Jobs thrown on rubbish heap

Sunday Age
Sunday 3/6/2007 Page: 18

The Federal Government's lack of support for eco-technologies is forcing business off-shore.

THE long-awaited Prime Ministerial taskforce on emissions trading may have sounded the death knell for Australia's renewable energy sector. Backing a national emissions trading scheme, it recommended that it be "technology neutral", which means Mandatory Renewable Energy Targets would be abolished in favour of letting the market decide which energy source was most likely to cut carbon emissions. The lack of targets has already relegated Australia, once a global leader in renewable technology, into a "could have been".

As Prime Minister John Howard released the report, China's SunTech Power Holdings company was busily churning out shiny solar panels, ready to soak up all that free energy. Suntech has every reason to love the sunshine: it's said to be hoping for a $135 million profit for 2007 - a 70 per cent increase on last year.

And it might just have been an Australian success story. Suntech's chief executive, Zhengrong Shi, according to Forbes rich list, is Australia's fifth wealthiest man (and China's third) and he learnt the tricks of his solar trade in Sydney. A graduate of the University of New South Wales's School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering and worth a reported $2.8 billion, he lives in China but holds Australian citizenship.

With inadequate Federal Government support and a coal industry that, according to its growing chorus of opponents, is unfairly courted, there are many renewable energy enterprises with Suntech-style potential that have either given up or turned their attention overseas, according to the Greens' climate change spokeswoman, Senator Christine Milne.

She says it's an economic and environmental tragedy. Ms Milne launched her Re-energising Australia report last month and says scant Federal Government support for the renewable industry has also made Australians feel the onus is on them to make changes. "People are feeling guilt-tripped," Ms Milne says. "Wherever I go it's clear to me that the community are way ahead of the politics when it comes to climate change. They are really worried and they want to take whatever action they can." But she says shifting to solar electricity or a hybrid car is often prohibitively expensive.

Ms Milne says renewable energy enterprises frequently tell her they are ready to dive into the local market but the Government's refusal to increase the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) has dried up investment and to varying degrees forced businesses out. Because the Government won't increase the MRET (originally set at 9500 gigawatt hours, equivalent to about 2 per cent, of additional renewable energy generation per year by 2010), Victoria, NSW and South Australia have instead taken the lead with various targets of their own. Victoria is aiming to buy 10 per cent of power from renewable sources by 2016.

Another study, released recently by the Australian Conservation Foundation, Greenpeace Asia-Pacific and Climate Action Network Australia, said a renewable energy target of 25 per cent by 2020 could deliver 17,000 new jobs and provide enough electricity to power every home in Australia. It said such a target would reduce emissions by about 15 per cent from 2004 levels and bring big savings for Australian households.

Tristan Edis, policy and research manager for the Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy, says there is now a global battle to develop renewable technologies and industries that can tackle greenhouse emissions and at the same time end dependence on "unreliable, volatile and often hostile regimes" that supply oil and gas.

Renewables are a $40 billion plus global industry; and while Australia used to be a leader in solar technology, Mr Edis says the world "has flown past us", with Germany now taking the lead, building a solar and wind turbine industry that exports globally and employs 157,000 people, closely followed by Spain. The rest of Europe is following, with the EU setting a 20 per cent renewable energy target for 2020. Even the US, which along with Australia has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse emissions, is in the ascendant, with populous states such as California setting a 33 per cent target for 2020.

Some renewable energy enterprises remain hopeful. After announcing in May last year that it was halting work on its big Australian wind farm projects and focusing overseas, the Roaring 40s company is now taking an optimistic line. Its spokesman, Josh Bradshaw, says he now sees a more buoyant market and, with an approaching federal election, the Howard Government is making "good movements" towards an emissions trading scheme, announcing on Friday that Australia will begin carbon emissions trading by 2012.

Melbourne-based Pacific Hydro, a renewable energy power plant development company owned mainly by an Australian super fund, has had a hard slog locally but is also having great success - overseas. Its director, Andrew Richards, says all its Australian wind projects were stalled for several years due to the Federal Government's refusal to expand MRET.

But in the meantime the company has been busy developing a number of hydro and wind projects in developing countries such as Chile and Brazil (both are $500 million investments). Because Victoria has instituted its own renewable energy target, Pacific Hydro has now revived its local wind projects at Portland (a $300 million investment) and South Australia. It is also investigating a geothermal project in central Australia.

While Mr Richards and others estimate that enormous investment opportunities have been lost while waiting for the Government to take a firm stand, a spokeswoman for the federal Environment and Water Resources Department says it is not true to say that current measures are focused disproportionately on fossil fuels. Renewables are important in Australia's "energy mix", she says. "The Government is supporting a range of low emissions technologies," she says.

This includes the $52 million it has spent on the photovoltaic rebate program, $25 million committed under the Asia- Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate program, plus $75 million on the Solar Cities program. In last month's budget, $741 million of extra funding over the next five years was committed for bigger rebates for solar panels and other climate change measures. "Making coal and coal mining less greenhouse intensive is perhaps the most important contribution Australia can make on climate change," she says.

But Senator Milne and the ACF remain sceptical about "clean" coal (removing the CO2 from its emissions), with few signs that effective technology will be online - or even feasible - within the next decade. The ACF's executive director, Don Henry, insists that the demand for renewables is there already, with people keen to live more sustainably.

Target too low

Colac & Corangamite Extra
Tuesday 5/6/2007 Page: 1

A HIGHER national renewable energy target would be more effective in prompting construction of wind farms in the south-west than the introduction of a carbon emissions trading scheme, the Australian Wind Energy Association said. Association chief executive officer Dominque La Fontaine was responding to a report by a Federal taskforce that called for a carbon emissions trading scheme to be set up by 2012.

