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.
BHP prolongs the indecision on Olympic Dam uranium mine
BHP Billiton’s request for an indenture extension keeps the Olympic Dam project alive, says Greg Kelton. Adelaide Now 27 Sept 12 GET ready for another four years of “will they or won’t they”. South Australians will have to play the pol-itical guessing game of what will happen to the much-vaunted Olympic Dam mine expansion, albeit on a much smaller scale.
The state has already gone through one major economic disappointment with BHP Billiton shelving the planned $30 billion expansion last month, claiming it was due to world economic conditions.
The proposed expansion had been sold to the public by Government, economic commentators and many in the mining industry as the state’s economic saviour, the major project which would put SA up with the mining giant states of WA and Queensland.
BHP Billiton’s decision to ask for an extension of the indenture which was due to expire at the end of this year, keeps the project, in some form at least, alive….. Both parties now realise the project cannot be seen as the be-all and end-all for the state’s economy. Both have stated the need for more diversification of the state’s economic base. However, whatever they think, both parties will be keen for some form of Olympic Dam expansion to proceed. Their political futures might well depend on it. http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/bhp-billiton-guessing-game-set-to-continue-in-south-australia/story-e6frealc-1226482133887
ABC Radio interview: Alice McCleary spruiks for nuclear power, nuclear waste dump in South Australia
Alice Mc Cleary from Uranium SA appears to not understand the question of toxic wastes. Hers is an extraordinary point of view, in the light of the continuing slide in uranium prices.
No surprise that Ben Heard, from the Barry Brook nuclear lobby cheer squad, appeared. Ian Henschke (ABC interviewer) seems unaware that in fact the Barry Brook clique are the ONLY environmentalists in Australia known to be pro nuclear.
I note with amusement that McCleary mentioned “emotion” three times in this discussion – that naughty feeling that we must eliminate. Hes is a point of view that would not go down well with many cancer victims, and with those who have recently visited Fukushima, or Chernobyl.
The silly part about it all is that the new nuke promoters are all for nuclear reprocessing, and Thorium reactors – and they need very little uranium.
Uranium fuelled nuclear reactors are so last century now.
BHP knew when to get out.
Should South Australia go nuclear? 13/09/2012 ABC Radio Adelaide, PM by john Thompson-Mills Despite safety fears and environmental concerns, would switching to nuclear power benefit South Australia in the long run? Alice McLeary is the chairman of Uranium SA and she says it is time South Australians had a rational debate about going nuclear.
891 Mornings host Ian Henschke spoke to Alice from the Royal Adelaide Show and took calls from some very passionate listeners.
Christina’s notes from audio:
Alice McCleary We need to start the debate. Include nuclear option. Let the market decide. At the moment nuclear power would not be economic in Australia. Carbon tax designed to eliminate fossil fuels. For baseload power nuclear should be one of those things to talk about. Uranium SA exploring South of Whyalla
Presenter doesn’t think that wind farms are particularly efficient.
McCleary There’s been a lot of emotion, a lot of scare mongering. No source of energy provides a free lunch.
Question: what is her position on nuclear waste?
Presenter: there are now nuclear power plants that have minimal waste?
McCleary: research being done to use 100% of enegy, (?no waste?) We can earn by creating a nuclear waste repositary in South Australia.
Nothing is free. Wind power has all sorts of issues. I’m calling for an unemotional debate about the options.
Caller: uranium mining is a crime against humanity. Everyone in Sweden was exposed. Grandkids, twins – dead in womb – autopsy found no apparent reason. I say – poison from Fukushima. I’m sorry to be emotional.
Presenter: talking about fallout – something much more deadly
McCleary ; those were very old technologies, Fukushima, Chernobyl. I’m trying to get some of the emotion out of it. We should look at the scientific evidence. Current pollution [from coal] is an issue.
Presente. David Evan{?} saying before 9 that manny in parliament agree with McCleary.
Caller, Ben Heard, for Decarbonise Australia. [one of Barry Brook’s pro nuke mob] Chernobyl and Fukushima pollution much less than existing coal plants.
In South Australia quite soon we have to make expensive choices.
In long run, nuclear will reduce the cost of power. Fuel is so cheap. As carbon price goes up, nuclear becomes cheaper. To make the right decision need all the options on the table.
Presenter: a lot of people in environmental movement are moving towards your point of view.
