Pacific Energy Summit hears calls for better funding for renewable projects

pacific energy summit logo

Will this summit result in more 100% solar powered pacific nations?

It may have received scant attention in the Australian mainstream, whose attention may have been distracted by aborted leadership coups, football kickoffs et al, but a very important energy summit (including the latest in Pacific solar energy projects) took place in Auckland, New Zealand last week.

Eighteen Pacific nations attended the summit which was hosted by the New Zealand Government with co-sponsors the World Bank, The Asian Development Bank and AusAID. The Pacific Energy Summit explored a range of options for Pacific nations to achieve their energy targets and, perhaps most importantly, how to raise funding for such programs. [Read more…]

Will Fergie’s inglorious exit herald a new era for solar power?

martin ferguson's office

Martin “Fossil Fuel” Ferguson has finally switched himself off.

Well the dust has settled on the federal Labor leadership challenge that wasn’t with Julia “The Ranga” Gillard announced the winner after Kevin “The Piker” Rudd refused to show up for battle.

Actually it was less a leadership struggle than a complete shemozzle and the ructions within the Labor Party following the events will be felt for years, if not decades, to come. The immediate result is a host of ministers felt the need to resign their commissions due to their support for the The Nerdy One. You really couldn’t make this up if you tried, though the soap opera holds promise. Matthew Newton as Kevin Rudd? [Read more…]

WA Labor on solar power: trick or treat?

perth at dusk

Is WA Labor’s idea to let Joe Public buy solar on government roofs a goer?

How serious is the West Australian Labor Party’s offer to open up the state’s renewable energy market should it win power in this month’s election? Superb, groundbreaking idea to include all in the solar power revolution? Or as one of our Facebook Page readers succinctly put it; is it a case of “promises, promises”? [Read more…]

Do Sen Joyce’s troglodyte views on solar influence Coalition energy policy?

caveman

“Me Barnaby – Me like fire and coal. Grunt Grunt”

As the country is dragged reluctantly — like a kid from a lolly shop — into election mode following the Prime Minister’s Jan. 30 early announcement, it is instructive to see where the mainstream media turned much of its attention. To which party is best suited to handle the economy? The environment? Climate change? Energy policy? No. Much of the media’s focus has been on the significance of the PM’s new glasses.

Will the new glasses signify a new 20/20 “vision splendid” for the nation’s energy policy? A policy of engaging with renewables (particularly solar power)? Or do they signify a myopic energy policy dedicated to continuing support of fossil fuel subsidies? [Read more…]

Does the ACT lead the solar revolution in Australia?

Solar Panels in Canberra

Image: Parliament of Australia website

If you think this column exists solely to bash the often non-existent solar energy policies of certain state governments and Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition you’re mostly correct. We’ve often been critical of the myopic policies taken towards solar in both federal and state capitals, a “scorched earth” policy directed by many pollies towards solar energy in particular.

This lack of consistency for big solar investors as well as those wishing to install domestic solar systems is a major cause of the highly damaging “boom and bust” syndrome that has characterised the Australian solar energy sector. [Read more…]

Bushfires, bloody hot weather and a brave new world

bushfires in Tasmania

Bushfires in Tassie – photo: flickr/ToniFish

As I sit here writing this week’s rant, we are (it seems) in the middle of one of the worst heatwaves ever to strike the continent. Characterised by indecently high temperatures, bushfires and breathless “on the spot” news reporters, the harsh weather is crossing the land from west to east, north to south. [Read more…]

Was the Lorax a solar power fan?

 

2013: Ending the solar uncertainty principle

2013

Will 2013 bring some stability to the solar industry?

What’s the one factor that most solar fans will ask from our elected representatives as we cast our eyes towards 2013? The answer of course will vary according according to circumstances. Some may ask for more focus on other forms of large scale solar power such as concentrated solar power, others may call for increased investment in solar research and development. Still more may call for an expansion of present solar programs; you know the ones that always seem to be under the threat of cutbacks. [Read more…]

Tis the season to be Fergie …

Martin Ferguson

The Ghost Of Christmas Present

Regular readers of this column may have noticed that we haven’t always been that kind to Martin “Fossil Fuel” Ferguson, our Minister for Resources. And we haven’t been alone in mercilessly pointing to the Minister for Resources’ predilection for fossil fuels, his apparent unwillingness to listen to new ideas and his brushing aside of renewable energy such as solar power in favour of vested fossil fuel interests. [Read more…]

Current solar PV regulations “a dog’s breakfast”

Nigel Morris and a dog's breakfast

Nigel Morris and a Dog’s Breakfast

Nigel Morris of Solar Business Services has described current renewable industry regulations as being like a “dog’s breakfast”. And while his comments may not come as a surprise to many solar power insiders, the fact that he admitted feeling sympathy for utilities networks just might. [Read more…]

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