Ms La Fontaine said a carbon emissions trading scheme would not trigger investment in wind farms such as the $380 million one planned for Mount Gellibrand, west of Colac, until decades after the scheme began. She said coal, oil and gas-fired power stations currently contributed about half of the nation's carbon emissions and prompt specific action was needed to quickly reduce their emissions. "We want a market for clean energy product," Ms La Fontaine said.

She said the market for clean energy created through existing national and Victorian renewable energy targets was already close to being met. State targets needed to rolled into a national target and the national clean energy target lifted to 20 per cent of electricity generation by 2020, Ms La Fontaine said. The current national target is 9500 gigawatt hours of clean energy by 2020, which will be less than 10 per cent.

Ms Fontaine said clean energy targets were necessary because clean energy could not compete against "dirty energy" on price alone. She said her association was happy to compete with other forms of clean energy for the 20 per cent target. The international experience was to implement strong renewable energy targets prior to an emissions trading scheme, she said. Wind farms such as the 116-turbine Mount Gellibrand wind farm, east of Colac, have been approved by the State Government but no construction has occurred while the projects wait for investors.

Wind Hydrogen Ltd earlier this year pulled out of the project because of difficulty in finding investors and returned the project to the hands of the initial project developer, German company Pro Ventum International GmbH. Wind Hydrogen had been unable to secure a purchasing agreement from an energy retailer for wind energy produced at Mount Gellibrand.

Residents angry over deSal plan

Harvey Leschenault Reporter
05/06/2007 Page: 1

MORE than 300 people attended a fiesty desalination plant information meeting at Binningup last Tuesday night. Residents were obviously angry that the project was announced as a "fait accompli" and concerned that the public consultation process would achieve little.

In the words of one resident: "how can we have input when the decisions have already been made?" But Binningup Community Association president Marie Dilley says the real issue is the siting of an industrial plant near a pristine beach and close to the backyards of residents. She believes it is not too late to change the decision. Mrs Dilley said she was pleased with the outcome of the meeting where residents were able to convey their concerns. She said it was well conducted and the Water Corporation representatives were forthcoming with information.

Issues of particular concern were noise pollution, the visual impact on future northwards residential development, beach access, chlorine storage, waste disposal and marine life degradation. Some residents were yet to be convinced that Kemerton was not a better option and were concerned that the future of the water treatment plant at Binningup was yet to be resolved.

Senior Water Corporation staff including South West manager Chris Elliott, executive projects manager John Wallis, project director Nick Churchill and environment branch manager David Luketina were there to give an overview of the project and answer questions. Mr Elliott told the gathering that the announcement by the Premier was a surprise to many people including some of his staff.

He said there was still a lot of work to be done but the corporation saw the need to start the consultation process as soon as possible and the senior project people at the meeting would endeavour to give informed answers. "This is the first step in a consultation process that will continue for the next four years," he said. "We will be targeting the communities of Binningup and Myalup and key stakeholders such as farmers along the linking pipeline route and the Harvey shire." Mr Elliott said Binningup was his "water spot" so he knew it well and had interests in common with residents of the area. "Our mission tonight is to listen and inform," he said.

Project director Nick Churchill gave a brief overview of the water resource dilemma facing the corporation and its integrated water system, which provides a linked water supply to most of the South West land division including Perth and the goldfields. He said sites from Lancelin south had been investigated and Binningup was the stand-out choice. Advantages were that it was on a 4Oha site owned by the Water Corporation, its proximity to open ocean, environmental aspects in relation to the site location, reasonable access to power and the integrated water system. It is planned to connect the plant via a pipe to the main near Harvey.

Mr Churchill said Kemerton had been ruled out because of limited space at the corporation's site and the huge cost of pumping water to and from the ocean. He said the Binningup plant would be gravity fed from the ocean. The plant will initially produce 45 gigalitres of water annually and it would be expanded to 100gL at a later date. Daily intake would equate to 140 Olympic size swimming pools and the equivalent of 70 salt loaded pools would be pumped back into the ocean. When at full capacity the plant would require 2Oha allowing a 2Oha buffer area.

Mr Churchill displayed an aerial view of the Kwinana plant to give the meeting an insight into the infrastructure requirements. The biggest structure is a "Bunnings" sized shed which would be screened from the residential areas about 1km to the south. There will be no big smokestacks or big tanks. Mr Churchill said beach access would be restricted during construction but after rehabilitation the dunes and beach areas would be back to their original condition. Pipes would be buried several metres under the sand and the ocean outfall and intake would be several hundred metres offshore with no impacts on coastal reefs or seagrass areas.

Mr Luketina assured the meeting that there would be no impact on marine life and the buffer would ensure that there was no impact on nearby residents. Evidence from 30 other similar plants worldwide had shown that there had been no impact on marine habitats and this was evident at Kwinana. Mr Luketina said there would be no emissions from the plant and residue from the treatment process would be trucked to the nearest suitable landfill site. This would amount to one truckload per day.

He said the project needed to go through a stringent EPA approval process and would be subject to exhaustive environmental monitoring during and after construction. Mr Elliott said the time frame for construction would be a start date of 2009 and completion by 2011. Preliminary design work had been done. The plant would use big amounts of power and the State Government's requirement was for this to come from renewable energy sources. However these would be remote and there were no plans to establish a wind farm locally.

Teetering on the climate cliff

Canberra Times
05/06/2007 Page: 11

A building in Bruce that has cut its C02 emissions by 75 per cent shows what can be done if there's the will.

LET ME get this right. Our Prime Minister now applauds the idea of a long-term goal to help its cut greenhouse gas emissions. He just doesn't like any of the goals he has heard of. They are all apparently too big. Labor wants a 60 per cent cut by 2050. Sir Nicholas Stern wants 0 to 90 per cent. Labor's Peter Garrett once wanted 20 per cent, but by 2020. It's the 20 per cent cut that worries John Howard the most. Apparently it would bring on a recession because 2020 is too soon. I'm not so sure.

