Senate inquiry finds that “infrasound” from wind turbines is not a problem at all
higher sound levels were recorded with turbines turned off versus when the turbines were running. A strong indication that the origin of most infrasound and low-frequency noise was the wind itself which was slowed by running turbines…….
Wind turbine infrasound: What’s all the noise about?, REneweconomy, By Richard Mackie 4 December 2012 On Wednesday the Senate inquiry into excessive noise from wind farms released their report. The inquiry was supposed to focus on audible noise but debate strayed into concerns that wind turbines can cause health problems by producing infrasound (sound of a frequency so low that it is normally inaudible) and low frequency noise.
Wind farm opposition groups such as the Waubra Foundation are prone to making extreme statements about wind turbines such as this from their senate inquiry submission “…characteristic symptom patterns have been reported at distances up 10km away from the nearest wind turbine.” Infrasound is blamed and understandably people get concerned.
So where does this idea come from? The Senate inquiry gives us the answers. Submissions represent a global who’s who in the debate on wind farms and health. Often information provided to support the wind farms-cause-health-problems idea actually demonstrates the opposite. Continue reading
Woodend Integrated Sustainable Energy sets the pace for Victorian community wind energy
Insight: How communities can take lead in green energy REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson 30 November 2012 This is the second in a series looking more deeply into issues which affect the development of the clean energy industry in Australia. The first was on the 2kms set-back rule imposed by the Victorian government and at least partially adopted in NSW.
For the past 12 months, a digital display located behind the counter of the newsagent in High Street in the Victorian town of Woodend has logged what Barry Mann describes as a major lost opportunity. Real time data 
from a wind mast located in an old timber mill a few kilometres out of town documents the amount of electricity that would have been produced if a proposal to install three wind turbines in a harvested pine forest 6kms from town had been allowed to go ahead.
Before the mast was taken down earlier this month: the data stood at this: 12.6 gigawatt hours of electricity generated over 12 months and four days (12.630 million kilowatt hours) – about enough electricity to satisfy the needs of 2,037 homes and generate $1.5 million in revenue from selling the electrons to the grid. (You can find the data on their website)
Mann is a director of WISE (Woodend Integrated Sustainable Energy) – a local not-for-profit group that says its goal is to ”assist communities to take responsibility for their energy and carbon future.” It is one of dozens of similar groups in Australia that are hoping to implement their own local plans, but don’t have so many electrons to show for it yet.
For the moment, Woodend’s own plans have been frustrated by the election of the Baillieu Conservative government, and the introduction of a 2km setback ruling and the declaration of a “no-go” zone through large slabs of the Mt Macedon ranges – two initiatives that local member Donna Petrovich is proud to take responsibility for. (See addendum below) Continue reading
Australia’s renewable energy development being sabotaged by Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland govts
“South Australia’s wind energy per capita is higher than any major country in the world and wind is now contributing approximately 26% of the state’s total electricity production,” the report said.
“At the state level, we have seen Victoria, NSW and Queensland putting in place policies to hold back renewable energy. In Victoria, it’s now almost impossible to build a new wind farm, so severe are the restrictions on siting,” he said.
“NSW has followed Victoria’s unfortunate lead to some degree and all three states have cut back on feed-in tariffs for residential renewable energy.”
Renewable energy sector grows but barriers remain http://theconversation.edu.au/renewable-energy-sector-grows-but-barriers-remain-10986 Sunanda Creagh, 28 Nov 12 Energy production must shift from fossil fuels to renewable sources within four decades to avoid the most damaging consequences of climate change, a government report has found.
The Climate Commission’s report on the state of the sustainable energy market, titled The Critical Decade: Generating a renewable Australia, was released as world leaders gathered forglobal climate talks in Doha this week. Continue reading
Solar power success is putting the brakes on gas-fired electricity in South Australia
Solar Helps Delay South Australian Peaking Power Plant http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3489by Energy Matters, 27 Nov 12 Construction of a gas-fired power station at Tepko near Mannum in South Australia has been put on the backburner again; thanks in part to the state’s solar households. Continue reading
Broken Hill’s exciting future as Australia’s first renewable energy town
Most rural communities are dying – this is a town that has the potential to move forward.
