EcoRadio

Category: Energy Matters

The twentieth century way of life has been made available, largely due to the miracle of cheap energy. The price of energy has been at record lows for the past century and a half.As oil becomes increasingly scarce, it is becoming obvious to everyone, that the rapid economic and industrial growth we have enjoyed for that time is not sustainable.Now, the hunt is on. For renewable sources of energy, for alternative sources of energy, for a way of life that is less dependent on cheap energy. 

  • Keneally offers 4c to heat your home

     

    But charities have said people are going without power, with electricity not recognised as a basic need.

    Almost 8500 people have now signed The Daily Telegraph’s Power Struggle petition calling for IPART’s towering increases of 64 per cent over the next three years to be scrapped. And angry recipients of the meagre allowance said they would have to cut back their spending on both luxuries and essentials.

    Multiple sclerosis sufferer Margaret Gleeson, 42, from Lane Cove, requires airconditioning in summer as her body is unable to regulate its own temperature.

    She is entitled to 8c a day from July due to her medical needs but her power bill will rise by $1200 by 2013.

    “It is not really assistance – it is just for them to be able to say the words ‘government assistance’,” Mrs Gleeson said.

    Other subsidies given to people who need medical equipment will rise by as little as 3c a day.

    Charities yesterday said people were desperate, with up to 15 people a day asking for help at some centres.

    Energy Minister John Robertson said families and pensioners were entitled to $480 a year in vouchers.

    Rod Williams from the Toronto Assistance Centre near Newcastle said the assistance would do little.

    He said he expected 2000 people would have their power cut off after the next round of rises in July.

    “These people don’t have a voice,” he said yesterday.

     

  • Row over ‘Texas oilfield’ deep in the heart of scenic hills

     

    The wells will feed gas via underground pipes to an extraction plant located in the hills on the border of the two municipalities. The plant will include a compressor and a device to allow flaring of excess gas and a large evaporation pond.

    Under council planning rules, the Scenic Hills are zoned for environmental protection and no subdivisions of less than 100 hectares are allowed.

    Banned developments include aerodromes, hotels, car repair shops, amusement parks and rural residential, although schools and possibly retirement villages are permitted.

    Another councillor, Meg Oates, said the hills have been under increasing development pressure and she feared approval would change them forever.

    ”I came [to Campbelltown] in 1972; that’s when the assault on the hills started. We have managed to stave off inappropriate development, but this is the thin end of the wedge.”

    She said the local Labor MPs were as opposed to the project as the affected councils but she was uncertain whether they could stop it. ”It’s an inappropriate place for it. What’s the point of having these kinds of zonings if they can just be overridden?”

    AGL said the plant’s proposed site was ideal because of existing infrastructure.

    ”The proposed location for the gas processing facility is within an existing utilities corridor within the Scenic Hills which includes transmission lines, two high-pressure gas pipelines, associated easements and a water canal,” a company spokesman said.

    ”This corridor services the needs of the Sydney metropolitan area and AGL does not believe our proposal will create any further visual impact on this area.”

    The proposed flare would be horizontal and, while required for safety, would be rarely used, he said.

    “AGL believes that the proposal can be developed sympathetically to the needs of the local environment. In addition, the area will be completely rehabilitated at the end of the life of the project.”

  • The Pedal powered Hotel

     

    Getting the free meal is surprisingly easy. The hotel’s calculations suggest one guest cycling at 30kmph for an hour will produce around 100 watt hours of electricity, meaning that reaching the threshold for the meal should take only six minutes.

    Critics might argue that even those who cycle for a full hour will be making a rather token contribution to the energy use of a huge city hotel – 100 watt hours of energy is only enough to light a single 100 watt bulb for one hour. However the hotel counters that it wanted the target to be “achievable” so as many people as possible take part.

    The hotel, which opened in November last year, is attempting to become carbon neutral. It has EU Green Building and Green Key certification and uses a groundwater-based cooling and heating system, low energy lighting and hand dryers, and is covered in solar panels on its south-facing aspects. So will its latest scheme catch on at other hotels around the world?

