Australia could use hydrogen to export solar energy
Guardian 19th May 2017 Using hydrogen on a large scale – either for electricity generation or transportation fuel – requires significant infrastructure investment; for example in hydrogen fuelling stations.
Zhang points out that Australia’s geography and scattered population makes that an expensive prospect, at least for the time being. Because of this, some are focusing on the perhaps more achievable prospect of Australia becoming an exporter of energy in the form of hydrogen.
Dr Michael Dolan, principal research scientist at CSIRO, says this is an attractive scenario because Australia has such an enormous capacity to generate renewable energy compared to a country like Japan, which has limited free land and sunshine…. https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/may/19/how-australia-can-use-hydrogen-to-export-its-solar-power-around-the-world
Federal and State policies betray Australia’s environment, and fail climate action
ClimateFail: Turnbull Government abandons any pretence of climate policy, Independent Australia Sue Arnold 22 May 2017 ‘A mountain of strategies, plans, reviews, meetings of ministers and promises substitute for any action at a time when climate change is wreaking havoc on the environment and wildlife.’A MASSIVE BETRAYAL of environmental issues is now entrenched in Federal and state government policies.
The failure to provide adequate funding in the Turnbull/Morrison 2017 Budget should eradicate any lingering doubts over the attitude and policy failures of this appalling Coalition Government and the spin-off impacts at the State level. The Budget miserliness is a clue to a much bigger picture.
In essence, the environment has been pushed to the back of the bus. International obligations under conventions that Australia has ratified are ignored. Entire forests must have disappeared to provide for the mountains of paper and verbiage paying lip service to Australia’s unique biodiversity and environmental heritage.
In 2010, the Federal Government published ‘Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy‘ under the auspices of the National Resource Management Ministerial Council (NRMMC). The strategy stretched from 2010-2030 and was tasked to the National Biodiversity Strategy Review Task Group.
The report is described as:
‘ … the guiding framework for governments to conserve our national biodiversity to 2030. It provides an overview of the state of Australia’s biodiversity and outlines collective priorities for conservation.’
Not only is the strategy a national framework for biodiversity conservation, it also acts as Australia’s principal instrument for implementing the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity.
Ten national targets were identified in the strategy to be completed by 2015:……….
In the meantime, the NRMMC disappeared, as did the National Biodiversity Strategy Review Task Group. A spokesperson from the Department of the Environment and Energy was unable to detail who exactly did away with these two bodies, but it appears that under PM Tony Abbott at the 2013 COAG meeting, COAG agreed that its council system should be streamlined and refocussed on COAG’s priorities over the next 12–18 months. 22 councils were reduced to eight, including the eradication of the Council on Environmental Regulation Reform.
Nevertheless, in 2015 as required under the strategy, a review of the first five years conducted by the Australian Government, State and Territory governments and the Australian Local Government Association examined the operation and implementation of the strategy.
The results are a damning indictment of not only a national failure to uphold any of the ten national targets but also a failure by state and local governments………
An analysis of the Federal Government’s Listed Key Threatening Processes demonstrates a bizarre list, which completely fails to include loss of habitat, the primary cause of extinction. The focus is on damage caused by rabbits, goats, fire ants and cane toads. Human created developments such as mining, forestry, dams and other environmentally damaging practices are ignored.
Listed species are required to have recovery plans under the Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act l999 (EPBC). Under the Act, the minister can and does delay recovery plans for up to six years. There is no legal process that allows the public interest to force the minister to speed up the finalisation or implementation of any Recovery Plan.
The procedure to nominate listing a species starts off with a minimum time frame of 4.5 months to overcome bureaucratic hurdles and an infinite time for the Minister to make a final decision.
His decision does not have to take into account any recommendations made by the Threatened Species Committee.
There is little doubt that the environment has become the lowest policy priority for state and Federal governments.
Instead, a mountain of strategies, plans, reviews, meetings of ministers and promises substitute for any action at a time when climate change is wreaking havoc on the environment and wildlife.
