New report shows steady growth of renewable energy in Victoria, despite Baillieu govt
Sustainability Victoria reports wind generation from the existing 432MW of installed capacity has increased to 1,280GWh on a 12 month rolling basis to September 2011. Another 537 MW of capacity is under construction at three locations and due to be on line by 2013. Unfortunately these projects are likely to be the last to make it out of the planning pipeline due to the draconian new rules introduced by the Baillieu government to give a veto to any resident within 2km of a proposed wind project.
The whole story on Victorian renewables Climate Spectator, Andrew Herington, 22 Dec 11 In April 2011, the Victorian Auditor-General tabled a report Facilitating Renewable Energy Development which took a dim view of the potential of renewable energy.
There was widespread media coverage of this report, which focussed heavily on his finding that the proportion of electricity from renewable sources has only increased from 3.6 per cent in 2002 to 3.9 per cent in 2009. This was widely taken as proof that attempts to expand renewable energy had failed and is now often quoted by renewable opponents.
A new Clean Energy Australia 2011 report from the Clean Energy Council demonstrates the Auditor General’s conclusions were flawed and that renewable energy is strongly growing and is now providing around 11 per cent of Victoria’s electricity consumption. Continue reading
Martin Ferguson’s Energy White Paper got renewable and other energy costs wrong
Draft Energy White Paper Gets Renewables Cost Wrong – Bloomberg , Energy Matters, 20 Dec 11 It’s a good thing the Australian Government’s recent Energy White Paper was a draft, because it appears they will be busy rewriting it. According to an article on The Australian, analysis by Bloomberg reveals figures in the Draft Energy White Paper overestimated the cost of solar power threefold and wind power by 50 per cent. Bloomberg says the paper has also underestimated the price of geothermal energy.
Bloomberg points out, as others have done, that some analysts fail to understand just how fast the cost of renewables is dropping. While calculations may be based on figures just a few years old, such data is ancient history given the evolutionary pace in the renewables sector. The Draft Energy White Paper has been widely panned by those committed to a renewable energy future for Australia and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson’s apparent enthusiasm for nuclear power has been treated with suspicion.
The increase in nuclear costs has been attributed to subsidies to nuclear-hosting communities and expenses related to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, although whether the increase is sufficient to account for the unsettled costs of the disaster is being questioned by some.
While the Draft Energy White Paper played down the role of renewable energy, it also attempted to bolster the reputation of fossil fuel sources such as coal seam gas (CSG). Greens Senator and environmental lawyer Larissa Waters last week claimed the White Paper sung the praises of coal seam gas without recognising any of its devastating costs.
“This paper appears to have been written by someone living in a last-century bubble, with no consideration of the impacts of coal seam gas beyond the industry spin,” Senator Waters said. “How can you possibly plan for Australia’s energy future without factoring in the true costs of this energy source – the costs to water, to land, the environment and the climate, as well as the economic impacts on other industries?” http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=1942
Government of Australia’s URANIUM STATE, South Australia doing its best to kill renewable energy
Green energy fund gets the chop BY: MICHAEL OWEN The Australian, December 16, 2011 A FUND to create a green energy industry will be axed in a cost-cutting measure by the South Australian government….. One of the most significant programs to be cut will be the Renewable Energy Fund, to deliver savings of more than $10 million a year. The
move will threaten the future of the five-member RenewablesSA board, chaired by prominent businessman Bruce Carter, and the role of the Commissioner for Renewable Energy, Tim O’Loughlin…..
Ousted premier Mike Rann launched the South Australian fund with an initial $20m in 2009 as the centrepiece of state Labor’s plan to become Australia’s green energy powerhouse.
It was to help the government reach its target of 33 per cent of renewable electricity generation by 2020 using wind, solar, geothermal and wave power. According to its website, the latest big announcement from the fund was a joint plan with new federal Industry Minister Greg Combet to use the fund to “create significant new job opportunities in
SA’s manufacturing sector”.
Mr Snelling refused to comment last night. Labor sources said cabinet chose to abolish the fund as it was hoped federal moves to invest in renewable energy because of the carbon tax would help reduce any political backlash.
