8 November REneweconomy news
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Will Tasmania be the ‘battery of the nation’?Tasmania itself doesn’t need more centralised energy storage. Tasmania’s problem is lack of renewable generation.
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Chile solar auction sets new record low for solar PVChile energy auction attracts record low bid for solar, with average prices for renewables down 75% since its first auction in 2015.
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Is this the end for big wind and big solar in Australia?All eyes are on Victoria and the corporate sector for the future of large-scale renewables in Australia. With the renewable energy target now largely met, there is little else on offer for the pipeline of 20GW of wind and solar projects.
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Graphs of the Day: A really bad day for so-called “reliable” coalMultiple fault with multiple coal generators on Monday highlight the perils of relying on “baseload” coal to keep the lights on.
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Understanding the “Emissions Gap” in 5 ChartsFive charts that help explain the 2017 emissions gap report from UNEP.
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Five things that should happen at the Bonn climate talks but probably won’tThis year’s climate talks in Bonn is not expected to be a deal-clinching, make-or-break one like Paris in 2015 or Copenhagen in 2009, but that doesn’t make it insignificant.
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Albany Wave Energy Project activities underwayCarnegie Clean Energy has now commenced the Albany project design and development activities.
Nuclear propagandist Michael Shellenberger hated ABC interview, loved shock jock Alan Jones
6 Nov 17 The pro nuclear Twittersphere was alive with angry comments about the ABC’s interview with 
nuclear propagandist Michael Shellenberger.
I missed that interview, but apparently the ABC interviewer asked some hard questions.
Shellenberger commented: “fighting to survive a brutal interview by a tough young reporter in Oz On ABC (the Aussie BBC)”
Australia’s own nuclear propagandist, Ben Heard, commented: “Shabby interview. Host evidently unfamiliar with topic”
However, those pro nuclear spinners were happy with shock jock Alan Jones on 2GB Alan Jones Breakfast Show. Jones said:
“Michael has turned on wind and solar with a passion: he’s now advocating for an all-atomic energy future, simply because the latter provides reliable power, whereas the former are a childish nonsense…..
the Finkel review totally ignored nuclear power as an option and pushed harder for more and more renewable energy. So Victoria’s looking at 25% renewables by 2025, South Australia 50%, the ACT 100%, Queensland 50%……
one of the world’s leading new-generation environmental thinkers has said the renewable energy experiment with wind and solar has failed. Michael Shellenberger is a former renewables advocate and adviser to Barack Obama when he was President. [ed. not true. Shellenberger sent an unsolicited submission to President Obama] He is now global champion for nuclear energy, which he said was the only option to replace coal and gas on a global scale. ……”
Shellenberger said:
every major study for the last 40 years finds that nuclear power is the safest way to make reliable electricity. You don’t have the risks that come with coal and fossil fuels, both in terms of mine collapses and air pollution, and the accidents themselves that everyone worries so much about hardly have any impact on people’s lives…
Wind and solar – They’re the worst. Really, all renewables are. The reason is easy to understand, in the sense that the fuels are very dilute, they’re very diffuse, and so you have to cover a huge amount of land with wind and solar……. solar produces huge quantities of toxic waste…… They produce two to three hundred times more toxic waste than nuclear plants, which are the only way of producing electricity that contain all of their potentially harmful waste. Of course it’s been contained so well that nobody has ever been harmed by the radiation from nuclear power waste, ever……
The other problem is that you just end up getting too much wind energy when you don’t need it, like the middle of the night. Solar and wind, it’s like they’re almost set up to destroy cheap, clean, reliable energy.
What happened was that there was a smaller group of anti-human so-called environmentalists that opposed nuclear precisely because it allowed for so much cheap and abundant power, and they thought, “Well, if we’re going to stop the human cancer, we have to cut off its energy supplies.” …..
You’ve got some really crazy anti-nuclear people down there…..
Alan Jones: “I’ll tell you something, when you arrive in this country, Michael we’ll have you on again. We can’t hear enough of you. It’s time we had a good healthy dose of common sense”
Pacific Islands leaders will pressure Australia at UN climate meeting
UN climate meeting: Pacific Islands leaders set to put heat on Australia http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/11/04/un-climate-meeting-pacific-islands-leaders-set-put-heat-australia Germany is hosting UN climate talks this week, but the main focus will be the front line of global warning – the Pacific region. By Rosemary Bolger
The world is watching South Australia’s record consumer-powered electricity grid
“South Australia gets half of its electricity from wind and solar …. and they are 
in the process of overcoming their problems and making systems of high penetration of renewables work,” Garnaut said. That is of international interest.”
