Australia’s future vs Abbott lies on renewable energy

July 7, 2014 2017-10-25T10:02:40 by 16 Comments
abbott

Spreading blatant mistruths.

There are three schools of thought to explain the Abbott lies on renewable energy. One is that our PM is under the influence of the fossil fuel energy companies and is happy to repeat their propaganda; two is that is he has been ill-advised by dodgy minders and three (to put it politely) he may have temporarily taken leave of his senses.

How else can you explain Mr Abbott’s statement this week that the Renewable Energy Target was responsible for energy price rises? The Prime Minister said the RET was making Australia “ the unaffordable energy capital of the world” and was somehow “…very significantly driving up power prices”.

What? [Read more…]

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Clive Palmer: renewable energy hero? Or a publicity-seeking miner/politician?

June 30, 2014 2017-10-25T10:02:51 by 16 Comments
clive palmers head on a green heroes body

Is it a bird, is it a plane? No it’s a miner who loves publicity.

So Big Clive Palmer is suddenly a renewable energy hero? And wants to be revered as the saviour of the clean energy sector? According to some press coverage, the Queensland fossil fuel mining superstar has single handedly changed the climate change debate in our country.

Not for me. Let’s be very careful before we anoint The Big Fella. [Read more…]

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Fossil Fuel Subsidies are a Joke

June 24, 2014 2023-09-13T14:46:01 by 3 Comments

I’m getting a lot of comments on Facebook at the moment along the lines of: “Solar needs to stand on its own two feet without subsidies of any kind”.

What these commenters (and our government) seem to miss is that fossil fuels in Australia – and around the world – are massively more subsidised than renewables.

This cartoon fresh from First Dog on the Moon, first posted on treealerts.org, sums up the situation nicely:

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How the IPA poisons renewable energy policy in Australia

June 16, 2014 2017-10-25T10:03:20 by 8 Comments
The hardcore right-wing IPA hates renewables.

The hardcore right-wing IPA hates renewables. We love renewables (and beer).

Ever wondered why our government is so quick to destroy clean energy initiatives? Why the great work of agencies such as ARENA is ignored? How the green sector rarely gets a look in when it comes to energy policy? One clue as to the source of this ‘slash-and-burn’ mentality may lie in the influence of a powerful think tank called the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). This week we’ll peel back the extent of that link and examine the power of the IPA in renewable energy policy. [Read more…]

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Tindo Solar’s Support For An Anti-Dumping Investigation Is Bad For The Australian Solar Industry And The Environment

June 11, 2014 2017-07-13T14:49:16 by 16 Comments

tindo-anti-dumping

 

Today I’d like to welcome a new contributor to the SolarQuotes blog – Ronald Brakels. Ronald is technically minded and has a lot of passion for the Australian renewable energy industry, and is not afraid to put his opinion forth. I’m not always going agree with every opinion Ronald holds – but I always enjoy how he articulates those opinions. I think you will too. Over to you Ronald:

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Tindo Solar is Australia’s only solar panel manufacturer and its Adelaide facility employs a total of 25 people. They produce high quality solar panels specially designed for the harsh Australian environment. Finn tells me he has 24 of them on his roof and they are working great. They are panels that I highly recommend.

Or at least, I used to be able to recommend them. I’m not sure I can do that with a clear conscience any more. Why? Because Tindo Solar has embarked on a course of action that I believe may well harm both Australia’s solar industry and the world’s environment. [Read more…]

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Liberal moderates in NSW stand up over RET review

June 2, 2014 2017-10-25T10:03:42 by 15 Comments
nsw blues badge

NSW Stands up for solar. Go Blues!

Will clean energy be the blade that slices apart the ruling Coalition party? Will the fossil-fuel-stacked renewable energy target review panel fall on its dark arts? This week saw the potential for a factional clash of almighty proportions with the NSW government announcing their full support for the renewable energy target (RET) of 20 percent renewable energy by 2020. [Read more…]

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Energy costs are going down, but you wouldn’t know it if you’re still on the traditional grid.

May 22, 2014 2017-04-20T12:46:20 by 1 Comment
confused man and pylons

Huh? Energy Prices Are Going Down?

How much of that quarterly cheque you cut to your local electricity supplier is actually paying for the energy you use?  According to a new scathing news story from ABC and confirmed with data from the Federal Treasury, under half.  Surprisingly, 51% of your monthly payment is, in fact, going to fund the unnecessary rebuilding of a now bloated Australian power grid.   [Read more…]

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ARENA’s existence hangs by a thread

May 20, 2014 2017-10-25T10:03:54 by 5 Comments
wind farm and solar panels and a thread being cut

Large scale renewables hanging by a thread thanks to Joe Hockey’s cuts.

Well we knew it was going to be a horror budget didn’t we readers? At least you couldn’t accuse the Abbott administration of not warning us. For weeks we had the drumbeat of fear. The chant that the so-called “age of entitlements” was at an end (except for certain vested interests it seems). The latest “Sloppy” Joe updates leaked to the Murdoch press and (of course) the draconian views of the Audit Commission. So we knew that the story for renewable energy Australia would be bad in the 2014 budget, the question was….how bad?

[Read more…]

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What? Oz thrashed by Poms on solar PV installation?

May 13, 2014 2017-10-25T10:04:03 by 14 Comments
union jack

The Poms have come from behind to give us a thrashing.

We Aussies hate to be trumped by another nation in any field of endeavour. Whether on the sporting field, in battle or in the latest scientific innovation, we like to think we always “punch above our weight”.

Imagine our horror then, when we learned of being completely spanked by the land of grey skies and shitty weather in an area we should call our very own:  solar PV installations. [Read more…]

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Who gets the blame for energy poverty in Australia?

May 5, 2014 2017-10-25T10:04:11 by 15 Comments
wind turbine

87% of electricity price rises are nothing to do with renewables. But we still get the blame. Funny that.

Energy poverty in Australia is defined as when more than 10 percent of your household disposable income is spent on energy. It’s a newish problem in our country but one, due to rapidly escalating electricity prices, that we will unfortunately hear a great deal more about in coming years. With the skyrocketing electricity prices that have kicked in around the country, the question (from the point of view of the big energy companies and their politician friends) is not so much “Have we got a massive problem with energy poverty in this country?” as “Who the f!@# can we blame?” [Read more…]

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