Budget figures show that of the $10m allocated in 2009-10, just $2.7m had been spent by the fund, while last financial year just $2.9m of another $10m allocation had been
used…..http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/green-energy-fund-gets-the-chop/story-e6frg6xf-1226223413572
Australia’s fossil fuel industries determined to kill the Large Scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET)
what really scares the fossil fuel generators is the potential impact of a widespread deployment of solar, which some analysts predict could dominate the LRET rollout post 2015, as the cost of large-scale solar PV matches that of wind.
It is clear that there is a big push from industry and from the established generators to remove all “complementary measures” now that a carbon price has been implemented, and this includes the LRET – which, incidentally, is up for review next year.
Why big energy wants to kill the Large Scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) Climate Spectator, Giles Parkinson, , 16 Dec 2011 Ever heard of the merit order effect? Readers of this column may be familiar with it, because it is emerging as a key issue in the Australian electricity sector, and a flashpoint between the established fossil fuel generators and the new wave of renewable energy technologies, and a conflict between short term profits and long term gains.
The National Electricity Market, like many around in the world, is based on a merit order, where the plants with the cheapest marginal cost of fuel get preference. They bid into an energy stack until demand is filled. The price of electricity for that period is set by the bid of the last generator into the stack.
For decades, this has meant that the brown coal generators in Victoria, shoveling in cheap and dirty coal from their doorstep, go first, followed by black coal, gas, and then gas peaking stations when demand is really high. But the rollout of renewables has changed those dynamics, because their marginal cost of generation is next to nil, so they go first, forcing other generators further up the stack, meaning prices are pushed down, and some fossil fuel generators miss out altogether.
This has been a well documented effect in Europe and elsewhere, and is considered a virtue by the International Energy Agency, which says the merit order effect has meant that cost savings on wholesale energy prices have, in some cases, more than compensated for the cost of the subsidies that got the renewables built in the first place. Continue reading
Australia’s Energy Minister subtly sabotages photovolcaic solar energy
Ferguson labeled all clean technologies as expensive and requiring subsidies, however the figures in the white paper, concerning photovoltaics, are more than 12 months old and do not reflect the rapidly falling cost of photovoltaics.
Australian energy “white paper” neglects PV potential, PV Magazine, 14. DECEMBER 
2011, BY: JONATHAN GIFFORD A strategy document released this week, on Australia’s energy future, seems to have 
overlooked the potential of photovoltaics in the country. Instead the report focused on unproven technology, like carbon capture and storage, and leaving the door open for thedevelopment of nuclear power stations.
The Australian Federal Government has released a draft energy “white paper” in an attempt to develop a clearer energy policy direction for the nation. While “accelerating cleaner energy outcomes” is identified as one of the policy priorities, it appears that a major role for photovoltaics has been eschewed in favor of alternative “cleaner” energy technologies, such as carbon capture and storage – forcoal-fired power plants, nuclear and geothermal power. Continue reading
Venture Capital Fund launched by Australian Government
Australian Government Launches A$200 Million Venture Capital Fund, WSJ, DECEMBER 15, 2011, By Gillian Tan The Australian Government has appointed Southern Cross Venture Partners as fund manager of the nation’s largest renewable energy venture capital fund, valued at 200 million Australian dollars (US$198 million).
Softbank China Venture Capital will match the Government’s A$100 million commitment and the pooled funds will assist high potential Australian renewable energy start-up companies by making early-stage, critical equity investments beginning in 2012.
Southern Cross Venture Partners has offices in Sydney as well as Palo Alto and Shanghai and according to its website, a typical initial investment will be between A$2 million and A$5 million with additional cash injections in later rounds……The Southern Cross Renewable Energy Fund forms part of the Australian Government’s $3.2 billion Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
http://blogs.wsj.com/dealjournalaustralia/2011/12/15/australian-government-launches-a200-million-venture-capital-fund/?mod=google_news_blog
Australian Capital Territory legislates for solar feed in tariff
ACT passes large solar scheme, ABC News, By Kathleen Dyett December 09, 2011 The ACT Government has passed legislation to set-up Australia first large-scale solar feed-in tariff scheme. It will support renewable energy projects with a total capacity of up to 210 megawatts, with the first 40 megawatts to be allocated via an auction.
