South Australia to hold Parliamentary Enquiry into Solar Thermal Energy for Port Augusta
Solar Thermal Energy Parliamentary Enquiry For South Australia http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3430 by Energy Matters The efforts by supporters of the construction of a solar thermal power station in Port Augusta, South Australia have paid off.
SA Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said a select committee will research a proposal to replace Alinta Energy’s Northern and Playford coal-fired power stations at Port Augusta with a concentrated solar thermal plant. Continue reading
South Australian innovation in battery storage for solar and wind power
Energy firm claims battery storage breakthrough SMH, October 10, 2012 – Peter Hannam
Carbon economy editor A South Australian energy firm is claiming an international breakthrough in battery technology that will help generators of solar and wind power store their energy more cheaply.
ZEN Energy Systems today unveiled a computer-controlled storage system – with one model about the size of a bar fridge – which almost doubles the effectiveness of batteries.
“This technology is a game changer for the renewable energy industry and has the potential to change the way individuals and communities use electricity in the future,” ZEN’s chief executive officer, Richard Turner, said.
Mr Turner said as many as 10 Australian utilities are interested in trialling the system and the company has already begun shipping large-scale container-sized units to US clients…….. Continue reading
22 storeys up, Adelaide’s roof garden brings an ecosystem, and cools the building
Adelaide is leading the way in water-sensitive urban design and green roof technology.
Roof gardens proven to cool buildings ABC Radio The World Today Nicola Gage reported this story on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 ELEANOR HALL: Roof gardens are becoming more prevalent in the world’s major cities.
Now a study has found that not only are they building mini-ecosystems, they’re also cooling buildings significantly and reducing carbon emissions, as Nicola Gage reports.
NICOLA GAGE: Major cities have inherently been linked to pollution and rising carbon emissions, but 22 stories up on the roof of a building in Adelaide, there’s a micro-climate that’s returning wildlife to the city.
GRAEME HOPKINS: It’s had bees up here collecting honey, it’s got birds and we’ve identified two moth varieties and no doubt the birds have been chasing the moths. So there’s a whole ecosystem and this has
happened spontaneously on the 22nd floor, so it’s quite amazing. Continue reading
Woomera, the size of England, to open for uranium mining
Woomera Prohibited Area Open to Resources Development 04 October 2012 Stephen Smith MP
Minister for Defence Martin Ferguson MP Minister for Resources & Energy Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson today announced the next step in opening up the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) in South Australia to minerals exploration and resources development.
“The Woomera Prohibited Area has great economic potential, with estimates that more than $35 billion of developments, including iron ore, gold and uranium projects would be possible over the next decade, ” Mr Ferguson said.
“We can now consider new applications for access to the area from companies wishing to explore for minerals,” Mr Smith said…..
Minister Ferguson said that implementing the recommendations of the Hawke Review will help secure the longevity of our minerals resources sector….. The Review is being implemented in three phases – the moratorium on the granting of new non-Defence entrants access to the WPA, a transitional phase involving the development and implementation
of enabling legislation, and a final phase where transitional arrangements are implemented and where permanent arrangements are put in place.Further information is available at www.defence.gov.au/woomera/
Woomera Prohibited Area, Australian Department of Defence The Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) is a globally unique military testing range. It covers 127,000 square kilometres in north-west South Australia, approximately 450 kilometres NNW of Adelaide. It is the largest land range in the world, with a centre line of over 600 kilometres, comparable in size to England….The WPA comprises extensive lands north of the Indian Pacific railway, from Maralinga in the south-west up to its north-west corner in the Great Victoria Desert (that stretches across the SA-WA border), across to Coober Pedy, and west of Roxby Downs down to Woomera in the south-east.. http://www.defence.gov.au/woomera/about.htm
South Australian Native Title Services (SANTS) legal case against govt’s discriminatory law
Aboriginal groups to challenge SA Govt’s legislation on oil, gas licences on constitutional, racial discrimination grounds, Adelaide Now, Valerina Changarathil October 08, 2012
THE State Government’s retrospective amendments to the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act affecting exploration and production licenses in the Cooper Basin area will be challenged in Federal Court on constitutional and racial discrimination grounds.