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Broken Hill a frontrunner in renewable energy adoption ABC Radio AM Margaret Paul reported this story on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 …
DARRIEA TURLEY: There is a possibility that Broken Hill could be the first town that would live on renewable energy, that would be sustained by renewable energy. No other town has done that.
MARGARET PAUL: Broken Hill’s acting Mayor is Darriea Turley.
She’s excited that Broken Hill is set to become home to two major renewable energy projects.
The first, a photovoltaic solar farm, is set to produce 125,000 megawatt hours of electricity every year – enough to power 17,000 homes.
The second is a wind farm to be developed at nearby Silverton that could power as many as 43,000 homes. Continue reading
Australian Renewable Energy Agency announces a regional program
the Australian Renewable Energy Agency has decided to have another go, announcing it will run a ‘Regional Australia’s Renewables program’.
Because these remote electricity demand loads are relatively small, you don’t have to install much renewable energy capacity, nor spend much money, before renewables become a very large proportion of total generation.
A bold pursuit of renewable-powered mining http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/mining-renewables-ARENA-power-resources-electricit-pd20121127-2F257?opendocument&src=rss Tristan Edis, 27 Nov 2012 For those of you with reasonable memories, you’ll know the Australian government ran a program for around a decade called the Remote Renewable Power Generation Program or RRPGP. The idea behind the program was that remote off-grid regions or regions with only small grids tended to rely on very expensive diesel fuel for their power needs, and so renewable energy is closer to being a cost-effective option. To illustrate, the cost per megawatt-hour for diesel generation is close to $250 to $400, a price that solar with battery storage can match and even beat.
Climate Change Commission says solar and wind could power Australia
Solar and wind the cheapest sources of energy and could power Australia, the Climate Commission says THE AUSTRALIAN BY: NATIONAL EDUCATION WRITER JESSICA MARSZALEK From: News Limited Network November 26, 2012 SOLAR and wind could become the cheapest sources of energy and almost exclusively power the country in coming decades as carbon prices climb, the Climate Commission says.
A report, to be released today by chief commissioner Professor Tim Flannery, notes the vast potential from sunlight and wind and “solar PV and wind could be the cheapest forms of power in Australia for retail users by 2030, if not earlier, as carbon prices rise”.
Prof Flannery said improvements had driven down the cost of renewable energy so much that Australia’s uptake had increased more than a decade faster than earlier imagined.
He said people might find it hard to believe communities could one day be powered almost entirely by renewable energy, but people would never have believed they would one day carry around little computers in their pockets.
“It’s like anything, computers or mobile phones, they started off expensive and over time the cost just declines and we’ve seen that with wind and now with solar,” he said.
Whyalla making wind turbines – it’s not wiped off the map by carbon tax
Wind Turbine Towers To Be Manufactured In South Australia, http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3485 by Energy Matters 26 Nov 12, 20 wind turbine towers for South Australia’s Snowtown II wind farm will be constructed in Whyalla.
Siemens Ltd is working with E&A Contractors, who are planning to build a wind tower manufacturing facility in the town using equipment and personnel from former wind tower manufacturers RPG; which was recently placed into Voluntary Administration.
According to a press release from Minister Greg Combet’s office, over 80 per cent of wind turbine towers used in Australia so far have been sourced from Australian suppliers.
“As part of this great project we have actively collaborated with Australian suppliers to supply the towers locally,” said Siemens Ltd’s Vice President David Pryke. “E & A have demonstrated strong business acumen and a commitment to re-establishing the wind tower business for South Australia by acquiring the key assets and people of RPG.”
Minister Combet’s office used the opportunity to again criticise previous comments by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott who
suggested Whyalla would be “wiped off the map” as a result of Australia’s carbon tax.
Construction of Snowtown Stage II started late last month and consists of a 90 turbine expansion of the existing Snowtown wind farm, which will add 270 megawatts capacity.
Snowtown II is expected to be capable of generating enough electricity to supply around 180,000 South Australian homes when it is operational by the end of 2014.