Battery storage will also play an interesting role. South Australia has the Tesla big battery under construction – and due to be in operation in three weeks – as well as two other grid-scale batteries at Wattle Point wind farm, and proposed for Whyalla.
South Australia’s stunning transition to consumer-powered grid http://reneweconomy.com.au/south-australias-stunning-transition-to-consumer-powered-grid-20463/ [good graphs] By Giles Parkinson on 6 November 2017 South Australia is already being hailed – or in some quarters demonised – for its leadership on renewable energy technology. But a new report from the Australian Energy Market Operator highlights how far out front it is in the tradition to a consumer-powered grid.
The new AEMO report highlights that 9.2 per cent of the electricity generated in the state over the last financial year came from small-scale (sub 100kW) of solar PV on the rooftops of households and businesses in the state.
That level of rooftop solar penetration is a record for any major grid in the world, and the contribution of rooftop solar is likely to have been well over 10 per cent in the last year when larger rooftop solar installations of more than 100kW are included.
The total will likely at least double over the next 10 years – according to AEMO forecasts – to more than 20 per cent, at which time rooftop solar will be pushing “minimum demand” from the grid to zero on occasions.
It’s already having an impact. As we report here, rooftop PV sent grid demand to a new record low of 554MW on Sunday, just six weeks after a previous low – which had in turn beaten the earlier low set a week earlier than that by nearly 25 per cent.
It’s a taste of what is to come. Major studies by the likes of the CSIRO and the networks association predict that by 2050, half of all demand will be met by what they describe as “distributed generation” – a mix of rooftop solar, battery storage, and “localised” generation.
This represents a major shift from the recent and current state of the industry from centralised energy controlled by major corporations, to local supply and demand – leading to new players and new business models.
But in South Australia – as is the case with so much of the energy transition – it could come quicker than that. By 2025/26, AEMO says rooftop solar could generate 2,500GWh a year. That would be around 22 per cent of total demand in the state.
Add in the proposals by the Liberty OneSteel, the new owners of the Whyalla steelworks, and more than one third of the state’s demand could be met by such distributed solar, and possibly up to half if its plans for 600MW of solar – for itself and other business users – comes to fruition. Continue reading
Australian Institute of Company Directors finds that corporate leaders want renewable energy growth
What Australia’s corporate leaders really think about renewable energy https://arena.gov.au/blog/company-directors/ @DanielSilkstone 6 Nov 17, Renewable energy is so hot right now.
That’s the key message that emerges from a new study of corporate Australia, undertaken by the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
The Director Sentiment Index, released twice each year, maps the thoughts and priorities of the nation’s company directors. It provides an excellent window into the issues and concerns that are cropping up in boardrooms around the country.
There has been plenty of speculation in recent times about whether the political disagreement that has sometimes accompanied debates around the nation’s energy needs was acting as a handbrake on investment.
But the survey makes clear that the nation’s corporate leaders both want and expect the growth of renewable energy to continue. Continue reading
Record low electricity demand in South Australia, due to rooftop solar
Rooftop solar pushes South Australia to record low demand (again) http://reneweconomy.com.au/rooftop-solar-pushes-south-australia-to-record-low-demand-again-47836/By Giles Parkinson on 6 November 2017
The combination of growing rooftop solar installations, mild temperatures and sunny weather has pushed South Australia’s grid demand to yet another record low, this time shaving around 6 per cent off the previous low set just six weeks ago.
The new low was set just before 1.30pm in South Australia (just before 2pm on National Electricity Market time) when the minimum grid demand hit 554MW.
This shaved some 33MW off the previous low of 587MW set on September 17,which itself was nearly 200MW or 25 per cent the previous record low demand of 786MW set just a week earlier.
For six hours, according to the APVI solar map, rooftop solar PV provided more than 30 per cent of the state’s demand. For nearly three hours, rooftop solar provided more than 40 per cent of the state’s demand. As we explore in this article here, rooftop solar provided 9.2 per cent of the state’s local generation in 2016/17 and would likely be more than 10 per cent if larger rooftop solar installations were included.