There's a building in Bruce that has cut its CO2 emissions by 75 per cent. It took about a year to fit out. The headquarters of Australian Ethical Investment in the Fern Hill Technology Park looks pretty much the same as its neighbouring corporate headquarters. The strata rules don't allow it to look different. But when I visited at the end of summer it sounded different. The block next door had the air-conditioner churning. Australian Ethical's airconditioner was off and silent, yet inside everything was cool.

The trick was insulation 7.5cm thick, on the outside of the bricks rather than the inside, and an automated system for sucking out heat at night. The building waits until a Canberra summer night is at its coldest and then opens louvres and turns on a fan that sticks out all of the hot air, replaces it with cold air, and shuts the louvres again.

My tour guide, a director of the firm, Howard Pender, told me that the most surprising thing about the fit-out was that all of the emission saving technology was established. If it were possible for Australian ethical to cuts its emissions by 75 per cent, it should be possible for every office block in Canberra to do the same.

Australian Ethical spent $2.3 million on the building and another $1.7 million on the fit out. It has slashed its energy and water costs, its staff are happier because the building is pleasant to work in (nearly all of the light was natural the day I was there) and it has hugely increased the building's value. Now what was that about a cut in greenhouse gas emissions bringing on a recession?

Queensland is planning to cut emissions faster than Garrett ever proposed. When I last looked it still had its AAA credit rating. The Queensland proposal highlights one of what to me are the two weaknesses in the otherwise excellent report on emissions trading adopted by the Prime Minister on Sunday.

The state plans to reach its target using not only emissions trading (beloved of economists) but also by less fashionable regulation. All new commercial buildings in Queensland will be required to reach a four star energy efficiency rating by 2010, from March all new houses approved have been required to install greenhouse friendly hot wall systems and after 2O1O, when an existing electric hot water system dies, it will have to be replaced by a gas or greenhouse friendly alternative. And so on.

What alarms me about the report endorsed by the Prime Minister is that it suggests that Australia's existing Mandatory Renewable Energy Target abolished upon the introduction of emissions trading. Apparently by mandating that a certain proportion of' electricity sourced from renewable sources if is attempting to "pick winners''.

There is no doubt that the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target Scheme was successful until the Government wound back its scope. The Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane, is reported to have told a meeting of fossil fuel executives in 2001 that it had worked too well. But economists aren't as much impressed by success as they are by Process. Rules requiring that a certain proportion of a retailers' energy be renewable are apparently a costly means of achieving greenhouse gas reductions. Even worse, the cost of the rules was "hidden in the electricity market, where consumers are forced to cross-subsidise renewable energy generators".

The economists from the Treasury who presumably put this sort of language in the report didn't seem too worried that they were hiding costs when they set up the GST. The whole idea of our goods and services tax was that it would be invisible. It is even illegal for retailers to display pre-GST prices on their counters. The GST was introduced this way because it would work. The Mandatory Renewable Energy Targets Scheme has worked as well.

The chief point I took away from Sir Nicholas Stern's address to the National Press Club in March was that the British economist and author of the Stern report on climate change wasn't too hung up on using only economically pure means to fix things up. As he talked of what would happen if the world got a lot hotter I imagined a human being clinging on to the edge of a cliff by her fingers. Even if she were an economist she would not want to rely on only economically pure tools to scamper back up - she would want to use every tool at her disposal. (And she probably wouldn't want to wait until 2012 as the Prime Minister proposed on Sunday.)

To me there is one other regrettable weakness in the landmark report presented to the Prime Minister on Thursday. The report is upfront about acknowledging who will be hurt most by the system it is proposing. The biggest victims will not be Australia's power companies; they will be able to pass on their increased costs. In the words of the report: "Regardless of how permits are allocated, much of the cost from imposing a constraint on emissions will ultimately be borne by Australian households.''

Australia's least-well off households will bear the biggest brunt. Unable to afford the sort of energy-saving measures that I saw in the office building at Bruce, their electricity bills may double. Yet the Prime Minister's taskforce advises that "the household sector should not be shielded from the price changes arising from a decision to impose a carbon constraint on the economy- this would act counter to price based incentives to change consumer behaviour".

The only compensation it suggests is that the Government ''may wish to consider helping households to constrain costs through better management of their consumption of carbon-intensive products''. An education campaign is no substitute for cash. Australia's least well off didn't cause climate change. They should not be the most heavily punished by our totally understandable attempt to ward it off.

Mt Oxley wind farm

Western Herald
01/06/2007 Page: 3

Wind farm development company, Babcock and Brown, says plans for a $30 million wind farm on Mount Oxley are progressing well. The company has proposed building a seven turbine wind farm, which will provide more than enough electricity to power Bourke.

Testing is still proceeding on what interference the wind farm may cause to existing telecommunication equipment, but the company expects to begin the development application process within weeks. "It's been a slow process, but it is progressing well," said Cohn Paterson from Babcock and Brown. "We're just basically tying up a few regulatory loose ends and then we'll start the official DA process."

Windy boom a boon for energy investors

Herald Sun
05/06/2007 Page: 31

A COUPLE of years ago Garry Weaven seemed to have made a brave call by paying $788 million to end a bidding war for listed company Pacific Hydro. Now the Industry Funds Management chair seems to have made an inspired choice in picking up the international wind and hydroelectric company. Around the world, renewable power sources in general and wind energy assets in particular are attracting premium prices.