Stage 1 of Snowtown Wind Farm was completed in 2008 and generates enough power to supply nearly 70,000 households.
Owned by TrustPower, Snowtown wind farm is situated on the Barunga and Hummocks ranges west of Snowtown, around 150 kilometres north of Adelaide. The turbines use Siemens’ Direct Drive technology, which eliminates the gearbox, and longer blades.
Home efficiency is having a major impact
Five things we learned this week …., REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson 23 November 2012“…. It’s not just renewables the incumbents have to contend with, it’s also falling demand. And it seems much of it is to do with consumer choice. A press release from Mark Dreyfus, parliamentary secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency this week highlighted just how far we have reduced our consumption, even as we bulk up on household appliances.
An eight star (yes, 8) TV in the small to medium range now costs $21 to run, one sixth the running cost of a 3-star TV, and one-twentieth the cost of a 1-star TV. Even in the large category, a 7-star TV costs just $69 a year to run, compared with a 2 star TV currently which costs $250 a year to operate. Samsung got a gong for the 8-star, LG for the 7-star.
Dreyfus says 10-star TVs are now coming into the market, causing the government to upgrade its star rating scheme to remove the bottom three rungs. These and more efficient fridges and laptops are expected to save households and businesses $5.2 billion dollars in 2020 alone. The biggest consumer in the household in terms of kilowatts consumed is often the clothes dryer. That’s where solar comes in as a really useful energy source – just hang them outside.
And don’t miss Sophie Vorrath’s The week in green numbers …. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/five-things-we-learned-this-week-42434
Victoria’s very large wind farm will be operational in early 2013
AGL readies biggest wind farm in southern hemisphere November 23, 2012 – AGL Energy, Australia’s largest operator of renewable energy projects, expects its $1 billion Macarthur wind farm to be operating fully in February as the country seeks to reduce it reliance on coal. “It’s on time, on budget and, in fact, may well be completed a little ahead of schedule,” Managing Director Michael Fraser said.
Sydney-based AGL and partner Meridian Energy are starting the 420-megawatt Macarthur project in Victoria, the largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere, as Australia moves toward its goal of getting 20 per cent of its power from renewable energy by 2020.
The company expected Macarthur to be completed by the end of March 2013, Fraser said……
With natural gas prices on the east coast of Australia projected set to double and the government’s price on carbon emissions discouraging fossil fuels, the cost of gas-fired power stations may converge with that of wind farms, he said.
Australia in July started charging about 300 of its largest polluters a fixed price of $23 a ton for their carbon emissions. It plans a market-based system beginning in 2015.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/agl-readies-biggest-wind-farm-in-southern-hemisphere-20121123-29ubz.html#ixzz2D4V3rlIp
New Tesla electric car – agreement with Origin to use renewable energy
The diagram at left – highly inaccurate – as the new Tesla Model S is a five door sedan
Origin in deal with Tesla to help bring Model S to Australia http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/origin-in-deal-with-tesla-to-help-bring-model-s-to-australia-68764 By Sophie Vorrath 21 November 2012
Tesla is set to launch the Model S five door sedan – the company’s first full-sized sedan, with a range of 480km – in Australia from mid 2013 after a fairly successful roll-out in the US since June; capped off this month by winning 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year in a unanimous vote from the panel of judges. Reservations for the Model S currently exceed 13,000 worldwide.
In a similar deal to that which was brokered between Better Place and Holden for Volt customers, Tesla owners in Australia will have access to Origin’s accredited GreenPower, a variety of fully-installed charging equipment and services, and electricity management systems and advice.
Tesla’s Australia & New Zealand manager, Jay McCormack, said the agreement with Origin would provide Model S owners with the opportunity to use energy generated from renewable resources – although possibly not from wind energy, if Origin’s recent comments about Australia’s attitude to wind farms are to be taken seriously – and reduce the transport sectors’ dependence on oil – “a goal both of our companies share,” McCormack said.