Aboriginal groups representative, the South Australian Native Title Services (SANTS), will file an appeal to this effect in an ongoing matter set for hearing early next year. Continue reading
South Australian government’s contempt for Aboriginal rights
Native title ‘reforms’ slammed http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/native-title-reforms-slammed/story-fn9hm1pm-1226490977811 BY:MICHAEL OWEN The Australian October 09, 2012 THE government-funded native title service provider in South Australia has lashed state Labor for cosying up to miners with moves to streamline approvals in indigenous areas and strip away Aboriginal rights.
Native Title Services chief executive Keith Thomas accused Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis of adopting an inaccurate and inflammatory position on reforming the state’s Aboriginal Heritage Act, and said the Labor government had revealed its true colours.
“This government has clearly demonstrated its attitude to Aboriginal people with recent moves to remove native title rights in relation to petroleum exploration and production in the Cooper Basin and traditional fishing rights on the Yorke Peninsula,” Mr Thomas said. Continue reading
Free energy fuel- sun and wind- brings down cost of electricity for South Australians
Renewables typically have no fuel costs (free sun and wind), and thus have the lowest short run marginal cost of production.
Renewables ‘lowering SA electricity bills’ SBS WORLD NEWS, 8 OCT 2012, Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power appear to be the impetus behind a South Australian proposal to substantially drop electricity prices, By Dylan McConnell , University of Melbourne
Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power appear to be the impetus behind a South Australian proposal to substantially drop electricity prices, just as other states are hiking theirs.
The Essential Service Commission of South Australian (ESCOSA), which regulates retail electricity prices, has released a draft price determination that proposes an 8.1% reduction in the electricity standing offer, (that is, the default retail price that must be offered to South Australians, at a minimum).
The proposal, which follows an ESCOSA investigation into the wholesale energy costs, translates to a reduction of $27.19/MWh, potentially lowering South Australian electricity bills by an average of $160 per household.
And while it is not specifically acknowledged in the determination, this may be the first time the “merit order effect ” of renewable energy sources can conclusively be seen flowing through to consumers in Australia. The Merit Order Effect
There is nothing special about the “merit order effect”. Quite simply, if you introduce more of a product into a market (that is, increase supply) then prices fall. Continue reading
Solar panels best for town home energy: wind turbines better for farms
average wind speed needs to be above 5m/s (18km per hour) to make installing a wind turbine really worthwhile. Ideal locations for wind turbines are in the country, on farms, or on the coast: basically anywhere away from built-up areas. The more buildings around the wind turbine, the less wind there is and the more turbulent any wind present becomes.
While wind power can be ideal on farms, for most suburban settings Energy Matters strongly recommends solar panels.
Backyard Wind Turbines – In Adelaide You Can (For Now) http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3413 by Energy Matters 9 Oct 12, If you live in Adelaide and want to install a wind turbine atop a 10 metre tower in your back yard, it seems to you can do so without the need for council approval. But you may need to be quick. Continue reading
South Australian govt to strengthen mining companies’ power over Aboriginals
Mine project appeals set to be scrapped BY:MICHAEL OWEN The Australian October 04, 2012 MINING companies are being promised speedy Aboriginal heritage approvals on new projects under a plan by the South Australian Labor government.
Mineral Resources Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the Aboriginal Heritage Act needed to be “freshened up” because red tape and legal challenges by indigenous groups were delaying important mining projects…. subscription only
South Australia energy prices cut by renewable energy
Wind, solar force energy price cuts in South Australia REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson 3 October 2012 The rules of Australia’s energy markets continue to be redrawn after the South Australian pricing regulator on Tuesday cut its calculation of wholesale energy costs and recommended that retail electricity prices be cut by 8.1 per cent. Continue reading
South Australian government CLAIMS it will not kow tow to BHP Billiton
Weatherill again sounds BHP mine caution http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-28/weatherill-again-sounds-bhp-mine-caution/4285794 South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has given a guarded response on whether the SA Government will be prepared to extend BHP Billiton’s indenture agreement for mining expansion.