You can follow Sue Arnold on Twitter @koalacrisis and Koala Crisis on Facebook here. https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/climatefail-turnbull-government-abandons-any-pretence-of-climate-policy,10322
Sea level threat rising faster than was predicted
‘The great unknown’: New climate change data lifts the sea-level threat, SMH , Peter Hannam, 23 May 17 The giant ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland are melting faster than scientists previously estimated, raising the prospect of faster sea level rise placing at risk low-lying areas of Sydney and similar exposed cities around the world.
New research, including from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has lifted the “plausible” sea level rise by 2100 to as much as two metres to 2.7 metres.
That has superseded earlier estimates, such as the 2013 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that placed the likely top range of sea level rise at about one metre if greenhouse gas emission rises continued unabated.
Those higher forecasts have now been included in new mapping by Coastal Risk Australia that combines the estimates with national high-tide data and the shape of our coastline.
The resulting maps show airports in Sydney, Brisbane and Hobart will be largely under water by 2100 if that two-metre rise happens.
Other areas at risk in Sydney from such a rise include Circular Quay, Wentworth Park, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Woolloomooloo and Rose Bay. ………
Rising seas
NOAA estimates global mean sea levels have risen about 3.4 millimetres a year since 1993, roughly double the average rate of increase during the 20th century.
Even the last century’s pace of increase was the fastest in at least 2800 years, NOAA said.
Global warming is driving the increase in sea levels by melting land ice – such as glaciers and ice sheets – and from the thermal expansion of the warmer oceans.
John Church, a global sea level expert at the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of NSW, said other new research indicated Antarctica’s contribution to rising seas appears to particularly sensitive to carbon emissions rates – underscoring the urgency to reduce them…….http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/the-great-unknown-new-climate-change-data-lifts-the-sealevel-threat-20170522-gwa963.html
Poll shows that Australian voters decisively reject Adani coal mine expansion
Just 7 per cent of voters want the government to invest in Adani mine: poll http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/just-7-per-cent-of-voters-want-the-government-to-invest-in-adani-mine-poll-20170521-gw9k4g.html Adam Gartrell, 22 May 17,
Just 7 per cent of voters want money from the federal government’s northern Australia investment used to prop up Adani’s giant coalmine, while nine times that number say they would prefer taxpayer cash going towards renewable energy or education infrastructure.
A new poll ReachTEL poll has found just 6.8 per cent of people support the idea of using public money to support coal mine projects such as the Indian mining conglomerate’s controversial Carmichael proposal, which would be Australia’s biggest coalmine.
Adani is seeking a $1 billion concessional loan from the Turnbull government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to build a railway for the mine. The application will be assessed by the fund’s independent board but the government supports the plan.
But the new poll of nearly 3000 people – commissioned by the Australian Conservation Foundation – suggests the public wants NAIF investments made elsewhere. Even among Coalition voters there was only 10.5 per cent support for public money going into coalmine infrastructure.
The poll found nearly 33 per cent of people believe renewable energy projects should be NAIF’s top priority. Nearly 28 per cent believe schools and universities should be first in line for funding, with tourism and telecommunications infrastructure also attracting more support than coal.
The polling accompanies a new ACF research paper on the “opportunity cost” to northern Australia of funding the mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, identifying scores of other job-creating projects.
ACF economist Matt Rose says across Queensland, Western Australian and the Northern Territory there are 20 alternative proposals for jobs-rich large-scale solar plants.
There are 20 potential higher education campuses, 67 Indigenous ranger groups with no certainty of long-term funding and hundreds of locations with poor phones or internet.
“Any NAIF investment in coal will come at a huge cost to Northern Australia in terms of missed opportunities for a cleaner, smarter future,” Mr Rose said.
“Public investment in Adani coal would cheat Australians in the north out of jobs in renewable energy, better education facilities and tourism.”
Respondents to the poll also showed support for strong restrictions on any NAIF lending, with 60 per cent saying they agreed the government should “only provide funding to companies that meet minimum social and environmental standards”.
The ReachTEL poll surveyed 2984 residents across Australia in late April.
ACF is one of 130 groups involved in trying to stop the $21 billion mine, which is shaping up as one of the country’s big environmental battles.
The big four banks have all ruled out funding for the mine, angering Resources Minister Matt Canavan. But Mr Turnbull has defended the potential use of the NAIF, saying the mine would create “tens of thousands” of jobs and boost state and federal budgets.