Within a decade, that share is expected to double to more than 20 per cent, at which times on days like this Sunday, minimum demand may actually fall to zero because of the amount of solar being generated.
The Australian Energy Market Operator, which includes these forecasts in a new report into the South Australia grid, suggests that by that time it will be necessary to store some of that excess solar for use later in the day.
The same situation may occur in West Australia, too, because of the amount of rooftop solar being installed in a small grid. The uptake of rooftop solar is accelerating because of high grid prices and the falling cost of solar technology, and grid demand fell in W.A. to an 8-year low last week.
“At these times, South Australia could store or export its excess generation to the rest of the NEM via the interconnectors, provided they are in service,” AEMO notes in its report.
“This, in turn, will provide market participants with greater opportunity to manage their energy use.”
AEMO noted, as it has previously, that South Australia is the first region in the NEM in which high rooftop PV penetration has caused minimum demand to shift from overnight to near midday – a transition that occurred five years ago.
Many argue this is a good reason to shift the “controlled load” of electric hot water systems from the night-time to the mid-day hours, particularly since the closure of the coal fired generators which could not be switched off at night and needed something to power during the night time.
However, problems with the nature of the metering, and the potential expense of the shift, are barriers to the migration of hot water systems to the day-time hours.
6 November More REneweconomy news
RenewEconomy-
New solar investment fund seeks up to $300 million in ASX listingNew Energy Solar is hoping to bankroll big solar buy up in US, and Australia and other markets, with $300m IPO.
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South Australia’s stunning transition to consumer-powered gridRooftop solar expected to provide more than 20% of local generation by 2025, ushering in transition to consumer focused grid in South Australia. Meanwhile, S.A. begins to benefit from renewables, with prices so far in 2017/18 lower than coal-dominated Victoria and NSW.
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China wind giant buys 100MW wind project in NSWBeijing Jingneng Clean Energy adds Biala wind farm, approved for development in NSW Southern Tablelands, to growing Australian portfolio.
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Garnaut says NEG may do little for prices, certainty or competitionGarnaut says proposed National Energy Guarantee may fail on price reductions, emissions, and reliability, and may serve to simply reinforce the power of the big energy incumbents.
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Council approves 350MW PV farm, stage 1of massive solar and storage hubFirst phase of 1GW+ solar and battery storage hub in Gympie approved for development by local council.
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Germany’s solar, wind generation hits high in OctoberPV and wind power systems generated 15 billion kWh of electricity in Germany in October, with renewables accounting for 44.1% of demand
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Bonn voyage: climate diplomats head into another round of talksAt the Bonn climate talks that start today, Australia will cop some flak for its lack of reductions ambition, and action.
Federal Minister For Coal, Matt Canavan, says that Adani Coal megamine project is now in jeopardy
Adani mine: Annastacia Palaszczuk’s loan veto decision ‘jeopardises mine project and jobs’ ABC, AM By Katherine Gregory, 6 Nov 17, The Queensland Premier’s announcement that Labor would not support a concessional Federal Government loan for the Adani coal mine could stop the multi-billion-dollar project and jeopardises the thousands of jobs it would create, the Federal Coalition says.
Annastacia Palaszczuk made the shock announcement last night to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest after it was revealed her partner had links to the loan application.
Ms Palaszczuk has revealed her partner, Shaun Drabsch, worked on Adani’s application to the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund (NAIF) with his employer, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which acted for the Indian mining company.
She said he worked on the project after it had received government approvals and although she had followed advice of the Integrity Commissioner, she said it was her decision to exercise her government’s “veto” to not support the loan.
The Indian mining giant is seeking $1 billion from the NAIF to build a rail link for its planned Carmichael coal mine in north Queensland.
The Premier, fighting for re-election on November 25, said she made the announcement because the Liberal National Party (LNP) in Canberra was poised to launch a smear campaign against her……..
Federal Northern Australia Minister Matt Canavan said the Premier’s decision could jeopardise the mine.