Asks McCleary about Abbott removing carbon tax. She doesn’t really know what Abbott would do… http://blogs.abc.net.au/sa/2012/09/should-south-australia-go-nuclear.html
How nuclear lobbyists like Barry Brook trivialise the health impacts of ionising radiation
Nuclear sector seeks to regain trust after Fukushima, Paul Langley’s NUclear History Blog, Sep 13, 2012“……..March 11 was an error,” said Ric Perez, president and chief operating officer of Westinghouse, also a leading nuclear company and majority-owned by Japan’s Toshiba.
…….Earlier this year, the was a public meeting held at the Walkerville Hall. Barry Brook of Adelaide University, passed around little sealed plastic bags containing uranium ore to the gathered crowd. Perfectly safe he said. True enough at the level of radiological laboratory Barry. People measured the gamma dose emitted by the ore, the gamma penetrating, largely unattenuated, the little plastic bags. The alpha radiation was not measured. It presents only as a severe internal hazard if taken into the body.
Barry, how many little plastic bags, glued to the shattered Fukushima reactors, will it take to seal the inside the reactors the radionuclides which have been venting and leaking from them since March 2011?
A rough number will do. What the hell were you thinking? That a broken reactor complex is anything remotely like a rad lab, the main aim of which is to keep its radioactive sources sealed?
A rad lab and a broken rank of reactors are two very different things Barry. So what was your point?
The idea of the myth of progress is to enable a false claim that present “mistakes” are not actually mere repeats of the deliberate crimes of the past.
That is why, sometimes, “progress” is indeed a myth.
Sometimes, the nuclear victims of the earlier nuclear escapades had children. And those children often remember precisely what happened to their parents, and sometimes, to themselves, as a result of nuclear “mistakes”.
The children of Fukushima will retain their memories for a long time, and will perhaps pass onto their children their recollections of what Mr Perez calls an “error”.
http://nuclearhistory.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/fukushima-was-mistake-wetinghouse-chief-boy-he-thinks-its-still-1954/
Australia’s mainstream media mindlessly regurgitates Uranium SA’s media release
The Australian media mindlessly regurgitates corporate media releases. Yesterday’s Herald Sun provided a glowing account of Uranium SA’s Annual Report, by its chairman Alice McCleary. But – did any mainstream media look into that report, and its claims?
I was fascinated by Alice McCleary’s mention of “stripped of emotion” – nuclear processes are 
environmentally OK etc. . That is the traditional nuclear spin way of answering any claims of danger, environmental damage, health damage, nuclear weapons risk and so on. Nuclear’s opponents are “emotional” “not rational” – so no need to answer their arguments.
Then she goes on to “Generation IV nuclear reactors which consume 100% of the energy in the uranium fuel, plus the depleted uranium from the enrichment process”. What Is she talking about? There are at least 6 different types of “Generation IV nuclear reactors’ – all still in the design stage. They all use uranium in lesser quantities only. In the case of the much-touted Thorium reactor, uranium is used in small amounts to set off the fission process. But really thorium reactors are being touted as a “welcome” alternative to uranium powered ones.
Anyway, the whole promotion for most the Gen IV reactors is to use up the world’s embarrassing piles of plutonium as fuel – hardly a recipe for expanded uranium mining.
The optimism of the report is in fact, in contrast to the reality of the uranium industry’s prospects. Even BHP’s cancelling of expansion of Olympic Dam has not helped the uranium industry’s market forecast. Paladin Energy made a huge loss on uranium , as did ERA last year.
“Stripped of emotion” Uranium SA’s chairman Alice McCleary wins Furphy Of The Year award
Uranium SA’s Annual Report 12 Sept 12, Alice McCleary, Chairman , “…..As all shareholders will be aware, 2012 continued to be challenging [that’s the understatement of the year!] for small companies. However, the Board maintains its great confidence [amazing!] in the future prospects of UraniumSA ….
Uranium is used for energy generation in proven and safe industrial processes that – stripped of emotion – have lower environmental footprints and higher sustainability than any competing established technology
Generation IV nuclear reactors are now being developed which consume 100% of the energy in the uranium
fuel, plus the depleted uranium from the enrichment process
These are exciting developments. As the world moves away from carbonintensive energy sources, uranium’s benefits will become more and more obvious to all….”