As the world adjusts to the idea of reducing the use of carbon, wind energy has been backed by investors as the renewable energy of choice. Despite some misgivings about the fickle nature of wind energy and its potential to destabilise power grids, companies large and small are now backing the technology with some serious money.

European research group CLSA have estimated $180 billion will be spent on wind energy projects around the world in the next five years. "Wind has the biggest potential to meet renewable energy targets over the next decade compared with solar and biofuels," Philippe de Week told Bloomberg. Which is why the Pictet Clean Energy fund he manages for Pictet & Co is backing the technology.

The big beneficiaries of this wind boom are the windmill makers with shares in the biggest company in the field, Vestas Wind Systems, more than doubling in price over the past year. "Wind energy is cheaper than solar, it's a less risky form of investment," Michael McNamara told Bloomberg. "The demand for quality wind turbines is so high, we won't see supply meet demand for several years," said the London-based analyst at Jefferies International.

Behind this boom are major countries such as China and the US which are rapidly implementing wind energy. China plans to expand wind energy at an annual rate of about two gigawatts in the run-up to the Olympics. That is predicted to reach five gigawatts, enough to supply more than seven million homes, by 2010 and 30 gigawatts by 2020.

It is a similar story in the US which is rapidly installing wind energy. Some analysts have gone so far as describing the US as the "Saudi Arabia of wind" because the Midwest area is so windy and flat. Overall about one per cent of the world's power needs are generated by wind but that is much higher in some European countries such as Denmark (25 percent), Spain (nine percent) and Germany (seven per cent).

Moving ahead of the debate

Ballarat Courier
05/06/2007 Page: 18

AS Australia's politicians grapple with the best way to tackle climate change, companies like Pacific Hydro are already providing part of the solution. Working for more than seven years in western Victoria, Pacific Hydro has operating wind farms at Challicum Hills near Ararat and at Codrington. Combined, they produce enough energy each year to provide the equivalent power needs of about 60,000 Victorian homes, all without dangerous greenhouse gas emissions.

Pacific Hydro community relations manager Emily Wood said Australia had incredible wind resources. "It is cheaper and more efficient to have wind energy in Australia than in many other parts of the world yet it is still a fairly new form of energy here," she said. "The simple reason why Australia doesn't have much wind energy right now is that, on the surface, coal looks cheaper," Ms Wood said. "But while coal looks cheaper on the surface, in the long run it isn't.''

This is the essence of the debate: calculating the total impact of climate change. CSIRO figures indicate climate change will mean declining rainfall in south eastern Australia, more bushfires and rising temperatures. "When you look at the trite cost of burning fossil fuels for electricity and include the billions of tonnes of water they require and the millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas they produce, you can see why the trite cost of coal is far more than just cost of electricity," Ms Wood said.

Scientists warn that without deep cuts to emissions, our climate could change unpredictably. Pacific Hydro said that looking for a single, silver bullet solution is unrealistic. "Clean, zero emissions energy sources like wind and solar are ready to go, proven technologies and can provide 20 per cent by 2020 clean energy in Australia. Combine this with energy efficiency and emissions trading and we could begin reducing our greenhouse emissions today,'' Ms Wood said.

Wind's power too much for wires

Hobart Mercury
05/06/2007 Page: 10

AUSTRALIA'S biggest wind farm is unable to put the full amount of power generated back into the Tasmanian grid.

The final stage of the 140-megawatt Woolnorth wind farm on the coast west of Smithton is in the final stages of commissioning. But current transmission lines in the northwest are not capable of handling the farm's full capacity. Energy company Transend said yesterday the capacity of the northwest transmission system was being increased. Transend general manager connections and strategic development Stephen Clark said a $20-million augmentation of electricity transmission lines between Burnie, Port Latta and Smithton continues.

"This work will improve the reliability and security of Transend's electricity transmission service in northwest Tasmania." Mr Clark said. "Transend's investment will ensure that there is adequate transmission capacity in the northwest to meet the anticipated increase in demand for electricity in the area over the next 15 years." The work involves replacing copper conductors with aluminium conductors on the lines between Burnie and Port Latta.

Transend is also increasing the operating design temperatures on existing conductors between Port Latta and Smithton. "Transend is working cooperatively with Roaring 40s, the company that owns the Woolnorth Wind Faun," Mr Clark said. "Roaring 40s is planning its electricity generation program from Woolnorth in line with Transend's augmentation timetable."

Roaring 40s public relations manager Josh Bradshaw said yesterday the company was aware of the transmission restrictions. "We are working with Transend. who are doing some upgrading of their system, and it is our understanding they will have done the upgrades by the end of the year," Mr Bradshaw said. "This was always factored into our business case, so there are no surprises for us."

Wind fight turns ugly

Ballarat Courier
02/06/2007 Page: 1

SMEATON wind farm opponents could sue their neighbours if a proposal to build 19 turbines in the area goes ahead. The Spa Country Landscape Guardians group hired a Melbourne law firm, Terence F. Grundy, to send letters to landholders who have agreed or intend to have turbines on their properties. In the letter Mr Grundy stated: ''My client reserves its rights to pursue you personally for any economic loss and loss of enjoyment of property rights should you grant a lease to the proponent for the purposes of the proposal."

Wind Power, the company behind the Stoney Rises proposal north of Smeaton, has accused the group of hypocrisy. "I think it's extraordinary we get accused of intimidation,'' director Andrew Newbold said. We don't do that sort of thing, we don't write to people via registered post saying that sort of thing. We have written to the people who received it and assured them we are doing everything in compliance with state and federal regulations and if we are approved there is no legal recourse."

Spa Country Landscape Guardians group spokesman Will Elsworth said the letter was not threatening or intimidating and said objectors were only exercising their right. It's not threatening. It's only advising we are going to take action in the advent the proposal goes ahead," he said. Mr Grundy said he was following instructions and his clients were only sticking up for their rights.