Large solar facilities that generate 2 megawatts or more will be the first to take part in the auction. The Liberals have slammed the scheme as costly and ineffective. But the Greens negotiated some changes before backing the bill.
Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury says he is happy with the outcome. “The two amendments we’ve agreed with the Government are to first of all ensure that the developments take place within the Australian capital region,” he said.
“The second is to open it up to systems above 200 kilowatts which will predominantly go on rooftops. “We want to make the most of the many rooftops around Canberra that could be used to generate clean, green energy.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-09/act-large-solar-tariff-scheme/3721884?section=act
Promoting renewable energy is the way to save the climate change debate
The heavy polluting industres know they cannot easily shift basic values, so they have undermined solar and wind at the next level of understanding, around jobs, prices and the electricity industry. In reaction to the statement, ‘Investing in renewable energy is good for the economy by creating jobs,’ 80 per cent were in agreement, and only 10 per cent in disagreement.After two years of campaigning for coal and against renewables, energy-intensive and heavy-polluting industry, along with certain media outlets and Opposition leader Tony Abbott, have done barely any damage to the perceived value of renewables as an industry.
Cleaning up the climate debate, Climate Spectator , 8 Dec 2011, Dan Cass A recent poll confirms what I have come to believe after watching the global warming issue for 20 years; renewable energy is the only way to save the debate about saving the planet. If the UN wants to make progress in the climate negotiations and closer to home, if Julia Gillard wants to win the next election, then the debate should be couched in terms of the tangible benefits of today’s solar and wind technologies.A poll by Essential Research, conducted during Australia’s recent carbon price negotiations, shows overwhelming public support for investment in solar and wind, and that this support might just win the politics of a carbon price.
detractors. Solar and wind have been politicised and companies need to step in and vigorously defend their interests. Continue reading
Solar photovoltaics booming on Australian homes
with high levels of irradiation nationwide, some argue that residential grid parity has arrived, on average, throughout Australia.
Australia’s 500,000 solar homes PV Magazine, 07. DECEMBER 2011 BY: JONATHAN GIFFORD In a report released yesterday at the UN climate negotiations in Durban, the Clean Energy Council of Australia has revealed that more than 500,000 homes in Australia feature photovoltaic systems. The report looked at renewable electricity generation across the board and revealed that power for around four million homes was produced in 2011. This means that the country is well on the way to meet its goal of producing 20 percent of its power through renewable sources by 2020.
The progress of photovoltaics was outstanding, Continue reading
Australia’s renewable energy to double by 2020
Report finds Australian renewable energy to double, Australia Network News, 6 Dec 11, A new report has found that renewable energy sources now provide Australia with nearly 10 per cent of its power, and that figure is on track to double by 2020.
The report produced by the industry’s Clean Energy Council said more than a million Australians now live in homes powered by solar panels and heavy rains have boosted output from hydro-electric plants. It found uncertainty over the carbon tax had stalled investment in major projects like large wind farms. But the council’s Director Kane Thornton predicts that will change now the tax has passed.”Certainly we believe that we’re on track to achieving the 20 per cent
renewable energy target by 2020,” he said.
“We’ve seen a strong year for solar power, there’s a lot of pent up investment in large scale wind projects that now that we have a carbon price in Australia we’re optimistic that there’ll be a strong growth in large scale wind farms over the coming years to ensure we really track towards that 20 per cent
target”.http://australianetworknews.com/stories/201112/3384606.htm?desktop
Bendigo calls on Victorian government to reverse its anti wind energy legislation
Bendigo joins wind farm planning fight, ABC News, December 02, 2011 The State Government is coming under further pressure from central Victoria to overturn its controversial changes to wind farm planning rules. The Victorian Government moved in August to establish no-go zones for turbines in selected areas across the state, including land around Bendigo.