The Queensland Labor government last week flagged it may provide Adani with a $320m “royalty holiday” to help get the mine up and running. It has also offered it free water in the form of an unlimited water licence.
At a federal level, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has suggested the mine should only go ahead if it stacks up environmentally and commercially – and that means no federal loan. However some federal Labor MPs do not believe the mine should go ahead at all.
NATIONALS SHOULD NAME LOCATIONS FOR NUTTY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PLAN
The Greens NSW Energy spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham today slammed the National Party and NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro for raising the prospect of a nuclear power plant in NSW saying renewable energy is safer, cheaper, and more effective at combatting climate change.
“I challenge John Barilaro and Gladys Berejiklian to name which electorate, which suburb and which town in NSW they think a nuclear power plant should be built in,” Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham said.
“They also need to come clean with where they are planning to have a nuclear waste dump to manage the highly radioactive waste fuel that will be produced.
“Nuclear power is an enormous risk that is not worth taking. We should learn the lessons from Fukushima and Chernobyl that nuclear power can be catastrophic.
“This is just another nutty, extreme idea from the National Party who is stuck in the wrong century pushing coal and nuclear and ignoring the massive renewable energy potential of Australia.
“Launching their nuclear ambitions in Broken Hill shows the Nationals are completely out of touch with the community and the future of energy supply in Australia.
“One of the largest solar farms in the country, the Broken Hill Solar Plant, has just been built and the nearby Silverton Wind Farm will be the largest wind project in NSW once it is constructed.
“The declining cost of renewables means nuclear energy does not make financial sense, as we can see with Japanese giant Toshiba going broke because of its involvement in nuclear power plants.
“Even if the Nationals could force nuclear power through massive community opposition, it is not an answer to our energy needs or climate crisis with plants taking more than a decade to be built.
“The Greens believe the future of energy supply is renewables, not dirty coal and dangerous nuclear power,” Mr Buckingham concluded.
Energy, climate, emissions news 21 May 17
National
Summer energy crisis looms without reforms, Grattan Institute warns
Panicking politicians who make kneejerk decisions to bolster Australia’s energy security run the risk of fuelling a power crisis with more blackouts and restrictions, a Grattan Institute report says.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-21/grattan-institute-warns-of-looming-summer-energy-crisis/8545522
New coalmines will worsen poverty and escalate climate change, report finds
Oxfam attacks Australia’s ‘climate policy paralysis’ and urges it to promise no new coalmines and end public subsidies
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/22/new-coalmines-will-worsen-poverty-and-escalate-climate-change-report-finds
Cheap way to cut emissions
Graham Lloyd
Land clearing – Australia could meet a 2C warming target under the Paris agreement at no cost to business.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/land-management-changes-the-lowcost-way-to-cut-emissions/news-story/eaa311fadd2d5963774b94c3bcf9bb95
New South Wales Green Groups challenge Deputy Premier John Barilaro on nuclear power
Green groups shut down nuclear NSW talk http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/05/20/green-groups-shut-down-nuclear-nsw-talk
Green groups have ridiculed talk of nuclear power being placed back on the agenda by NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro as a “nutty” idea.
Green groups have reacted swiftly to condemn an attempt by Deputy NSW Premier John Barilaro to place nuclear energy back on the agenda.
Mr Barilaro told the NSW Nationals Annual Conference in Broken Hill on Thursday nuclear energy could mean “guaranteed power to millions, lower bills and next to no emissions” in the face of a power crisis. He said energy costs were crushing businesses, farmers and families.
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW called on Premier Gladys Berejiklian to declare nuclear options weren’t on the table.
“Renewables are by far the cheapest, cleanest and most sustainable way to meet our energy needs,” chief executive Kate Smolski said in a statement.
She said nuclear power was “dirty, dangerous and expensive” and could leave a “toxic legacy”.
Ms Smolski challenged Mr Barilaro to explain which electorate would house a nuclear reactor, uranium processing plant and radioactive waste dumps.
The NSW Greens energy spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham said Mr Barilaro’s comments showed the party was out of touch with the community.