They are fighting a corporation that has got a lot of money, they are in business and they are just putting people on notice," he said. We are putting people on notice that if they co-operate with these people and go ahead with it we will sue. There is a big difference at law between intimidating or harassing people... so they are aware of what may happen and the consequence of their action."

Robert Jones, owner of the Tuki Trout Farm, said he had received a letter and passed it onto Wind Power. Everybody is entitled to their opinions on the proposal," Mr Jones said. I am supportive and know the need for renewable energy. I think we have got to get our heads together and somebody has to bite the bullet and create these locations whether it's solar, wind or whatever else."

A consultation meeting will be held tomorrow, at the Smeaton Bowling Club from 10am to 3pm.

States defy call to wind up schemes

Weekend Australian
02/06/2007 Page: 8

AT least two states yesterday vowed to keep their Mandatory Renewable Energy Targets despite the Shergold report recommending the schemes be scrapped. The Prime Minister's Task Group Report on Emissions Trading strongly urged for state MRET schemes to be scrapped if a cap-and-trade scheme was introduced.

"All Australian schemes that set mandatory targets for deployment of particular technologies should be wound Victorian Climate Change Minister John Thwaites warned that a move by the federal Government to scrap Victoria's renewable energy targets would jeopardise $2 billion of investment in renewable energy projects and 2200 jobs. "The VRET has been specifically designed to co-exist with a national emissions trading scheme," he said.

A spokesman for NSW Premier Morris lemma said the state would keep its MRET of 15 per cent renewable energy by 2020.

Howard still dragging feet on climate change: Thwaites

AAP Newswire
03/06/2007

MELBOURNE, June 3 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard is still dragging his heels on climate change, the Victorian government says. Mr Howard today announced that Australia would have a domestic carbon emissions trading scheme running by 2012, with an emissions reduction target to be set next year.

But Victorian Deputy Premier John Thwaites said Mr Howard was still delaying real action on tackling global warming. "John Howard has spent the last few years slamming the states for proposing an emissions trading scheme," he said. "Now John Howard has admitted he's wrong, but he's still proposing further delays on real action on climate change." Mr Thwaites said monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions needed to start immediately.

He said the states had now overruled the Howard government by introducing a scheme requiring big greenhouse gas emitters to report on their emissions from July 1, 2008. "This is a major step forward because it means for the first time we'll be able to properly monitor and manage greenhouse gas emissions," he said.

"John Howard tried to stop the states doing this yesterday but the states have gone ahead because we know that we've got to act and we have got to act now on climate change." Mr Thwaites said the scheme would be the first step in the establishment of an emissions trading scheme, which he believed could be in place by 2010.

Meanwhile, Victoria would press ahead with its clean energy schemes despite the Howard government's opposition, he said. "The Howard government is telling the states that they should abolish their schemes that are promoting wind energy and solar energy and yet at the same time he wants to promote nuclear energy," Mr Thwaites said. "(But) we will oppose the Howard government's attempts to wipe out these clean energy schemes and we will maintain those schemes."

Beattie targets hot water

Courier Mail
04/06/2007 Page: 5

ELECTRIC hot water systems will be phased out from 2010 under the State Government's new policy aimed at slashing greenhouse gas emissions. Homeowners will have to replace broken electric systems with gas or solar alternatives. The ban will not effect properties outside the reticulated gas network, but rebates on "green-friendly" systems will be offered to all owners.

In a controversial move, the Government has set targets to wean electricity generators off coal, including 18 per cent for gas and 10 per cent for renewable sources, such as wind and solar. Premier Peter Beattie said the policy would help Queensland reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 34 per cent by 2020.

"This is about a balanced approach," Mr Beattie said. "It is a package that will protect jobs, protect the Queensland economy but also save the environment." The policy, which is being put out for consultation, was given a luke warm response by the resources industry while it was slammed by green groups as grossly inadequate.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said his organisation would consider the targets during the consultation period. Queensland Conservation Council co-ordinator Toby Hutcheon said almost 10 per cent of the state's energy was already from renewable sources. In other measures, the Government will sell wind farms and gas pipelines for a $300 mil- lion climate change fund to develop new technologies. There also will be $55 million for business energy audits and $50 million to develop renewable energy alternatives.

All Queensland Government buildings will be carbon neutral by 2020 and commercial buildings will face new energy standards by 2010. The Government also will pay home solar system owners for producing additional power.

Beattie outlines climate strategy

Sunshine Coast Daily
04/06/2007 Page: 8

QUEENSLAND will cut its carbon emissions by over 30% by 2020 under a $414 million climate change strategy unveiled yesterday by premier Peter Beattie. Mr Beattie told a gathering of energy experts, environmentalists and business representatives in Brisbane the plan was to have 18% of the state's power generated by natural gas and 10% of energy coming from renewable sources by 2020.

The wide-ranging Climate Smart 2050 report is designed to reduce emissions by 34% by 2020 and by 60% by 2050, based on 2000 levels of emissions. The focus of the strategy is the creation of a $300 million Queensland Climate Change Fund, which will be used to develop new green technologies such as hydrogen fuel-cells.

The fund will be set up by the sale of the Queensland government's wind farm assets around Australia and the remaining gas assets of Enertrade, which include the Moranbah to Townsville gas pipeline. "This is about a balanced approach," Mr Beattie said. "This is a total package.

It is a package that will protect jobs, protect the Queensland economy but also save the environment." Mr Beattie said the interest from the climate change fund, expected to be about $20 million annually, will see ongoing investment in the future of climate change initiatives.