He said the Government was yet to be persuaded of the merits of granting an extension to the current indenture, which expires in mid-December.
BHP Billiton has written to the SA Government seeking to extend the agreement until October 2016, after shelving its current Olympic Dam mine expansion plans recently, citing economic conditions.
Mr Weatherill said the company disappointed many people when it delayed the proposed expansion of underground mining to an open pit operation.
He again made it clear the Government would take its time to consider the request.
Family First Party tries to stop wind energy for homes
Push to close turbine loophole before 10m-high structures are erected
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/push-to-close-turbine-loophole-before-10m-high-structures-are-erected/story-e6frea83-1226482927714 Emma Altschwager The Advertiser September 27, HOUSEHOLDERS can cash in on wind power by erecting turbines up to 10m high in their backyard that could transform suburban skylines.
But the window of opportunity could be slammed shut by Family First, which wants to change development regulations and allow neighbours to have a say in the erection of any wind turbines in their street. Continue reading
South Australia’s history of small and effective wind turbines
KJBeinke of ADELAIDE September 27, 2012 I grew up in rural SA and we generated all of our own power as there
was no grid available. When it did become available in the late 1960’s it was cost prohibitive to pay for the poles and transformer to the farm house. The wind power was used to charge a bank of batteries and we used them in lieu of 240 volts.
Now days batteries are much cheaper, more efficient and inverters are more efficient and cheaper. For those who don’t understand, you can become self sufficient on solar and wind power with battery back up to store un-used energy. It
has nothing to do with base load and that argument is irrelevant.
The problem with some of the wind-turbines is they can be noisy. Bird strikes are almost non-existent as in my 17 years relying on wind power, never once did I see a dead bird at the base of the tower. – comment at http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/wattle-park-mans-development-application-shows-10m-high-wind-turbines-are-allowed-in-adelaides-suburbs/story-e6frea83-1226481983640
Small home wind turbines allowable in South Australia, without Council consent
Wattle Park man’s development application shows 10m-high wind turbines are allowed in Adelaide’s suburbs
(picture shows home wind turbines in England – so it’s not really a new idea) http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/wattle-park-mans-development-application-shows-10m-high-wind-turbines-are-allowed-in-adelaides-suburbs/story-e6frea83-1226481983640
A WATTLE Park man’s bid to build a 6m-high wind turbine in his
backyard has revealed a loophole that could transform suburban skylines. Continue reading
BHP’s shares down as it dallies again with the expensive Olympic Dam dream
BHP seeks more time on Olympic Dam Kristie Batten , 27 September 2012 THE South Australian government says it will carefully consider a request by BHP Billiton for an extension to the December deadline for its shelved $A28 billion Olympic Dam expansion
The government received a letter requesting the four-year extension beyond December 15 ahead of a meeting between the miner and Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy Tom Koutsantonis in Adelaide yesterday.
“Very careful consideration will now be given to the company’s request and the reasons given for seeking an extension,” Koutsantonis said in a statement…….
this will require a lot more work at the pit, a lot more work here in Adelaide and the scale and the scope of that work will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”
However, SA Greens politician Mark Parnell told ABC Adelaide the government should reject the request and renegotiate.
“Extending a bad deal for four more years doesn’t improve it one iota,” he said.
“This is really a chance for South Australia to renegotiate with the world’s richest resource company a deal that looks after the environment, is better for the economy, guarantees local jobs and makes sure that all South Australians benefit from the resources that we own.”
BHP has said it did not expect to approve any major projects in the current financial year. Shares in BHP last traded 27c down to $32.54.
1 This month
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