In reality, Western Australia’s Solar Feed In Tariff is an economic boon
Western Australia’s Solar Feed In Tariff Ramifications Exaggerated http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3211, 17 May 12, Professor Ray Wills of the Sustainable Energy Association of Australia (SEA) has challenged the notion that spending more on renewables is somehow a bad thing and brought the situation regarding Western Australia’s solar feed in tariff into perspective.
Professor Wills points out while the media circus has focused on the “blowout” in Western Australia’s scheme; there has been no analysis of the benefits. “Energy Minister Peter Collier rightly points out that 76,000 WA homes now have solar panels on their roofs as “a terrific outcome”,’ says Professor Wills, who says the uptake hasn’t been confined to the wealthy, but spurred on by average households in Western Australia now slashing their electricity bills.
“We are yet to calculate the savings that this program has bought – savings that will amount to fewer upgrades to poles and wires, has in the vast majority of cases delivered improved electricity quality and reliability, and will avoid the need for investment in new fossil-fuel based generation.” Continue reading
Western Australia’s inadequate laws on uranium tailings
WA’s uranium tailings laws fall short: independent review, SMH, May 14, 2012 Western Australia needs to completely revise its ageing laws governing the storage of uranium tailings and update its regulations to allow greater transparency of the uranium approvals process, an independent review into the state’s uranium regulations has found.
The review comes as Toro Energy braces for final approvals to mine uranium in the Northern Goldfields, after the WA Government removed the state’s ban on uranium mining in 2009. The Uranium Advisory Group led by University of Western Australia and CSIRO researchers, made nine recommendations to the Department of Mines and Petroleum targeted at ensuring more transparent and safer guidelines for the fledgling industry in a report…….
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/was-uranium-tailings-laws-fall-short-independent-review-20120514-1ymqu.html#ixzz1v5miLFpI
Australian-owned and developed in launching Western Australia’s wave energy project
WA to launch world-first wave energy project, WA Today, Pamela Mirghani May 1, 2012 – The first wave energy project in the Southern Hemisphere is set to commence operation in Western Australia next year, with the federal government announcing almost $10 million in funding today. Continue reading
Doctors slam uranium miner Toro Energy for promoting junk science on radiation safety:
We call on Toro Energy to stop promoting fringe scientific views to uranium industry workers and to the public at large.
The Medical Association for Prevention of War has released a statement signed by 45 medical doctors calling on uranium mining company Toro Energy to stop promoting the view that low-level radiation is beneficial to human health. Toro Energy, which plans to mine uranium at Wiluna in WA and has interests in uranium exploration ventures in the NT and SA, has sponsored speaking tours by controversial Canadian scientist Doug Boreham. The joint statement notes that recent research has heightened rather than reduced concern about the adverse health impacts of low-level radiation.
TORO ENERGY PROMOTES RADIATION JUNK SCIENCE , Statement by 45 doctors – (signatures at end ) 1 May 2012
Toro Energy is an Australian company involved in uranium exploration in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and in Namibia, Africa. The company’s most advanced project is the proposed Wiluna uranium mine in the WA Goldfields.
Toro Energy has consistently promoted the fringe scientific view that exposure to low-level radiation is harmless. Toro Energy has sponsored at least three speaking visits to Australia by Canadian scientist Dr Doug Boreham, who argues that low-level radiation is actually beneficial to human health.
Those views are at odds with mainstream scientific evidence and expert assessment. For example: Continue reading
Quack science, anti science, about ionising radiation from Toro Energy’s Dr Doug Boreham
Doctors take Toro Energy to school on the dangers of radiation , May 1st, 2012 The Australian Greens welcomed today’s call from the Medical Association for Prevention of War for uranium miners Toro Energy to stop promoting the view that low-level radiation is beneficial to human health.
The Greens nuclear policy spokesperson, WA Senator Scott Ludlam, said Toro’s plans to mine uranium at Wiluna, Western Australia, should be abandoned.
“Toro Energy has sponsored a number of speaking tours by Dr Doug Boreham, who promoted radiation as ‘anti-carcinogenic’ at the Paydirt uranium conference in Adelaide. Continue reading
Australia’s Defence minister ‘welcomes’ USA submarines, cagey about upgrades for nuclear submarine visits
Defence Minister evades nuclear sub questions In My Community, 27/Apr/2012 By Laura Tomlinson, Weekend Courier FEDERAL Defence Minister Stephen Smith used a visit to HMAS Stirling today to reiterate the Australian Government’s commitment to its relationship with the United States.
However, the minister would not be drawn on whether Garden Island’s infrastructure was in line for an upgrade to help host American appliances, including controversial nuclear submarines. Mr Smith and Brand MHR Gary Gray toured one of the US’s biggest submarines, the USS Michigan, which is currently docked at Garden Island, before Mr Smith conducted a media conference on the wharf. ….. Mr Smith told reporters of the Federal Government’s previously-announced commitment to building 12 new submarines.
