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admin /27 December, 2008
Incoming US President Obama is expected to announce a $US500 billion economic stimulus package of which $US15billion, three percent, will be invested in renewable energy. The additional tax that he proposed on oil companies during the election campaign is unlikely to be implemented as it depended on oil prices of more than $US80 per barrel.
Republican Senator from Colorado, Bill Cadman, said “Modernizing our energy infrastructure is critical to our security, and that means taking immediate action.” Electricity suppliers are keen to see investment in a smart grid and support for distributed power generation that opens up opportunities for alternative sources of energy, reducing their risk and providing a more competitive market for electricity generation.
The only major opposition to the proposal is coming from the coal lobby. It is actively lobbying for recognition of carbon capture and storage as a clean technology integral to a low carbon future. Lobbyists are spending millions of dollars on a campaign to redefine the term.
admin /27 December, 2008
A Silicon Valley industry seminar this month heard that the billions of dollars invested in thin-film solar may never make a return as companies find that the technology fails to deliver commercially viable electricity. Venture capitalist, Neal Dikeman, told investors and entrepreneurs that “Investors assumed that if the technology worked and they had a good team, then it was simply an engineering problem [to make a return on the investment].” He said that the specific problem for photovoltaic manufacturers is that the technology does not scale well. Dikeman pointed out that, historically, the owners of infrastructure make the money from utilities not the technology driven entrepreneurs.
admin /27 December, 2008
The slump in energy demand as a result of the economic downturn has had a flow on impact to the corn based ethanol industry across America’s mid west. In Nebraska, for example, corn based ethanol is a $US3billion a year business, putting it behind cattle ($US7billion) and corn ($US4billion). With lower energy prices due to the reduced demand, continued high corn prices due to ongoing competition from food processors, the rapidly growing industry has struggled to make profits. National Farmers Union President Tom Buis said that there is a lot of misinformation as a result of a public relations war. “People are blaming ethanol for increases in the price of beer and toothpaste,” he said. These products do not contain corn, or corn based ethanol.
admin /27 December, 2008
The National Party in Victoria has publicly split with the state Liberals over the building of dams in Gippsland to divert water to Melbourne. Environmentalists, water consultants and The Greens have all opposed further interbasin transfers on the basis that they require vast amounts of energy, destroy the natural environment, harm agriculture and consume vast amounts of energy. A similar coalition of interests in Queensland caused the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, to announce earlier this month that the controversial Traveston Crossing dam on the Mary River would be put on permanent hold. Leader of the Victorian Liberals, Ted Baillieu, has refused to rule out the dam saying the party would announce its water policy closer to the election.
admin /27 December, 2008
Farmers in Western Australia are threatening to sue each other over the market impact of genetically modified canola. Major customers for Australian canola, including Japanese and European food processors require GM free food sources but Australian regulations allow up to 0.9 percent presence of genetically modified seed in a GM free crop. International seed companies have publicly claimed that there is almost no risk of accidental cross-pollination across farm fences but have actively sued farmers in Canada, the United States and South America whose crops have accidentally become cross-pollinated, claiming they have stolen intellectual property.
admin /27 December, 2008
The Australian and Indonesian governments launched a joint disaster recovery training and research centre last week in an attempt to avoid rolling disasters predicted for the Asia Pacific basin. In June, Australian GeoScience released a report showing that natural disasters from climate change related extreme weather, earthquakes and volcanoes will result in a major disaster killing more than 10,000 people in the region every few years over the next three decades. The report was handed to the governments in Peru in November and last week’s announcement is the first part of the governments’ response. The report indicates that China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines are the most vulnerable nations because of the combination of high population in low lying areas.
