has selected the company to build its first solar farm, a 13MW project in the first step of a $US3.3 billion initiative
Australia’s Renewable Energy Target on track to stay
Shrinking the cost of renewables, CLIMATE SPECTATOR: Daniel Palmer , 2 Nov 2012 On Wednesday, the front page of The Australian and the third page of The Australian Financial Review carried stories of complaints about the renewable energy target. It was followed up today by an editorial in The Australian and one suspects many more similar pieces in coming weeks. It represents the last roll of the dice for those critical of the scheme to influence the Climate Change Authority on the RET Review, but it will probably come to nothing…..
Given the Climate Change Authority has come to a preliminary conclusion that the benefits outweigh the costs based on the original modelling that overstated costs, surely its opinion on the worth of the scheme has only gone up in light of this development.
Those against the large-scale scheme in its current form are going to have to shout mighty hard to get through now given the costs have been shown to be so moderate. In fact, their chances of getting the CCA to
alter its mindset in the next few weeks appear remote…… Continue reading
Uranium industry looking more and more like a long term casualty
Blind to a uranium fallout 
Business Spectator, by Robert Gottliebsen , 2 Nov 2012 I have to keep pinching myself. I see this enormous change ahead for world energy yet people keep acting as though nothing is happening.
The latest long-term casualty looks like being uranium and the already delayed BHP Olympic Dam big pit along with Campbell Newman’s hopes to resume Queensland uranium exports…
.. Last night Dundee Capital Markets cut its near-term uranium price forecast. Given that the uranium price has fallen from $US65 per pound to around $42 this was miserable news for the uranium industry and further fallout from the Fukushima disaster.
But Dundee still forecasts a return to $US65 in the long term. They may be right but as the US becomes a low-cost energy country once again – and one that is slashing its carbon output – and steaming coal prices remain low it’s going to be harder and harder to justify higher uranium prices…..
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/shale-gas-BHP-Olympic-Dam-Newman-Queensland-uraniu-pd20121102-ZMRF7?opendocument&src=rss
Energy efficiency company moving overseas, as fossil fuel influence too strong in Australia
power consumers were at the mercy of the dominant power generators and retailers such as Origin, Energy Australia and AGL, which had little incentive to innovate or improve energy efficiency.
Australia ‘too difficult’ for high-tech energy company http://www.smh.com.au/environment/australia-too-difficult-for-hightech-energy-company-20121101-28mqy.html#ixzz2B6WBSMBO November 2, 2012 Peter Hannam A HIGH-TECHNOLOGY energy company spun off from the CSIRO two decades ago says entrenched power companies and shifting government policy are forcing it to all but abandon Australia.
Ceramic Fuel Cells, which makes small fuel cells that generate power and heat from gas or renewable energy, has shed 60 of its 110 local staff since July, and expects 98 per cent of sales to come from overseas this year. The company will retain its research and development at Noble Park but will shift the bulk of its operations to Germany. Continue reading
Toro borrows up big from Macquarie Bank for uranium venture
Toro raises $12m in debt , Yahoo News, 2 Nov 12 Toro Energy has raised $12 million through a convertible debt facility with Macquarie Bank.
Toro said the raising would boost its coffers to $19.5 million, which would be used to fund the completion of a definitive feasibility study for the Wiluna uranium project and finalise negotiations with potential joint venture or funding partners.
Managing director Greg Hall welcomed Macquarie Bank as a significant new stakeholder in Toro and said he looked forward to working with the investment bank in moving the Wiluna project through to financing phase… http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/wa/15274840/toro-raises-12m-in-debt/
Australian labor Party’s right wing opposing renewable energy?
Whip Joel Fitzgibbon told to fall in line on renewable energy targets BY: LANAI VASEK The Australian October 31, THE Greens say Labor’s chief whip and former cabinet minister Joel Fitzgibbon should “back off” from his calls for the renewable energy target to be cut.