The greenhouse mafia

Fairfax Business Media
Australian Financial Review
01/06/2007

The Howard government emerged from the Kyoto negotiations of 1997 with two victories. Firstly, in the face of opposition from green groups and European governments, the Kyoto Protocol ended up relying mainly on the market-based, US-devised concept of emissions trading, rather than the direct control over emissions favoured by many in the green movement.

Secondly, Australia secured the most generous emissions target of any developed country, allowed an increase of 8 percent over 1990 levels where most countries committed to reductions of 6 to 8 percent. The agreement also allowed Australia meet the target entirely through land clearing restrictions that were on the way anyway. Yet, 10 years later, the government has yet to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, and did an about-face on emissions trading, rejecting it for years before returning to its original position under pressure from Labor, the states and business leaders.

This situation can in large part be explained by the presence of an influential group in the Australian policy elite, made up of politicians, business leaders, think tanks and commentators bent on preventing any significant emission-cutting activity. Clive Hamilton, in his new book Scorcher: The Dirty Politics of Climate Change, calls the group the 'greenhouse mafia'. The most prominent group in the greenhouse mafia is the Lavoisier Group, one of a series of similar organisations starting with the HR Nicholls Society, which was founded by Western Mining Corp chief executive Hugh Morgan.

Level playing field

Coffs Coast Advocate
01/06/2007 Page: 6

HIGHER power and transport charges to combat climate change would not be the end of the world for average consumers, Australian of the Year Tim Flannery says. Prof Flannery predicted a carbon price of $50 a tonne would help level the playing field for renewable energy providers, which would see a doubling of the wholesale price of electricity, which worked out to a 30 per cent increase in the retail price.

The winds of change blowing at Smeaton

Ballarat Courier
01/06/2007 Page: 4

Smeaton residents share a Friday night drink with deputy editor NICK HIGGINS while they discuss their thoughts about a proposed wind farm for their town.

IT'S claimed a proposed wind farm has divided the people of Smeaton, but at 6 o'clock on a Friday night the atmosphere at the town's pub could not be more convivial. Then again, it is the start of happy hour. Publican Helen Dillon says the hotel is "Switzerland" - neutral territory for the punters - and she doesn't venture an opinion on the plan by Melbourne-based company Wind Power to build 19 turbines on ridges north of Smeaton. Others have not been so reticent. The opposition to the turbines has been vocal and organised. Protest signs are everywhere close to the turbine site and a Spa Country branch of the anti-wind farm organisation, Landscape Guardians, has been established.

Will a Friday night at the hotel shed any light on whether Smeaton is a community divided or untroubled by the planned wind farm? It is certainly a talking point. Among the arrivals at the pub is Mark Doherty. He runs a quarry, Creswick Quartz, and has lived in Smeaton for four months. The consensus at work is that technologically, we must proceed," he says.

One of his workers, who wants to be known only as A.J., is in no doubt the turbines will be of value. "I reckon it's a good idea for the community and the power situation. It's going to help everybody down the line. Bring them on," the Allendale resident says. "It's naturally free power." Troy Fordham, who lives at Chines, well away from the turbine sites, says he doesn't care whether the plan goes ahead. If they make money off of then, good luck to them." Smeaton's Mark Lovett believes the turbines will be "good for business".

Debbie Arnold lived on New Zealand's North Island at Wairarapa before moving to Blampied a year ago. "These (turbines) have been going up in New Zealand for quite some time and we have some overlooking our property there and there's been no hoo-ha over it there, so I can't understand why there is any division," she said. Mrs Arnold said the turbines had increased property values. We see them on the horizon, the power that's generated is a good thing."

What emerges during talk at the pub is that the locals haven't confined their thinking on the energy issue to wind turbines. Many talk about a bigger picture and discuss the merits and risks of nuclear and coal-fired power. On the question of aesthetics, several mention a scoria pit at the edge of town as being a greater eyesore than the proposed turbines. There is a brief pause during happy hour while Mrs Dillon tells patrons that local couple Shane and Krisi Pedretti have bought into the pub as new partners.

Away from the bar and in a room with a pool table John Toose and Daryl McLeod are enjoying a quiet smoke. Mr Toose, an engineer and former farmer, has lived in Smeaton all his 63 years. "I think they (the turbines) are probably the best thing besides nuclear we can have," he says. Mr Toose says the protest signs are unattractive and a distraction for motorists. He says Victoria and Tasmania missed out on a huge power opportunity when a plan to dam the Franklin River in Tasmania was defeated.

Mr McLeod says he has no objection to the wind farm. "I've been over 75 per cent of Australia and those ones they first put up at Blayney, even to this day there are still people taking photos of them. 'They're a tourist attraction, they're still something new to Australia," Mr McLeod said. The Snowy hydro-electric scheme is stuffed. We cannot rely on back-tip of hydro in a country which is known as the driest on the whole planet."

Also enjoying a drink and a chat are Jim and Will Elsworth. The father and son object to the turbines which they say will be a scar on the landscape. "I think the main thing to come out of the whole issue is the social cohesion and the secrecy that goes into this proposal and how communities are kept in the dark," Will Elsworth says. He says it's shattering for farmers to learn turbines are going to be installed on neighbouring properties. At the end of the day there is no money in it for the community," he said.

Bruce Richardson knows the details of the plan perhaps better than most. If it goes ahead some turbines will be on his mother's property, which he farms along with his brother, Stuart. "It's a rough block and you can't make a living off it anyway," he says. "I am all for them, 85 to 90 per cent of the community is for them or couldn't care less." He says objectors have made tip the claim that communities are breaking down as "part of their attack" on the wind farm.

Smeaton resident Ken Vallance says those who object to the sight of the turbines should also be making an effort to stop operations at the scoria pit. If the turbines are built Dean Taylor, a 21-year-old shearer, will probably be living with them for longer than most of those around him near the bar. "I think it's progress and progress is good for the community," he says. "Nuclear is not the answer, there is a cleaner, cheaper, way and we can't burn coal forever. "I really think people are only making their own problems. It's only going to benefit the community. It's jealousy. People don't want to listen to the facts."