Nuclear subs have been ruled out – because there is no local capability to construct or maintain them, but that doesn’t mean America’s nuclear fleet is unwelcome. Mr Smith said it was important that Australian defence assets were appropriately geographically distributed “for the challenges of the future”, and that American vessels could use Australian ports……http://www.inmycommunity.com.au/news-and-views/local-news/Defence-Minister-evades-nuclear-sub-questions/7620613/
In Western Australia – a window in Australia’s solar future
“[It’s] a window into Australia’s solar future,” – Australian Solar Energy Society chief executive John Grimes
“Big solar makes sense in the Mid West. The region’s enormous appetite for energy is matched by some of the best sunshine in the world.
“Solar increasingly makes economic sense in the Mid West, with a dramatic fall in the price of solar PV countering a significant rise in the cost of electricity.”
Mr Grimes said there was no reason why solar could not provide a significant amount of Austral’s electricity needs by 2020, particularly with the introduction of the carbon tax from July 1 and the national 20 per cent renewable energy target.
Historic solar farm transforms WA landscape http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/historic-solar-farm-transforms-wa-landscape-20120412-1ww3t.html#ixzz1s49L4pPw WA Today, Courtney Trenwith April 12, 2012 WA’s historic solar power farm will soon be glistening in the outback, with the first panel installed today. In what will be the largest solar energy generator in the country, the farm will house 150,000 panels across 80 hectares, creating a remarkable sight and producing an environmental feat.
The 10 megawatt Greenough River Solar Farm is being built 50 kilometres south of Geraldton, with 100 construction jobs created. It is expected to generate enough electricity for 3,000 average homes while displacing 20,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas each year – the equivalent of taking 4000 vehicles off the road. Continue reading
A clever solar energy tariff plan from Western Australian firm
Horizon finds a smart way to price a solar tariff, REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson 5 April 2012 Western Australia energy utility Horizon Power has achieved what appears beyond the capabilities of its larger peers in the eastern states, the Victorian and NSW governments and regulatory pricing authorities, and produced Australia’s first differentiated feed in tariff for rooftop solar PV.
Horizon, which services 100,000 residents and 9,000 businesses in towns and communities across the state, beyond the grid located in the south-western corner, is introducing area-specific solar feed-in tariffs which recognise a higher value for solar put back into the grid from remote locations, and a lower value for solar energy fed from near towns and alternative energy sources. Continue reading
What’s stopping windy Western Australia from developing wind power?
Why isn’t WA harnessing wind power?, WA Today April 4, 2012 – Perth is an international hotspot for windsurfing and the destination of choice for the ISAF Sailing World Championships. If you thought Western Australia was a leader in wind power, think again.
New research reveals while Perth is the third windiest capital in the world, it is in the doldrums when it comes to wind power….. With an average wind speed of more than 27km/h and twelve operating wind farms lining the coast from Coral Bay to Albany, WA could be leading the nation. Continue reading
Western Australia’s Horizon Power’ s solar feed-in tariffs will especially benefit rural communities
Solar households in towns located further from energy generation sources, or where power generation is expensive, will be offered higher prices for the electricity they export to the grid…. For households in regional and remote areas of Western Australia, under Horizon’s new feed in tariff structure the savings could be much higher.
Horizon Power To Offer Location Based Solar Feed In Tariff, Energy Matters, 3 April 12, In what appears to be a first for Australia, Western Australia’s Horizon Power will introduce area-specific solar feed-in tariffs. While owners of systems in some towns will receive a much higher rate, others will receive less.Horizon Power’s Renewable Energy Buyback Scheme rate is currently equivalent to a customer’s current electricity tariff, minus GST. Horizon’s incentive is in addition to Western Australia’s state government mandated feed in tariff rate of 8c per kilowatt hour. Continue reading
Nyoongar Tent Embassy in Western Australia – push for Aboriginal Sovereignty
Nyoongar Tent Embassy puts sovereignty on the agenda, Green Left, March 31, 2012 By Alex Bainbridge, Perth A movement for Aboriginal sovereignty has galvanised around the February 12 formation of the Nyoongar Tent Embassy in Perth.
The embassy was directly inspired by two developments: the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra, which promoted a national push for Aboriginal sovereignty, and the February 8 report about negotiations between the state government and the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (SWALSC) about Nyoongar native title.
The embassy suffered a heavy blow on March 22 when an operation of more than 60 police tried to close the embassy down. However, the embassy has so far survived the attack and the subsequent increase in police harassment.