In a heated defence of the RET, Greens MP Adam Bandt said Labor needed to unite and decide if it was for or against the scheme. “The right-wing factional power brokers within the Labor party are beginning a campaign against renewable energy,” Mr Bandt said.
“This will be a litmus test for the Labor party to decide whether they have got their foot on the accelerator or the brake when it comes to Australia’s transition to a clean energy economy.”Joel Fitzgibbonneeds to back off. If Labor is serious about a renewable energy future, with the hundreds of thousands of jobs that will come with that as Australia plays its part to tackle global warming, then Joel Fitzgibbon needs to back off from his campaign to wind back the
renewable energy target.”….
Parliamentary Secretary Richard Marles said the RET was bipartisan policy and Labor had no plans to make
changes to it. “This is bipartisan policy, this was policy of the Howard government … it’s been bipartisan policy for 10 years,” Mr Marles said. “We are not talking about changing the RET.”
Liberal backbencher Alan Tudge said the Coalition was also not considering making any changes to the RET.
King Island switches from diesel to renewables – with large battery energy storage system
Australia’s largest battery-based renewable energy storage system to be built on Tasmanian island Process and Control Engineering 1 November, 2012 Kevin Gomez Australian energy storage company Ecoult has been awarded the Hydro Tasmania contract to supply the largest battery based renewable energy storage system in Australia for the King Island Renewable Energy Integration Project (KIREIP).
Ecoult CEO John Wood said the UltraBattery storage system would shift and smooth renewable energy generated on King Island and will help maintain stability of the power grid.
“Ecoult’s UltraBattery solutions support the utilisation of renewable energy by storing energy in periods where there is excess generation and making it available when it is needed to better match demand,” Wood said…… http://www.pacetoday.com.au/news/australia-s-largest-battery-based-renewable-energy
Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) find S.A.’s solar rooftop energy is lowering mains consumption
Thanks in part to the state’s solar feed in tariffs, currently at nearly 26c per kilowatt hour for new participants for any surplus electricity exported to the mains grid; South Australia has the highest penetration of rooftop PV of all the National Electricity Market (NEM) states.
Solar Driving Down South Australia’s Mains Electricity Consumption http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3448 by Energy Matters, 31 Oct A report from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) shows a substantial drop in demand for mains grid supplied electricity in South Australia. Continue reading
AUDIO: Aboriginal rights will be eroded as Queensland develops uranium mining
Uranium mining in Australia has removed Aboriginal rights in uranium States and territories. Queensland’s Aboriginals are next in line for this, as Newman government sets up a committee, with Aboriginal uranium lobbyist invited to join it.
‘Nuclear racism’ concern over Qld uranium mining http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/239743/-Nuclear-racism-concern-over-Qld-uranium-mining 31 Oct 2012 By Stefan Armbruster Queensland Aboriginal groups are being warned their legal rights could be eroded as the state moves to resume uranium mining. Queensland Aboriginal groups are being warned their legal rights could be eroded as the state moves to resume uranium mining.
Last week the state’s Liberal National Party government said it would end the uranium mining ban introduced by Labor in 1989. The Queensland government has asked indigenous employment advocate and Australian Uranium Association director Warren Mundine to join a committee overseeing renewed mining.
In other states and territories, uranium mining has partial or total exemptions from Aboriginal land rights and heritage laws. Friends of the Earth’s national nuclear campaigner, Jim Green, told Queensland correspondent Stefan Armbruster it is a bad sign, given Australia’s past of so-called “nuclear racism”.
Nuclear lobby’s Aboriginal poster boy Warren Mundine to oversee Queensland uranium mining?
Warren Mundine asked to oversee Qld uranium mining BY: ROSANNE BARRETT The Australian October 30, 2012 FORMER Labor party president Warren Mundine has been approached to oversee the resurrection of Queensland’s uranium mining industry.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman told parliament today that Mr Mundine’s appointment to the uranium implementation committee was “subject to confirmation”. – subscription only
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