Origin and Energy Australia – ignorant critics of wind energy community acceptance
But for Origin and Energy Australia to assert that there isn’t a social license to operate for wind farms in this country is preposterous given their small part in actually developing wind projects
What would Origin and EnergyAustralia know about wind?, Climate Spectator, 21 Nov 2012, Tristan Edis
Origin Energy and EnergyAustralia (formerly TRUenergy) were on the front page of The Australian newspaper yesterday claiming the renewable energy target couldn’t be met because of community opposition to wind farms.
According to Origin Energy, wind farms are causing greater angst in the community than coal seam gas. And Energy Australia felt the around 300 MW of wind installed each year was “already testing the limits of community acceptance.” EnergyAustraia’s CEO Richard McIndoe was cited by the newspaper as claiming that the social licence wasn’t there to ramp up construction of wind farms.
This sounded rather interesting because I regularly talk to people heavily engaged in developing wind farms. These people attend community meetings, talk with local landowners, and deal with planning approval hearings – and this is very different to what they’ve told me. Every one of them of course has a horror story to tell about some particularly challenging people they’ve had to deal with in getting planning approvals. Often these people live several kilometres from the nearest turbine, or even outside of the local community, such as just about everyone involved in the Landscape Guardians and the Waubra Foundation.
But they generally find that if you take the effort to consult extensively within the community, you can get a large proportion of the community on-board. So it poses the question – do Origin and EnergyAustralia actually know what they’re talking about?… Continue reading
Energy storage systems to revolutionise renewable energy
Energy storage systems signal arrival of ‘baseload’ renewables REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson 21 November 2012 It has been widely thought that the arrival of cost-competitive rooftop solar PV systems would be the biggest game changer in the electricity market. But it may be that the emergence of affordable energy storage systems will have an even more profound impact.
There are predictions that the energy storage market is going to boom. One survey suggested that $30 billion will be spent on energy storage in the next decade in Australia alone. In the US, where $1 trillion is expected to be spent on electricity network infrastructure in the next 10 years, at least one fifth of that – or $200 billion – will be spent on energy storage.
The big question is who is going to benefit most from that investment – the customer, or the utility that delivers or sells the electricity. Or maybe even both. Most people are still trying to figure that out. Continue reading
China’s Energy White Paper contrasts with Australia’s vision of “dig it up, ship it out”
The contrast with China’s Energy White Paper could not be starker. China clearly views its energy security as the most fundamental feature of its future prosperity. It is building renewable energy industries as fast as is economically and technologically possible, as its major ‘nation building’ 21st century project. All government departments are focused on achieving the energy goals.
So here we have a tale of two visions of the future of a country. In Australia, according to the Energy White Paper, we still have a vision of ourselves as a country that digs stuff up and ships it out, or burns it.
A tale of two energy visions: China and Australia, The Conversation, John Mathews, 22 
November 2012, Over the past few weeks China and Australia have both released white papers on energy. The two documents could not be more different.
Australia’s white paper is largely about our continued obsession with becoming an alternative “Saudi Arabia” of gas. It has a view we should take over as the world’s largest exporter of gas before the year 2020.
The White Paper has extensive sections on building up the gas and petroleum sectors, as well as coal for export, and allowing market forces to work in the national markets for liquid fuels. In all this, the White Paper has a single paragraph on the country’s disastrous increasing dependence on petroleum products imports…… Its almost exclusive focus on export prospects for oil and gas (and to some extent coal) is achieved at the cost of any serious consideration of the building of the only long-term sources of energy security, which are renewables. Continue reading
Only 5.6% of Australians prefer fossil fuel energy, meanwhile, wind energy growing
Almost three-quarters of the 1000 Australians polled prefer to have their energy supplied by renewable sources, and just 5.6 per cent for fossil fuels – almost the reverse of the country’s actual energy mix………
Tilting towards wind energy, SMH, November 21, 2012, Peter Hannam AUSTRALIANS overwhelmingly want more renewable energy over the next five years and half of them want the brands they regularly buy to declare the source of the energy that went into making them.
That’s two of the findings in a study across 20 countries commissioned by Vestas Wind Systems, the world’s biggest maker of wind turbines, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Continue reading
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