“The rules are clear here that for a loan to be made under the Northern Australia infrastructure facility, a state government must sign the project’s finance documents and co-operate with us……… http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-04/palaszczuks-adani-loan-veto-decision-jeopardises-mine-project/9118054
6 November REneweconomy news
RenewEconomy-
Defence seeks 12.5MW solar for Darwin barracks, RAAF baseDefence department seeks 15.5MW of solar for Darwin barracks, RAAF base to cut energy costs and boost energy security. More are planned.
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Know your NEM: NEG’s windfall for big three power utilitiesThe proposed NEG is already delivering big gains for the big three gentailers, as Adani emerges as major Queensland issue, and REC prices fall.
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Future-driven show heads to clean-energy hub AdelaideThe Australian Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition (AES 2018) is heading to the nation’s clean-energy leader, Adelaide, in 2018. Registrations to exhibit and sponsor are now open.
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Rooftop solar pushes South Australia to record low demand (again)Rooftop solar – along with sunny weather and mild temperatures – push grid demand in South Australia to yet another record low.
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Herbert Smith Freehills advises New Energy Solar on its ASX listing and A$300 million public offeringThe IPO is expected to be priced at between A$1.45 and A$1.55 per stapled security, which will raise between A$100 million and A$300 million for a projected market capitalisation of between A$387.4 million and A$587.4 million.
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Redflow aims for 250 batteries per month from ThailandASX-listed Redflow announced last month that it has started installing battery production equipment at its new factory in Thailand, putting it on track to commence initial operation by the end of this year.
Australia set to sabotage UN climate talks? AGAIN!- theme for this week
Yes – it’s true – Australia is sending fossil-fuel-and-nuclear stooge Josh Frydenberg off to Germany to 
sabotage the UN climate conference!
Ever since Kyoto, 1997, when the Australian delegation kept everybody up until 4 a.m to make sure of watering down climate action, Australia has been ?proudly subverting international climate action.
Frydenberg is adept at twisting things, to make himself look good, while he’s really no more than an agent for the polluting industries. He might find this harder than usual, in Bonn, where the Murdoch media does not hold sway.
Frydenbeg might find that the Pacific Islanders’ case for action on climate will be better received than his advocacy for Australia’s coal industry.
Look – we’re an international disgrace on our punishment of refugees. We’v e long been an international disgrace on our climate inaction.
Here’s hoping that Frydenberg and the rest of the Australian polluting shills don’t succeed again.
IT’S TIME THAT AUSTRALIA JOINED OUR ISLAND NEIGHBOURS AND THE WORLD IN FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE
Queensland Premier will not support Australian government funding for Adani coal megamine rail line
Adani: Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk withdraws Government involvement in mine funding Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced her Government will have “no role in the future” of an assessment of a $1 billion loan to Adani for its Carmichael coal mine. ABC News 3 Nov 17
The Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund (NAIF) is considering an application by the Indian company for concessional Commonwealth funds for a rail link.
Ms Palaszczuk late on Friday revealed her partner, Shaun Drabsch, worked on the application to the NAIF with his employer, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which acted for Adani.
She denied there was a conflict of interest and said her decision to exercise her government’s “veto” to not support the loan came as the Liberal National Party (LNP) in Canberra was poised to launch a smear campaign against her in the run-down to the November 25 state election.
“This afternoon I announce that my Government has had no role to date in the Federal Government’s assessment process for Adani — now we will have no role in the future,” she said.
“To action my decision, I propose to write to the Prime Minister to notify him that my Government will exercise its ‘veto’ to not support the NAIF loan — and to remove doubt about any perception of conflict.”…….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-03/premier-annastacia-palaszczuk-veto-qld-government-adani-brisbane/9117594
Australia’s sorry history of hypocrisy at the international climate conferences
At the Bonn talks, Australia will cop (sorry) some flak for its lack of reductions ambition, and action.
It will win its usual disproportionate share of those “fossil fool” awards so beloved of activists.
COP this This year’s “Conference of the Parties” (COP) is happening in Bonn, Germany, (where the UN’s less-publicised “in between” climate meetings happen). But it is chaired by Fiji, which is not holding the meeting on its own (threatened) shores because of the logistical difficulty of hosting the tens of thousands of delegates.
Earlier this year Australia threw in A$6 million to help the Fijians with organisational costs.