The decision upset several local environment groups and the Mt Alexander Shire at Castlemaine was among the first councils to voice opposition to the move. Bendigo Mayor Rod Fyffe says his council has also voted to ask the Government to reverse the decision…..”On balance, we feel that it was a decision that we would like to see reversed so that communities can look at what they want, work out what they want and plan for what they want.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-02/bendigo-joins-wind-farm-planning-changes-fight/3708280
A pioneer wave energy project for Port Fairy, Victoria
Wave energy to power homes, The Age, December 2, 2011 – A world-first wave energy project which mimics the movement of seaweed and kelp through the water will power hundreds of homes in Victoria’s south-west. The $14 million BioWAVE project is a single wave energy unit that will be anchored to the sea floor 30 metres underwater and about 800 metres from the shore at a site four kilometres west of Port Fairy.
The 450kW unit will be connected to the energy grid and power 300 homes by early 2013. The project is an example of biomimicry, in which biological traits are used in engineered systems. The Victorian government has put $5 million towards the project and other partners include AGL Energy Bluescope Steel, Lend Lease, Swinburne University, the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney. Energy and Resources Minister Michael O’Brien said the project would also support the local economy and jobs. http://www.theage.com.au/environment/energy-smart/wave-energy-to-power–homes-20111202-1ob24.html#ixzz1fW5uImjT
As renewable energy costs go down, Australia should be partnering China in solar development
wind is already cheaper than new-built coal in the US, and solar thermal with storage, and used as a peaking plant, will be competitive with peaking gas.
Australia should be pursuing a more strategic partnerships with China – like that between UNSW and Suntech, the world’s biggest solar PV maker
Why we don’t need coal, Climate Spectator, Giles Parkinson, 1 Dec 11 Last month, the International Energy Agency released a stunning report that suggested that the future of thermal coal exports could be threatened if the world ever decides to implement the policies to limit global warming to an average 2°C, rather than just merely talking about it, as they are doing in Durban this fortnight.
The coal industry laughed, suggesting such a scenario was highly unlikely. But what if technology took the decision out of the hands of politicians, as seems increasingly likely with the plunging costs of renewables, particularly solar PV, across the globe? And what does that mean also for Australia’s energy infrastructure, and the tens of billions of dollars that will be invested in the coming decade on the basis that business will continue as usual?
New forecasts from China suggest the cost of solar PV in that country will fall below that of coal-fired generation within 10 years. From that point, or even before, says Wu Dacheng, the vice chairman and secretary general of the China Photovoltaic Society, the country’s energy build out will be dominated by cheaper renewables. Continue reading
Geothermal power for Australia should not be ignored
A Clean Resource Too Large to be Ignored – Geothermal Power Gains Steam Triple Pundit By Andrew Burger | November 28th, “……..recent studies showing that the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia – Western Australia in particular – have geothermal resources that dwarf their energy needs, and despite the fact that it’s a proven, time-tested, economic source of clean, reliable baseload power….
Danish visitors puzzled by Victoria’s laws against wind farms
Wind turbine rules mystify Danes, The Age, Adam MortoNovember 26, 2011 The head of the world’s largest wind energy company has questioned the Baillieu government’s rationale for giving households veto rights over turbines within two kilometres of their homes.
Ditlev Engel, chief executive of Danish company Vestas, said he had ”no idea” where the policy had come from. Mr Engel, who is visiting Victoria with Crown Prince Frederik and Tasmanian-born Crown Princess Mary, said no one had explained the motivation for Victoria’s most restrictive regulations on turbines.
Mr Engel backed opening wind farms to the public to dispel myths about wind power. Denmark generates a quarter of its energy from wind power. Vestas had turbine blade manufacturing plants in Victoria and Tasmania, but they closed in 2007 over policy uncertainty… http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/wind-turbine-rules-mystify-danes-20111125-1nzb0.html#ixzz1eqqTjYpA
1 This month
Read the Public Inquiry Report, the Commissioners’ report, Surrendering Australia: The AUKUS Deception is available to download for free at aukuspublicinquiry.com. Or just watch the replay of the National Press Club Luncheon.
4 November – Will AUKUS keep us safe – at what cost?
the Commissioners of the AUKUS Public Inquiry present their findings at the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra. iview.abc.net.au/show/national-press-club-address
Submissions to the federal government’s new draft framework close on the 13th November 2026.
Australians deserve the truth
about
AUKUS – https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
