Dangerous, illegal policy Spartanburg Herald Journal For almost 30 years, the government has been collecting a tax on the power bills of consumers who use electricity from nuclear power plants. The money is supposed to fund a permanent method of disposing of nuclear waste. But after collecting billions … See all stories on this topic »
Grain sorghum is poised to become the first official advanced biofuel and the next big biofuel investment to watch closely, as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prepares for its final approval of the grain for ethanol production. Sorghum has many advantages and investors should take note of the recent leaps made towards advanced biofuel status. Most significantly, sorghum is versatile, providing starch, sugar and lignocellulose, and it has maturation period of only four months and can thrive in poorer soil. Unlike corn, it also does…Read more…
“I resolutely maintain that the draft Murray-Darling Basin Plan in its current form does not meet the needs of NSW” … Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson. Photo: Richard Briggs
NSW will receive nearly half a billion dollars in federal funding to improve water use along the Murray-Darling river system, under a deal to be announced today.
The money is a sweetener to get the government to come to the negotiating table with the federal government over its plan to buy back 2750 billion litres of water a year to restore the river system to health.
”I am determined that Murray-Darling Basin reform deliver healthy rivers, strong communities and sustainable food production,” the Environment Minister, Tony Burke, told The Sun-Herald before the announcement. “A resilient river system in the Murray-Darling Basin is important for communities, sustainable food production and the environment.”
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The $469 million has been held up for four years while the projects were assessed and refined, and was a major sticking point in keeping the NSW government from negotiating with Canberra about its plans for the basin.
The money will be spent on four main projects which will save an estimated 80 billion litres of water being wasted through inefficient piping and other infrastructure.
The NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, welcomed the money but said it would not influence her position in negotiations with the federal government.
“I resolutely maintain that the draft Murray-Darling Basin Plan in its current form does not meet the needs of NSW,” Ms Hodgkinson said.
Last month, Mr Burke said he was prepared to act alone on a plan to rescue the ailing Murray-Darling river system this year if the states refused to co-operate.
The independent Murray-Darling Basin Authority maintains the federal government needs to buy back 2750 billion litres of water a year from irrigators to pump back into the environment. This would be done mostly through buybacks of irrigators’ water rights, which farmers say could destroy their communities.
Environmentalists say the water is not enough to ensure the river system’s long-term survival.
Under federal law, Mr Burke has the power to strip the states of water planning responsibility, which he has warned he will do if the states do not agree to the plan. The federal and state governments will meet again at the end of the month.
One of Australia’s largest solar projects is to be built in NSW after AGL Energy and PV manufacturer First Solar were awarded a $130 million grant from the federal government.
The $450 million project, to be built across two sites in Broken Hill and Nyngan, will generate enough electricity to power 30,000 homes when completed by the end of 2015.
AGL Energy and First Solar were awarded the $130 million grant under the federal government’s solar flagships program which supports the construction of large-scale, grid connected solar power stations.
Energy Minister Martin Ferguson reopened first-round bidding in February after the consortium behind the initial winner – the Moree Solar Farm – proposed major changes to its project and failed to meet a December deadline to secure a power purchasing agreement.
Mr Ferguson on Saturday said the 159 megawatt project in Broken Hill and Nyngan represented excellent value for money and would ensure Australia brought industrial-scale solar power to market.
“At the end of the day it all comes down to cost and if large scale solar is going to succeed in Australia it has to be cost competitive,” Mr Ferguson said in a statement.
The project is expected to create 150 jobs in Broken Hill during construction and up to 300 in Nyngan.
The energy minister said a rigorous assessment process by the independent Solar Flagships Council found the AGL-First Solar bid had the highest level of merit overall “representing value-for-money, low risk and high commercial viability”.
But he noted all short-listed applicants, including the Moree Solar Farm, TRUenergy and Infigen-Suntech bids, were of “high merit” and would be referred to the new Australian Renewable Energy Agency for future funding consideration.
One of Australia’s largest solar projects is to be built in NSW after AGL Energy and PV manufacturer First Solar were awarded a $130 million grant from the federal government.
The $450 million project, to be built across two sites in Broken Hill and Nyngan, will generate enough electricity to power 30,000 homes when completed by the end of 2015.
AGL Energy and First Solar were awarded the $130 million grant under the federal government’s solar flagships program which supports the construction of large-scale, grid connected solar power stations.
Energy Minister Martin Ferguson reopened first-round bidding in February after the consortium behind the initial winner – the Moree Solar Farm – proposed major changes to its project and failed to meet a December deadline to secure a power purchasing agreement.
Mr Ferguson on Saturday said the 159 megawatt project in Broken Hill and Nyngan represented excellent value for money and would ensure Australia brought industrial-scale solar power to market.
“At the end of the day it all comes down to cost and if large scale solar is going to succeed in Australia it has to be cost competitive,” Mr Ferguson said in a statement.
The project is expected to create 150 jobs in Broken Hill during construction and up to 300 in Nyngan.
The energy minister said a rigorous assessment process by the independent Solar Flagships Council found the AGL-First Solar bid had the highest level of merit overall “representing value-for-money, low risk and high commercial viability”.
But he noted all short-listed applicants, including the Moree Solar Farm, TRUenergy and Infigen-Suntech bids, were of “high merit” and would be referred to the new Australian Renewable Energy Agency for future funding consideration.
Arguably, the Middle East and North Africa are ripe for renewable energy investment, particularly in the solar energy sector and specifically in terms of concentrated solar power (CSP). Because it relies on its own oil, it can afford the massive subsidies necessary to weather the transformation that could eventually make renewable energy affordable and accessible. Those subsidies become more affordable when Middle Eastern governments take stock of the savings on rising domestic oil and gas consumption that can be diverted to more revenue-generating…Read more…