But anyone who follows climate diplomacy knows that Australia has a chequered record at COP meetings, and hasn’t always been so generous when it comes to the negotiations themselves. So how has Australia fared at previous summits, and what’s on the table this time? Continue reading
THE ADANI COAL MESS: Australia to provide big subsidies to Indian Billionaire and Chinese government?
If the deal does go ahead with backing from Chinese state-owned enterprises, it could see Australia providing big direct and indirect subsidies to a company effectively owned by an Indian billionaire and the Chinese Government.
Adani: Chinese state-owned company could help bankroll Carmichael coal mine, ABC News, 2 Nov 17 By business reporter Stephen Long For years it has been a mystery where Adani would get the money to build its giant Carmichael coal mine in North Queensland.
Key points:
- Chinese state-owned enterprise CMEC in negotiations with Adani
- Deal would involve CMEC given manufacturing contract in return for procuring finance
- Some close to the negotiations sceptical about deal being finalised
Now we may have the answer.
The ABC has learned that a Chinese state-owned enterprise, China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), is in negotiations with Adani and its principal engineering and procurement contractor, Downer EDI.
If the deal goes ahead, it would see CMEC awarded contracts to build key mining plant and equipment in return for China’s financial backing of the Carmichael mine.
CMEC is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, but is 78 per cent owned by the giant Chinese state-owned enterprise China National Machinery Industry Corporation Ltd, or Sinomach. Continue reading
Australia’s Aboriginal Sovereign Union needs a genuine pathway, not just an inadequate Treaty
To Sovereign Union of First Nations and Peoples in Australia When resetting the agenda: Don’t cede your sovereignty or acquiesce, in your enthusiasm for Treaty-talks
Ghillar, Michael Anderson, ghillar29@gmail.com, Convenor of the Sovereign Union, last surviving member of the founding four of the Aboriginal Embassy and Head of State of the Euahlayi Peoples Republic provides further insight into a viable pathway going forward. 4 Nov 17
I propose a refocusing of our political agenda, after our successful and clear ending of the constitutional recognition campaign, because Sovereignty-educated grassroots First Nations people refused to accept mere symbolic inclusion in the colonial Constitution. This spelt the death knell for the bipartisan coercion to lure our Peoples into their racist colonial constitution, in order to put an end to the power of the Sovereignty Movement.
At least it is now clear that Aboriginal people have never been in the Australian Constitution and have never had citizenship, but instead are classified as ‘aliens’ by the constitution. The constitution clearly stipulates that children who are born of a foreign group who have been in hostilities with British colonisers at the time of their birth, which includes 100% of our people all over this country, are deemed to be and classified as ‘aliens’. This is confirmed by Quick and Garran’s interpretation of the constitution on the matter of aliens. This, in my view, confirms, that we, the descendents, continue to be classified as ‘aliens’ and non-citizens. This raises serious questions about the continued presence of all Aboriginal people in the Federal parliament, given they cannot produce any naturalisation nor citizenship papers. Continue reading
4 November REneweconomy news
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ABB microgrid technology to power Robben Island
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Microgrid and wireless technologies will integrate renewable solar energy and reduce the use of fossil fuels to power World Heritage Site in South Africa.
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Ausgrid turns to rooftop solar to save on network costsAusgrid offers big incentives for rooftop solar in Sydney, so it can save on network costs. It’s a welcome change from the usual narrative about how rooftop solar is a burden to networks and consumers. Are battery storage and micro-grids next?
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Australia among the world’s worst on biodiversity conservationAustralia is among the top seven countries worldwide responsible for 60% of the world’s biodiversity loss between 1996 and 2008, according to a study published last week in the journal Nature.
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Rooftop solar installer caught out for fraudulent STC creationClean energy regulator takes action against solar company found to have installed rooftop PV systems without compliant Certificates of Electrical Safety.
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Oil Search’s Alaskan oil play ignores climate realityJust days out from the start of the latest climate talks, PNG-based Oil Search has delivered a slap in the face to its Pacific neighbours.
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Is your company disclosing its climate risk?Investors and activists have new ammunition to encourage public company disclosures on climate change risks and opportunities. They should use them.
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Swan Hill solar farm secures debt funding to go “merchant”Impact Investment Group secures $16.5m from specialist outfit Infradebt for 19MW merchant solar farm in northern Victoria.
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