South Australia: uranium licence agreement scrapped by BHP
BHP scraps Olympic Dam licence deal THE AUSTRALIAN, BY: ROBB M. STEWART From: Dow Jones Newswires September 10, 2012 BHP Billiton has scrapped plans to buy a basket of exploration licenses in the region of its Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia after it last month shelved a $US30 billion plan to greatly expand the operation.
Exploration firm Tasman Resources said today that it had received a notice from BHP terminating conditional contracts that would have seen BHP buy five exploration licenses and one license application for the
Stuart Shelf region, which hosts the Olympic Dam deposit.
Tasman in mid-June had said BHP had agreed to buy the licenses in a $3 million deal subject to several conditions. It at the time said the land contains several targets that are thought to be deep and relatively high risk and therefore more suited to companies with larger exploration budgets…… http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/
South Australia’s extraordinary wind energy peak – at 85% of the State’s electricity
Wind power peaks in SA http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8528671/wind-power-peaks-in-sa Sep 6 2012 South Australia’s wind farms briefly provided 85 per cent of the state’s electricity during windy conditions this week, the Clean Energy Council says.
Policy director Russell Marsh said data from the Australian Energy Market Operator showed 55 per cent of all the electricity used by South Australians on Wednesday was generated by wind power.
But it said wind power peaked briefly at 85 per cent on Monday morning. “South Australia has proven once again that wind energy can generate real power and lots of it,” Mr Marsh said. “All this wind is putting South Australia well ahead of the curve on Australia’s 20 per cent renewable energy target.”
South Australia’s wind energy bonanza
Wind accounts for 58% of energy use in South Australia, By Giles Parkinson on 6 September 2012 It’s been another big week for wind production in South Australia – as another spring weather system with high winds makes wind energy the dominant force in local energy production.
According to figures pulled together by consultants Intelligent Energy Systems using data from the Australian Market Operator, wind energy produced accounted for 57.9 per cent of demand in the state on Tuesday, and followed up with 55 per cent of total demand on Wednesday……
exports from South Australia to other states. On Tuesday, the state was exporting almost all day, as the wind output was quite consistent. On Wednesday, it exported for most of the day and there is a bit of pink at the top in the late afternoon to indicate coal imported from Victoria. (South Australia’s coal generators are in mothballs right now due to the impact of wind, and lower demand, and the carbon price)……
These one day graphs, of course, are just snapshots of an overall trend happening in the state, and across the National Electricity Market, that will only become more apparent as the amount of wind and solar installed in the country increases. Indeed drew Reidy, from IES says these days only rank as the 6th and 12th highest in terms of energy produced on a single day, and 5th and 6th in terms of percentage of demand. The highest day in terms of output was on August 17 this year, while the highest in terms of percentage of demand came in February 5, when wind accounted for 64.1 per cent of demand across the day.
The Clean Energy Council’s Russell March said it was proof that wind energy can generate real power – and lots of it. “This type of significant wind generation is common in South Australia,” he said. In 2011/12, according to AEMO data, wind produced 24 per cent of the state’s generation, overtaking coal. And, Russell noted, AEMO data shows that emissions from South Australia’s electricity sector have dropped every year since 2005/06, and have reduced by more than 27 per cent over the last five years.
“All this wind is putting SA way ahead of the curve on the national Renewable Energy Target, helping provide farmers and local business owners in regional areas with extra income. It also means that the state’s residents collectively have a lower carbon price bill, while getting fully compensated from the Federal Government under the scheme.” Indeed, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the state enjoyed not just by far the cleanest energy in the country, but also the cheapest, with average prices over the day at $43/MWh, compared to more than $52/MWh for NSW….. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/wind-accounts-for-58-of-energy-use-in-south-australia-75810
South Australia’s massive Olympic Dam dream down the toilet
Analysts had calculated the expansion would have cost BHP close to US$30 billion over several years as it developed a pit more than 4 kilometers long, 3.5 kilometers wide and 1 kilometer deep…. the plans had also envisaged the construction of a desalination plant, new port andairport facilities and expanded work accommodation.
BHP Gives South Australia No Guarantees For Olympic Dam Fox Business September 03, 2012 Dow Jones Newswires BHP Billiton (BHP) Chief Executive Marius Kloppers in a meeting Monday could provide no revised schedule, or guarantees, to the state premier of South Australia for the expansion of the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine… Continue reading
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