“This is just another nutty, extreme idea from the National Party who is stuck in the wrong century pushing coal and nuclear and ignoring the massive renewable energy potential of Australia,” he said.
New South Wales govt about to go all enthusiastic about nuclear power?
Nuclear power on the agenda in NSW as Deputy Premier claims ‘we’ve been led by fear and mistruths’ ABC News By state political reporter Lucy McNally, 19 May 17, New South Wales Deputy Premier John Barilaro has put nuclear energy on the agenda, arguing it would help secure the state’s power supply in the future.
Mr Barilaro, the leader of the NSW Nationals, will address his party’s annual conference in Broken Hill today, where he will make the case for a nuclear debate.
“I’m challenging my members to look for exciting solutions and think about the generations to come,” he said.”We live in a resource-rich nation, where energy should be our competitive advantage, but we’ve had the settings wrong, we’ve been led by political correctness and unfortunately by fear and mistruths.”
Mr Barilaro said those “mistruths” had stifled debate……
“Look at France, they currently rely heavily on nuclear energy which they import from places next door like the Czech Republic and other European nations,” Mr Barilaro said.
“Yet they have made a commitment to build a plant in France. Places like the US and Korea have all decided to look at building nuclear plants.”….. [ed note – this is simply incorrect]
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was not convinced of the merits of nuclear power.
“My view always is that science and safety have to stack up, on anything,” she said.
“So I’m in the camp of the jury’s still out.”
Ms Berejiklian said she was open to discussing the issue, including at the next Council of Australian Governments meeting in June…….
The State Opposition’s energy spokesman, Adam Searle, has dismissed the comments as a “thought bubble”. “The fact is nuclear energy is enormously expensive, consumes huge amounts of water — and of course Australia doesn’t have a lot of spare water — to say nothing of the environmental issues,” he said.
“Who’s going to build it? Who’s going to fund it? It’s just ridiculous.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-19/nuclear-power-nsw-nationals-leader-wants-to-open-debate/8540274
Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) goes for smarter ways to deal with electricity supply and demand
The demand response proposal signals greater co-operation between AEMO and ARENA, particularly on the integration of renewables. A trial using wind energy to provide frequency control is to be held in South Australia next month.
AEMO looks at smarter ways to deal with extreme peaks and 
heatwaves http://reneweconomy.com.au/aemo-looks-at-smarter-ways-to-deal-with-extreme-peaks-and-heatwaves-40094/ By Giles Parkinson on 19 May 2017 The new direction of a rejuvenated Australian Energy Market Operator is starting to take shape, with the organisation announcing plans to have 100MW of demand response capacity in the Victorian and South Australian markets in time for the summer peaks and heatwaves.
The program, being run jointly with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, signals a tangible change in focus for AEMO, and the market in general, in finding smarter ways to manage supply and demand rather than simply building more fossil fuel plants and poles and wires.
AEMO’s new CEO Audrey Zibelman is already a champion of demand response and it was one of the major levers that she pulled when running New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision program that aims for more decentralised power, and 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
In the PJM market, one of the biggest in the US, demand response accounts for 10 per cent of total capacity, and Zibelman sees no reason why it cannot grow to be at least 30 per cent of the Australian market.
That’s because Australia has a ready-made investment in the technologies that are needed. More than 1.6 million homes and businesses have installed rooftop solar, and many of these will install battery storage as well.
“If you have solar on your roof and you are putting in storage, it is saying that during certain hours of the day you use solar to charge up the battery, and then, rather than relying on grid, you reduce demand on the grid. For us (the grid operator) that’s the same as increasing generation.”
Zibelman says it is an obvious solution to provide a price signal to use these resources, as well as rewarding others – such as manufacturers and large businesses – for cutting back on their power usage at critical moments, rather than spending more money on new plant.
“If we can reduce the amount of demand, that has the same benefit as the grid, and is a lot less expensive than building a new power plant that is only used for a few hours a year,” she says. Continue reading
Australia should not throw away $1 billion on a destructive and doomed Adani coal project
The first stage currently being discussed involves a total investment of around $5 billion, of which the Australian public is supposed to contribute at least a $1 billion.
we may easily end up with the worst of all worlds: no royalties and few jobs for a project that will contribute massively to environmental destruction both locally and globally.