    “Realistically, this isn’t a practical way of generating a useful amount of energy, but I certainly wouldn’t criticise it,” said Alex Randall, a spokesman for the Centre for Alternative Technology. “As a lesson, and a means of public engagement, it’s excellent – if you sit someone on a bike, pedalling hard, and show them they are only generating enough to power one lightbulb or TV, is makes them appreciate how difficult energy is to produce, and therefore why we should be careful not to waste it.”

  • Reed says WA Lithium is world class

     

    “The joint venturers expect to mobilise a processing plant and related equipment with a production rate of 17,000 tonnes per month of more than 6.5 per cent lithium oxide concentrate in 2010, subject to a decision to mine and obtaining all necessary approvals,” Reed Resources said.

    Reed Resources’ managing director Chris Reed said the project had significant potential and offered the company the opportunity to become a major participant in the world lithium market.

    Lithium is in high demand due to its use in batteries for hybrid/electric vehicles.

  • Faulty wind farms sinking into the sea

     

    Centrica, owner of British Gas, and Dong Energy, the Danish wind group, admitted potential problems with some of their UK farms, but added that there was no safety or operational issue.

    Related Coverage

    Peter Madigan, head of offshore renewables for Renewables UK, said: “A fault has been identified and has been shared with the industry, which has moved to see if there is a larger problem.”

    If repairs are necessary, energy companies will do them one turbine at a time to keep energy losses down.

    Dong Energy said that three of its offshore wind farms were affected, including Gunfleet Sands, which has 30 turbines off the Essex coast, and Burbo Bank, which has 25 turbines in Liverpool Bay.

    Centrica said that it was investigating its Lynn and Inner Dowsing wind farm in the North Sea but that its Barrow offshore farm was not affected.

    However, the industry must revise its design standards before the next round of wind farm construction. Installation of 175 turbines on the giant London Array offshore wind farm off the Essex coast, in which Dong Energy and E.ON are partners, was due to take place this year.

    When completed, it is hoped that London Array will provide half the government’s target of providing 15 per cent of UK electricity from renewable sources by 2015.

    A spokesman for Dong Energy said that an appropriate solution would be found for London Array and that Dong was talking to its lawyers about who should pay for the problem.

    The offshore wind industry has been at the heart of the UK economy’s shift to low carbon by Labour, but the cost of developing it, although it is heavily subsidised, is high and planning consents have proved difficult to obtain.

    Experts say that although the UK coast is one of the windiest in the world, wind farms do not provide the sort of flexible power that Britain will need when its coal-fired and nuclear generators begin to close over the next decade.

     

  • Keneally government bungles household solar scheme

    Keneally government bungles household solar scheme
     
    Media release: 14 April 2010
     
    Households with solar power are losing hundreds of dollars and being
    forced to wait months because of flaws in the Keneally government’s
    solar feed-in scheme, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
     
    Dr Kaye said: “The Keneally Government’s solar bonus scheme has been
    held up with delays over the installation of the appropriate power
    meters.
     
    “This has cost households with an average sized solar set-up $400 in
    lost credits already.
     
    “By the time the so-called transition period for the scheme has elapsed
    on June 30, this figure could be as much as $800. Households with larger
    schemes will lose even more.
     
    “Without these new meters, the amount of power households are
    generating cannot be measured.
     
    “While Country Energy is very apologetic about the delays, the
    responsibility lies with NSW Energy Minister John Robertson.
     
    “The Minister should extend the Solar Bonus Scheme until every
    household in NSW that needs a gross feed-in tariff meter has received
    one.
     
    “The scheme’s failures are damaging the viability of the home solar
    energy industry. Jobs are being lost and investment in renewable energy
    is being diverted.
     
    “Distribution of meters as they become available has descended into a
    free for all.
     
    “The distribution of meters should be an orderly affair.
     
    “This is further evidence that the scheme was cobbled together as
    environmental window dressing for a government pressing full steam ahead
    with new coal-fired power generation.
     
    “Households experiencing problems with the installation of feed in
    tariff meters should contact my office on 02 9230 2668 or visit
    www.johnkaye.org.au/mymeterproblem,” Dr Kaye said.
     
    For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455
     
     
     
    —