U.S. Senate Pushes Utilities on 'Green' Sources: Proposal to Require Significant Increase Has Broad Support

Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- The campaign to get more energy from renewable sources has moved to the U.S. energy grid, part of a broader effort aimed at weaning the nation off fossil fuels.

A bill about to be introduced in the Senate would push utilities to generate drastically more of their power -- 15%, compared with the current 2% -- from sources such as wind or the sun by 2020. While three similar measures have died after passing the Senate, this one has powerful bipartisan support.

Environmental groups have long sought a federal law requiring utilities to use a variety of cleaner natural resources. Several states already direct utilities to meet minimum standards; a federal benchmark could give utilities a uniform interstate market and make compliance easier.

The drive is complicated by feasibility questions, though, and by splits among supporters over which alternatives are desirable. Coal-state lawmakers, for one, argue that the focus on renewable fuels is misplaced. They say carbon-dioxide emissions, which scientists believe accelerate climate change, could be reduced more effectively by getting more power from nuclear plants and coal-fired plants that bury their carbon-dioxide emissions.

Read More...

Grants help schools go solar

Hepburn Shire Advocate
Wednesday 30/5/2007 Page: 11

BALLARAT East MLA Geoff Howard has urged schools and community organisations to take advantage of grants of up to $15,000 from the Bracks Government to become solar powered. Mr Howard said the grants would be provided to fit solar roof panels on 500 government and private schools and high-profile community buildings.

Applications can be made for funding from Victoria's new $5 million Solar in Schools program through Sustainability Victoria with grants to be awarded from early July.

Mr Howard said educational materials and a monitoring system would also be provided to help teachers incorporate sustainability and energy use into the curriculum. "Through the monitoring system students will, for example, be able at any time to see via the web how much power the photovoltaic panels are generating.

"So this initiative is not just about putting solar panels on rooftops - it's also educating children about renewable energy sources and tackling climate change. "This may also lead to more families considering buying green power, which is generated from nongreenhouse emitting energy sources such as solar and wind energy," he said.

For more information contact Richard Jennings at Sustainability Victoria. on 8626 8751.

Wind farm `looks a goer'

Hobart Mercury
Wednesday 30/5/2007 Page: 10

THE State Government believes the $230 million Musselroe Bay wind farm can be built if Tasmania becomes part of a New South Wales emissions trading scheme. Primary Industries and Water Minister David Llewellyn said NSW had announced the introduction of a scheme prior to its recent election.

"I have been to NSW to talk to the Premier [Morris Iemma] and also to the Minister for Energy and they are happy with Tasmania accessing the scheme." he said. "It is a national scheme they are going to put in place and new projects that start at the first of January this year will be eligible, and the scheme will come into place on January 1.2008." "We are working to try and get the Musselroe project up for later this year.

"The Australian Government's decision to can the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target Scheme set a terrible precedent for what we can expect from the report to be provided to the PM [John Howard] later this week," he said. "In that case the Prime Minister' own experts recommended the extension of the MRET scheme - but the Prime Minister ignored the evidence to protect the vested interests of heavy greenhouse polluters."

Declaration signed but no emissions targets

Daily Advertiser
Wednesday 30/5/2007 Page: 12

ENERGY ministers from the Asia-Pacific region have signed a declaration confirming their commitment to improving energy efficiency, the security of oil supplies and cross-border trade. But the measures in the Darwin Declaration are voluntary and do not include a region-wide carbon trading emissions scheme or targets.

Speaking at the conclusion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) meeting in the Northern Territory capital yesterday, federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said the ministers - from 21 countries - had agreed on a peer review scheme for energy efficiency.

There was also widespread support for information sharing, renewable energy and a broader acceptance of nuclear power. `A number of countries that have been traditionally opposed to nuclear energy are now investigating its potential in a future energy mix," Mr Macfarlane said.

Nuclear power was part of a region-wide attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while increasing energy production, the minister said, adding that billions of dollars would be required to develop clean energy technology.

Govt funding for renewable energy

Mining Chronicle
May, 2007 Page: 128

Five projects have received Australian Government funding to trial and demonstrate more efficient ways of storing electricity from renewable energy sources. The $17.6m in funding, provided under the Advanced Electricity Storage Technologies programme, was announced by the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Malcolm Turnbull, and the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Ian Macfarlane.

Mr Turnbull said that more renewable energy could be used if the electricity generated from renewable sources was available continuously, day and night, and that better ways of storing the electricity when it is generated would help expand opportunities for its effective use. 'Demonstrating new renewable energy storage technologies in grid connected and remote area power supply applications will give Australia a strong base on which to grow its own industry and expand opportunities overseas," Mr Tumbull said.

Electricity storage is an issue faced by all renewable energy generators worldwide. Australian experience in - and demonstration of - these technologies will have widespread benefits in both developing and developed countries. Mr Macfarlane said the projects would help develop new ways of meeting Australia's growing demand for electricity, while also helping to reduce the effects of the environmental challenges we face today such as climate change and air quality.

