Search Results for: coal ash

Will the Solar Council’s campaign in Canning help bring down a prime minister?

September 1, 2015 2017-10-25T09:32:53 by 5 Comments
abbott and solar panels

Will Abbott’s war on solar hurt his party’s prospects in Canning?

The heat is really on in Western Australia with the entry of solar energy in the Canning by election campaign. The seat which was recently vacated following the untimely death of then sitting member Don Randall, has become a focus for those looking for an indication of the electorate’s opinion on the government’s performance.

The previous incumbent was a popular representative and enjoyed a healthy margin in the opinion polls. However this has been whittled away in recent times due to the federal government’s incompetence, intransigence or bad luck, depending on your political point of view. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With: ,

Climate Institute poll finds Australians support renewables

August 18, 2015 2017-10-25T09:33:20 by Leave a Comment
wind turbines and solar

Renewables appear to be a vote winner. Someone may want to tell our government.

Banish any questions you may have had about whether or not Australians support renewables. If you listen to certain, unnamed cash-for-comment shock jocks, certainly in NSW anyway, you’d be of the opinion that Aussies generally find solar power and wind farms completely objectionable.

Of course nothing is further from the truth as a poll released by The Climate Institute last week to coincide with the unveiling (dare we say unravelling?) of the government’s emissions reduction target. The poll shows the extent to which Aussies prefer solar and wind energy over that of fossil fuel. [Read more…]

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Interview: Finn Peacock talks solar battery storage in Australia (and more)

July 7, 2015 2017-10-25T09:34:41 by 24 Comments
finn peacock

Finn Peacock talks shop with Rich Bowden

It’s been a big year for news on solar battery storage in Australia. With the imminent release of Tesla’s Powerwall onto the market and influential reports predicting a new way of accessing energy, the trend has not been “if” but “when” renewables will end up dominating new energy takeup in the country.

But how much of this is kosher and how much wishful thinking? Are we on the cusp of a solar battery storage revolution? Can we start tearing up our electricity bills? To find out the answers we asked Finn Peacock, SolarQuotes founder (and professional cutter through bullshit), his opinion on exactly what has made 2015 so important in solar power and what his predictions are for the near future.

His frank analysis is fascinating, sometimes controversial and may surprise some. [Read more…]

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Fairfax Article Beating Up The Solar Industry is Scaremongering (but Greg Hunt still fell for it)

February 24, 2015 2017-04-19T14:42:12 by Leave a Comment
article screenshot

The Fairfax article published on 22 Feb 2015

The Fairfax papers’ coverage of the solar industry is usually spot on. But I think the latest article by Political Reporter Heath Aston is way off mark.

Greg Hunt must have salivated all over his iPad as he read the article yesterday morning. I can see him dribbling with delight at the rampant tales of rorted rebates and shonky solar systems.  And surprise, surprise: within a few hours of the article going live, Hunt announced:

“The poor installation of solar PV or installation of substandard solar PV has the potential to lead to fires with risks to property and human life. I’m sure you would agree that it is absolutely imperative that all panels installed must be of high quality and pose absolutely no threat to safety.”

I would like to ask Hunt how he thinks that it is possible to mandate that a piece of electrical equipment must “pose absolutely no threat to safety”. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Installation Tagged With: , , , , ,

Are millions of solar roofs making solar farms pointless?

October 31, 2014 2023-06-22T14:29:11 by 13 Comments
solar roofs and a solar field

Are solar roofs making solar power stations uneconomic?

Utility scale solar, or solar farms, are fields of PV panels which generate electricity that is fed directly into the grid.  Currently we don’t have much of this in Australia.  Over 99% of our solar capacity is point of use which is mostly on rooftops and the juice it does produce is first used to power the household or business it is on top of and then after that the excess is generally fed into the grid. [Read more…]

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Forget “real 20 percent”, what are the real benefits of going solar?

October 28, 2014 2017-10-25T09:47:11 by 2 Comments

 

God forbid that pesky wind and solar breaches 20% !

God forbid that pesky wind and solar breaches 20% !

The dust continues to swirl on one of the most divisive energy issues in recent years — the government’s attempted slashing of the RET to the so-called “real 20 percent”. We’ll discuss this but really, is this the debate we should be having in this day and age? We’re going to focus on the bigger picture, the debate we should be having: the one on the real benefits of going solar.

This week saw a political sleight-of-hand that we’ve come to expect from the seat polishers in Canberra. Under the guise of “adjusting” the Rudd government’s 20 percent of renewables by 2020, the government has put together a policy that will divide the nation. The so-called “real 20 percent” effectively slashes the RET for large-scale developers by one-third. For sure it will have “real” problems for many solar providers, with many seeing it as an underhand attempt to push through legislation that will cripple the renewable energy industry. [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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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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Major CSIRO solar breakthrough underlines ARENA’s worth

June 10, 2014 2017-10-25T10:03:28 by 15 Comments
CSIRO solar tower with mirror array.

These mirrors at CSIRO in Newcastle can focus the sun to create superheated steam. That is the same pressure and temperature of steam that a coal or nuclear fired power plant creates. Amazing. Picture credit: CSIRO

Further evidence emerged this week from the CSIRO of the value of the embattled Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to the nation. ARENA, you may well recall, is at the centre of the current government’s ideological campaign against renewable energy with its very existence now in doubt through savage proposed budget cuts.

The breakthrough was the successful heating of steam to a supercritical temperature using solar energy. Supercritical steam is very high temperature and high pressure steam, that is needed to run electricity generating turbines efficiently. Essentially this means that we can now use the sun to drive conventional electricity turbines, like those found in a coal fired or even nuclear power station. This development has the potential to be a “gamechanger” in the way we generate electricity, according to the CSIRO. [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…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With: , ,
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