Archived material from historical editions of The Generator
Hot weather in Sydney on Wednesday, 7 December, had people turning on their air-conditioners, reported The Sydney Morning Herald
(9 December 2005, p.14). Electricity demand reached a summer record –
12,785MW – at 4pm. And retailers say they have been rushed by consumers
buying air-conditioners, so the next time the mercury nears 40 degrees,
yet more householders will switch on to cool down.
Electricity bills will jump by
$10 a year to fund a $1.6 billion re-wiring of the NSW’s 290,000km
electricity network which is aimed at preventing blackouts.
The riot in a village near Hong Kong last week in which paramilitary
police killed an unknown number of protesters is but one of a rising
number of protest incidents in China.
The grievance
in this case is a large coal-fired power station being built at
Shigongzhai and a wind-power farm at Dongzhou, two villages forming
part of the coastal Shanwei township east of Hong Kong. Villagers have
been claiming inadequate compensation has been paid for land and
fishing grounds spoiled by reclamation.
People living in the Arctic had filed a legal petition against the US
Government, saying its climate change policies violated human rights,
reported BBC environment correspondent Richard Black.
The Inuit Circumpolar Conference
(ICC) claimed the US was failing to control emissions of greenhouse
gases, damaging livelihoods in the Arctic. Its petition to the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights demands that the US limits
its emissions.
EnergyAustralia is seeking the approval of the Independent Pricing and
Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for pass-through costs of $655.6 million of
the investment to meet new design planning and reliability licence
conditions.
Oil and gas explorer Woodside Petroleum has agreed key commercial terms with North Asian customers for the supply of liquefied natural gas from its Pluto field in Western Australia from the end of 2010, covering combined sales of between 3.5 and 4 million tonnes a year for 15 years, with the option of a five year extension, according to Erisk Net (7 December 2005).