We shouldn’t throw it away on a doomed project that will leave us with, at best, a stranded asset and a legacy of massive environmental damage.
There are better things to spend $1 billion on than the Adani coal mine, Brisbane Times, John Quiggin, 18 May 17
Ever since taking office, the Palaszczuk government has been walking a tightrope with respect to the Adani Group’s proposed Carmichael mine in the Galilee Basin.
On the one hand, it’s obvious that the project is both environmentally disastrous and economically dubious. The government has been keen to avoid putting public money into this mess. On the other hand, if the project falls over, as still appears quite likely, the government is keen to avoid the blame.
The supposed benefits of 10,000 jobs and billions of dollars in royalties make an appealing case to voters at any time and particularly with the mining boom on the edge of failing. For most of the past 18 months, the government has managed the tightrope act successfully, but now it appears to be on the verge of falling. Adani is pushing for a ‘holiday’ from royalties, which might last as long as nine years. The project may go ahead if the government accepts, but the promised benefits to the Queensland public will disappear into the never-never.
The holiday is supposed to be temporary, but that’s unlikely. Continue reading
Australia isn’t trying to stop global warming. We’re subsidising it.
Palaszczuk and Turnbull governments are Adani mine’s lonely fans, Canberra Times, Ebony Bennett, 20 May 17 Australia isn’t trying to stop global warming. We’re subsidising it.
While the ACT is on track to source 100 per cent of our electricity from renewable energy by 2020, Queensland’s state government is doubling down on the No. 1 contributor to climate change: coal. Despite banks, economists and Australians in general showing little interest in handing Indian coal giant Adani billions of dollars to dig up a heap of carbon, many politicians just can’t seem to wait to throw your money at it. The Queensland government’s enthusiasm is exceeded only by that of Turnbull government ministers, who have taken to fondling lumps of coal on the floor of Parliament.
Ten days before the last Queensland election, then opposition leader Annastacia Palaszczuk blasted the Newman’s government for picking winners and losers, warning: “What we’re seeing at the moment is Campbell Newman throwing a bucket of taxpayers’ cash … at one particular company [Adani].”
She further promised that “Queenslander taxpayers’ money is not going to be used to fund commercial operations”. She then went on to win the election in one of Australia’s biggest political upsets.
Coal subsidies are unpopular
Despite being elected on a “no subsidies” platform, the Palaszczuk government has since offered Adani free water (in the form of an unlimited, unchallengeable water licence), free coal (in the form of a reported $320 million “royalty holiday”) and a possible 39-year raincheck on the clean-up bill. It’s also on track for a $1 billion subsidised loan for its rail line from the federal government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.
At this rate, we’ll soon be paying Adani to dig up our coal. And voters don’t appear to be impressed. Continue reading
Dennis Matthews scrutinises the “ELECTRICITY NETWORK TRANSFORMATION ROADMAP: FINAL REPORT
Comments on “ELECTRICITY NETWORK TRANSFORMATION ROADMAP: FINAL 
REPORT Energy Networks Australia and CSIRO Dennis Matthews, April 2017”
INTRODUCTION This 100-page document is a composite of two distinctly different contributions. The smaller part, which appears to be the work of CSIRO, is technical, relatively free of jargon, to the point, objective and mostly about computer modelling studies.
The majority of the report is loaded with jargon, feel-good words and phrases, and gives the general impression of a sales document. For example, “network platforms”, “service platform”, “incentivise”, “new information platforms will be required to animate new distributed energy resources”, “intelligent networks and markets”, “empowered”, . This latter part is presumably the work of Energy Networks Australia.
CSIRO is a well known and generally respected government organisation. Energy Networks Australia comprises electricity low voltage distribution and high voltage transmission network companies.
The report is best understood from the point of view of electricity distribution and transmission monopolies that are seeing a rapid erosion of their businesses because of the rapid uptake of rooftop solar electricity generators and associated battery storage. These (rooftop solar + battery) systems are an emerging competitive threat to monopolistic electricity network companies, which are seeking to short-circuit the threat by co-opting these small, distributed electricity suppliers with a variety of financial “rewards”.