Bail conditions on key participants who were arrested that day have prevented them from returning to Matagarup (Heirisson Island), the site of the embassy.
The discussion since that event reveals that sovereignty is an idea that will not simply go away….. On March 28, 100 people took part in an Aboriginal rights rally organised by the Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation. The rally explicitly rejected the state government offer of a $1 billion land and cash package to extinguish Nyoongar native title.
Instead the rally called for 5% of the value of economic activity in the Nyoongar land to be paid every year to Nyoongar people…..
The SWALSC has produced a document explaining its approach to negotiations with the state government. It said the maximum potential gains of pursuing any native title process were extremely restricted by the inherent limitations on native title from the original Mabo High Court decision and the later legal restrictions imposed by the Keating and Howard governments.
SWALSC said more can be gained by pursuing negotiations with the state government than a bid to gain native title rights through the courts. These are the only two ways to achieve native title rights. But the sovereignty movement says Aboriginal people deserve a lot more than just native title rights.
Greens politican Robin Chapple told Green Left Weekly that he believes the WA government has been happy to engineer a situation in which Aboriginal people are fighting among themselves and that this may even have been Premier Colin Barnett’s goal all along.
The next step for the Nyoongar Tent Embassy will be a rally on April 5 at 11am, starting at the Supreme Court Gardens and marching to Matagarup (Heirisson Island)… http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/50562
Western Australia’s Premier complacent about increasing number of nuclear submarines to Perth
Barnett relaxed over nuclear subs 9 News Mar 28 2012 West Australian Premier Colin Barnett says he has no objection to more American nuclear submarine visits to Perth’s Garden Island naval base if US-Australian defence co-operation is boosted.
The two nations are planning an expansion of military ties including the rotation of US Marines through the Northern Territory and more access to HMAS Stirling at Garden Island in Perth’s south. Mr Barnett told ABC radio on Wednesday he would accept a boosted American presence….. Mr Barnett said the ANZUS defence treaty was the centre of Australia’s
defence policy and Garden Island was a strategic base on the Indian
Ocean which was becoming more central to world affairs. … http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8442686
Toro Energy’s uranium project in Western Australia may or may not be a goer
Toro uranium project faces feasibility study http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-22/toro-uranium-project-faces-feasibility-study/3906292 ABC News, March 22, 2012 Toro Energy has contracted an Australian engineering company to conduct a feasibility study into its uranium project near Wiluna in northern Western Australia.
The study by Bateman Australia will determine the operating costs and capital needed to mine uranium to sell to overseas customers. Toro Energy is still seeking federal and State Government approval to begin operations at the site where it hopes to mine up to 800 tonnes of uranium oxide concentrate per year. The feasibility study is expected to be completed by September, while Toro Energy hopes to begin selling uranium in 2014.
Comparing conditions for Lynas’ radioactive waste: Australia or Malaysia
Let’s de-politicise the Lynas issue — Stop Lynas Coalition, The Malaysian Insider March 21, 2012 “…….Lynas loves to boast that their project is approved in Australia also. Given Australia’s high environmental standard, if it is approved in Australia, why would Malaysians reject it? However, Lynas hid from the public that the Australian proposal was approved under extremely stringent conditions.
The table shows the conditions under the Australian proposal [6] compared to LAMP.
Regardless of what justification the government gives, any person of general intellect can deduce that LAMP is shifted to our shores because Lynas wants to dump its waste here. How can our government inflict such indignity on the very people it is elected to protect?…
[6] “Proposed rare earths mining and beneficiation at Mt Weld, Laverton and secondary processing at Meenaar, near Northm”, Ashton Rare Earths Ltd, August 1992. http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/lets-de-politicise-the-lynas-issue-stop-lynas-coalition
USA Nuclear submarines a dangerous presence for Garden Island, Western Australia
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said the Australian Defence Force posture review – an inquiry into Australian defence bases – was off-target with the suggestion that US nuclear submarines should be serviced at Garden Island. “The risks of routinely floating nuclear reactors in and out of Cockburn Sound shouldn’t be underestimated,” he said. “WA police and emergency services personnel are completely under-resourced to cope with even a minor reactor leak.”
Senator Ludlum said offering infrastructure to nuclear submarines from other countries would damage Australia’s standing due to worldwide efforts towards nuclear disarmament…..
Mr Gray said “The recommendations refer to providing facilities for US nuclear-powered submarines and other vessels.
“Preliminary recommendations of the Australian Defence Force posture review are for Defence to develop options to provide improved facilities for US Navy nuclear-powered submarines.
The review’s final report will be submitted to the Government at the end of this month. The Defence white paper is due to be released in the first quarter of 2014. http://www.inmycommunity.com.au/news-and-views/local-news/Conflict-over-idea-for/7616382/
1 This month
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