EcoRadio

Tag: renewables

  • Industry and activists demand bipartisan energy policy

    Industry and activists demand bipartisan energy policy

    Inustry wants renewables
    Members of seven peak industry bodies have joined forces to demand a coherent and stable renewable policy

    Energy producers and consumers including the Aluminium Council of Australia and the Cement Industry Federation have jointly written an open letter demanding stable, long-term, non-partisan energy policy.

    Head of the Aluminium Council, Bruce Cox, said that the industry is not concerned how energy is produced, only that it is reliable. “The aluminium industry in Tasmania is very profitable and Tasmania uses around 85% renewables,” Cox told ABC Radio this morning.

    The Federal Minister for Energy, Josh Frydenberg immediately blamed the Labor Party for being too focused on renewable energy.

    COALition politicians take the farcical approach to debate

    http://www.smartcompany.com.au/business-advice/politics/82728-business-groups-join-plea-politicians-energy-stop-brawling/

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-14/energy-australia-boss-worried-about-power-bills/8267070

     

     

     

     

  • Energy sector scoffs at clean coal as renewable prices crash

    Energy sector scoffs at clean coal as renewable prices crash

    Bloomberg Energy reported last week that the renewable energy sector in the US now employs more people than coal and is firmly entrenched in rural America where renewable energy income is keeping farmers on the land. Wind and Solar Energy are now cheaper than new coal, costing less than 100 US dollars to produce one megawatt of electricity. The Australian government’s plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars more in clean coal has met with widespread derision from the energy sector as well as climate advocates. The US energy sector warned President Trump last week that removing environmental regulations on coal and government funding of renewables, will not keep coal competitive with wind and solar.

    https://industry.gov.au/resource/LowEmissionsFossilFuelTech/Pages/National-Low-Emission-Coal-Initiative.aspx

    https://about.bnef.com/blog/nrg-jx-nippon-open-1-billion-clean-coal-power-project-in-texas/

    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/clean-coal-would-push-up-power-bills-more-than-wind-solar-or-gas-analysts-20170203-gu4ow5.html

  • LA shift to 100% renewables sparks community generation

    LA shift to 100% renewables sparks community generation

    The Desert Sunshine Solar Farm produces 550MW of power from 900 hectares of solar panels
    The Desert Sunshine Solar Farm produces 550MW of power from 900 hectares of solar panels

    News that the City government of LA is totally powered by renewables follows rapidly declining costs of solar electricity and advances in community owned generation models. A conference held earlier this month identified major opportunities for community based power generators using renewable energy. Reporting on the conference in South Wind, energy writer Peter Boyer wrote that hybrid energy systems at community level will resolve the disparity between antiquated centralized systems and distributed systems based on rooftop solar and local wind. The conference was held on Flinders Island in Bass Strait near Tasmania and focused on the systems that Boyer points to as a model for the future.

    https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/while-turnbull-spins-his-wheels-industry-gets-on-deploying-renewables,9842

    http://www.utas.edu.au/engineering/isolated-power-system-connect-2016

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/the-city-of-las-vegas-is-now-powered-entirely-by-renewable-energy_us_58594291e4b0b3ddfd8ea4e8

  • Renewable revolution driven by China’s electric car

    Renewable revolution driven by China’s electric car

    Electric car sales globally
    China now leads the US and EU in electric car production

    The rapid take up of renewable energy has been boosted by Chinese government subsidies for electric cars, rapidly boosting their world ranking to the number one producer.

    Over half a million electric cars were produced worldwide last year, 200 thousand of them in China. The Chinese government believes the car is the key to a renewable led economy with charging stations and domestic batteries the facilitating technologies that will engender long term change.

    Tesla has pre-sold over 400,000 of its 2017 model 3, but China has more than doubled its production for each of the last three years.

    China Plans To Boost Electric Vehicle Sales 10-Fold

    While Tesla racks up a record-setting 400,000 presales for its affordable Model 3 due out next year, the world’s leading EV maker, China’s BYD, has already sold more EVs than Tesla, GM, and Nissan combined!

    https://thinkprogress.org/china-to-boost-electric-vehicle-sales-10-fold-211053eb032b#.iz8qgs1su