The report emphasises the “customer” and is almost entirely about how the electricity consumer-cum-generator (gensumer) will benefit from working with the distributor. There is no mention of how the electricity distributor will benefit from this arrangement.
The following comments use the same headings as the report.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY After acknowledging the customer-driven nature of changes in the electricity system (“transformation on an unprecedented scale”), the report concludes:
“By connecting millions of customer owned generators and energy storage systems to each other, networks can act as platforms which help match supply and demand and reduce the need for inefficient duplication of energy investments.”
- INTRODUCTION
Under the heading “customer oriented electricity” we are promised that “transformed electricity networks actively connect customers with a growing range of market actors and customized electricity solutions”.
Under “Incentives and network regulation” there will be “A fairer system through active implementation of network tariff and retail pricing reform and modernised regulation and competition frameworks.” In the past, privatised electricity distribution networks have opposed regulation and have resisted attempts to constrain network tariffs, the latter causing expense to the electricity consumer through court costs, which are recovered from the consumer.
Achieving “full development of a customer oriented network” will require “a network optimisation market (NOM) where distributed energy resources services can be procured”. This new electricity market would be in addition to the present, strongly criticized, national electricity market (NEM).
The Roadmap is divided into two phases, the Foundation Phase (2017-22) and the Implementation Phase (2023-27). The former may be considered a realistic timeframe but the latter is highly speculative. It is the latter phase that is claimed to “deliver enhanced customer choice and value”.
“Optimisation” means greater use of the electricity network, which will undoubtedly be financially beneficial to the owners of the electricity network, but no data is given on how much of this financial benefit is passed on to the consumer; presumably this is “commercial in confidence”.
At no stage in the Roadmap is the effect of privatisation (vs public ownership) of the electricity distribution system evaluated.
The Roadmap supports “advanced metering” but only gives a broad description of what an “advanced meter” will do. For decades, the electricity industry has resisted the simple idea of having a meter placed where customers can get instantaneous feedback on usage and cost in a way that will help customers manage their demand. This has clear benefits to customers but would probably lower revenue to the electricity industry. Continue reading
Sweden cancels investigation of Julian Assange, removes arrest warrant
Sweden shuts down Julian Assange rape investigation, TT/The Local news@thelocal.se 19 May 2017, Swedish prosecutors have decided to end the rape investigation into Julian Assange and lift the Europe-wide arrest warrant against him, but UK police say they will still arrest him.In a statement on its website, the Swedish prosecution authority said that the “Director of Public Prosecution, Ms Marianne Ny, has today decided to discontinue the investigation regarding suspected rape (lesser degree) by Julian Assange”.
“I have therefore today lifted the decision to remand Julian Assange in his absence,” she added.
In a press conference later in the day, Ny elaborated that it was not possible to formally serve Assange with notice of the suspicions against him, a prerequisite under Swedish law if the investigation was to progress further:
“Ecuador granted legal assistance and made it clear that all measures would be performed with full voluntary participation of Mr. Assange (…) Formal issues are important in a legal system in terms of legal certainty, it is important to be able to serve the suspect with suspicions. The decision to discontinue the investigation is not because we’ve been able to make a full assessment of the evidence, but because we didn’t see possibilities to advance the investigation. So we won’t make any statements on the issue of guilt”………
Assange’s lawyer Per Samuelsson said his client was now considering suing Sweden.
“It’s not about money but redress,” Samuelsson told news agency TT.
He added that he believed Assange would eventually try to move to Ecuador.
The WikiLeaks founder’s lawyer filed a request at Stockholm District Court earlier in May asking for an end to the arrest warrant against his client, arguing it should be dropped now that the US has expressed a desire to charge the 45-year-old.
Assange had been remanded in custody by Sweden ‘in absentia’ over a 2010 rape allegation, and has been taking refuge inside Ecuador’s embassy in London since 2012 in order to escape the warrant, citing fears he may be extradited to the US to be tried over WikiLeaks’ publication of thousands of classified documents.
One of Assange’s lawyers, Melinda Taylor, indicated earlier on Friday that the preliminary investigation into him being closed or the lifting of the European arrest warrant would not necessarily mean the Australian would make a hasty exit for Ecuador.
“The first thing one likely needs to do is seek guarantees from the British authorities that he won’t be seized in some other way,” she told news agency TT.
Both British and American authorities have “consistently refused to confirm or deny” if there is a request for extradition to the US, she said. Assange is also accused of breaching his bail conditions in the UK for fleeing to Ecuador’s embassy, she noted.
And in a statement released on Friday afternoon, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it is obliged to arrest Assange should he leave the embassy…….
When the Swedish announcement was made on Friday, WikiLeaks commented through its Twitter account that the “focus now moves to the UK”……
After refusing to travel to Sweden for questioning, Assange was grilled last December by an Ecuadorian prosecutor on questions provided by Swedish officials, with Swedish prosecutor Ingrid Isgren present.
He has always maintained that he is innocent of the rape accusation from 2010….https://www.thelocal.se/20170519/breaking-sweden-lifts-arrest-warrant-against-julian-assange-and-ends-investigation
Western Australia’s large-scale Greenough River solar farm to quadruple in size
Australia’s first large-scale solar farm to quadruple in size http://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-first-large-scale-solar-farm-to-quadruple-in-size-20618 By Giles Parkinson on 19 May 2017
The plans by co-owners Synergy, the government-owned generator and retailer, and US energy giant General Electric, were unveiled in a submission to WA’s Economic Regulation Authority, and reveal that two new 15MW arrays will be built either side of the existing facility, around 50km south-east of Geraldton.
The new arrays, will use First Solar modules, as did the first, but unlike the first installation these will deploy single axis tracking technology to improve the yield. More than 90 per cent of solar farms in Australia are now using tracking technology. SMA is providing the inverters.
Synergy and GE say that the solar farm will seek a power purchase agreement, but presumably that will come from Synergy itself, as it is it the biggest utility in the state and has yet to meet all its renewable energy target commitments.
Greenough River was built in 2012 and remains the only solar farm connected to the main grid in Western Australia, although several other projects have begun, or are about to begin, construction. These include the 30MW Byford solar farm south-east of Perth and a 10MWW solar farm planned near Northam by Carnegie Clean Energy.
Across Australia, however, the large-scale solar boom is accelerating. Eight grid-connected large-scale solar farms have now been completed and another 30 are under construction, or have reached financial closure and are about to begin.
The joint owners of Greenough River says the solar plant, located on a wheat farm, “has been extremely warmly welcomed by what is a very small remote community. No public complaints or opposition have been received.”
Turnbull government budget ignores health impacts of climate change
Shortsighted Budget 2017 ignores health impacts of climate change, Independent Australia Kristine Barnden 19 May 2017, The Turnbull Government has once again prioritised growing the economy over human lives, writes Dr Kris Barnden.
ACTION TO PROTECT AUSTRALIA from climate change was a policy free zone in the 2017 Budget. Despite strong scientific and economic consensus on the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuels, our government has prioritized efforts to grow the economy using a business as usual approach.
Doctors have been speaking out about the adverse health effects of climate change, as well as the health co-benefits of policies aimed at mitigating and adapting to climate change. In Australia, air pollution from coal fired power stations contributes a significant proportion of the over 3000 deaths per annum from pollution and a plea has been made by doctors for a rapid transition away from coal fired power.
Agriculture is another area where actions to reduce green house gas emissions are likely to be associated with multiple benefits, including health. In last week’s Budget, agriculture and regional Australia are seen as winners only from expenditure on rail. However, we need to recognize that agriculture is an important contributor to greenhouse emissions and also extremely vulnerable to their effects as recognized by the farming industry. These factors are budgetary items and need to be built into national financial policy. Indeed as President Obama has noted, food security is a world issue and we carry responsibility as a food exporter……….
Agriculture, the environment, the economy and human health interact at many levels, and we face significant difficulties on all fronts. All will be affected by climate change, and we cannot afford to consider each in isolation. We need strong leadership, and the ability to look beyond short term political and ideological considerations to longer term gains.
Dr Kristine Barnden is a member of the management committee of Doctors for the Environment Australia. https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/budget-2017-ignores-health-impacts-of-climate-change,10314
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