"The renewable energy industry understands the strategic importance of improving electricity storage technologies. They are prepared to take action and the programme will see a total of more than $36m invested," Mr Macfarlane said. The AEST is part of the Australian Government's more than $2bn strategy to address climate change. The five projects awarded funding under the AEST are:

• Wizard Power (South Australia) $7.4m to demonstrate a solar energy storage system based on ammonia dissociation into hydrogen and nitrogen. Four 400sq m solar dishes will be installed near Whyalla to concentrate sunlight and provide the heat required to split ammonia into nitrogen and hydrogen for storage. When power is required, the gases are recombined, which gives off heat to boil water and generate electricity through a steam turbine.
• Lloyd Energy Systems (New South Wales) $5m to demonstrate a solar energy storage system using graphite blocks. A high concentration tower solar array will be installed at their factory site in Cooma and, once proven, a 16-tower solar array system will be built at Lake Cargelligo in western New South Wales providing valuable network support for this regional area.
• ZBB Technologies (New South Wales) $3.1m to demonstrate an integrated 500 kilowatt/hours zinc-bromine battery at CSIRO's National Solar Energy Centre at Newcastle.
• Pinnacle VRB (Western Australia) $1.8m for demonstration of vanadium-redox batteries with photovoltaic solar panels and wind turbines at the remote fishing community of Windy Harbour in Western Australia.
• V-Fuel (New South Wales) $0.26 million for demonstrating innovative vanadium-flow batteries with photovoltaic solar panels and a wind turbine on Cockatoo Island and the Environmental Research Institute for Art at Homebush in Sydney.

The Australian Government's Advanced Electricity Storage Technologies programme identifies and promotes strategically important, innovative, advanced energy storage technologies that will increase the ability of renewable generation to contribute to Australia's electricity supply system.

NSW's largest approved farm

Goulburn Post
28/05/2007 Page: 5

THE proposed Taralga Windfarm as ratified earlier this year by the Land and Environment Court makes it by far the largest approved development of its type in NSW. With its generation capacity of 105MW, modifications to the proposal as outlined by the developers, RES Southern Cross, to residents and council last week have the potential to generate up to 186MW.

According to an industry website that supplies data from all windfarm projects across the nation, just two projects in NSW currently seeking approval would be larger that the original Taralga project. They are a 106MW farm being championed by AlIco Wind Energy Management at Ben Lomond in the state's north, and a 126MW farm being put forward by Renewable Power at Bungendore (between Goulburn and Canberra). Additionally, a 120MW farm is in the feasibility stage at Molonglo near Queanbeyan. But NSW windfarms pale into insignificance when compared to action interstate.

Perusal of the Victorian statistics show there has been planning approval for a 329MW facility at Macarthur and a 232MW farm at Mount Gellibrand. A useful comparison for Southern Tablelands residents is the data that describes the original Crookwell Windfarm and the revised Taralga facility. Crookwell has eight turbines atop 45 metre towers producing 5MW of power. The revised Taralga Windfarm will boast 62 towers of 80-85 metres generating up to 186MW.

Climate Institute urges early start to emissions trade

AAP Newswire
28/05/2007

CANBERRA, May 28 AAP - Setting a low carbon price and delaying an emissions trading scheme will hurt Australia's economy more than taking early decisive action, the Climate Institute Australia warns. The independent group released economic modelling today on the electricity sector's future, ahead of a report by Prime Minister John Howard's task group on carbon emissions trading due on Thursday.

The study shows electricity prices soaring by 75 per cent by the 2020s under the scenario of a soft start to emissions trading, compared with 10 per cent if early action is taken. "This research highlights that it would be reckless to delay action or only take half measures because of the risk it would pose to the Australian economy," institute chief executive John Connor said. The modelling by McLennan Magasanik Associates charts four different scenarios for achieving a target of cutting emissions by 80 per cent in 2050. It shows immediate action on emissions trading and a mix of clean energy and efficiency policies is the most cost-effective policy.

Such an approach would see emissions cut by about 20 million tonnes per year by 2020 and moderate the carbon price through to 2050. Under a "wait-and-see" model of a $10-per-tonne starting carbon price and full trading delayed to 2020, emissions would rise by about 20 million tonnes by that year. That scenario would force up the price in later years to a peak of $86 per tonne in the 2031-40 period and stay high at $78 in the following decade.

Under the institute's preferred model, carbon emissions would start at $29 per tonne, peak at $54 per tonne in 2021-2030 and decline to $42 by 2041-50. The other two scenarios chart a middle ground, with higher starting prices which peak around $50-60 a tonne in the middle decades. "Making significant cuts to greenhouse gases from our electricity sector is affordable and achievable if we act now with a realistic carbon emissions trading scheme, a market-based clean energy target and comprehensive energy efficiency policies," Mr Connor said.

"Accounting for 30 per cent of Australia's overall greenhouse pollution, our electricity sector needs to make a decisive switch to clean energy but it should be backed up with an economy-wide approach that links into international carbon markets." Wholesale electricity prices under the wait-and-see approach would rise from $38 per megawatt-hour in 2008 to only $46 from 2010-2020 but nearly double to $87 in 2031-40.

Under the mixed scenario, the price would initially soar to $63/MWh in 2010-20 and reach $73 in 2031-40. The report says the inclusion of even a moderate energy efficiency program with a trading scheme would reduce the electricity sector's cost of achieving the reduction target by near 50 per cent, or about $12 billion. It also says introducing nuclear power would make only a modest contribution to reducing emissions by 2050 because of the time it would take to establish the new power source.

The institute's policy and research director, Erwin Jackson, said nuclear power generation would reduce the production share of coal rather than cut into renewable energy contributions. He played down the effects on employment of a shift to cleaner energy sources in Australia. "Renewable technologies in particular are more job intensive than the more traditional energy sources," he said. "The impact of domestic policies on our coal mining industry will be next to nothing because most of our coal's for export. "It's what actually happens in other countries that matters."

The answer is blowing in the wind

Sydney Morning Herald
29/05/2007 Page: 13

You can install your own wind farm but its effectiveness will depend on where it is and even the time of the year.

Locals in Camden have dubbed it the twin toilet roll but it is more properly known as the vertical axis wind turbine. And those involved in the trials of the device perched atop a tower at Camden High School are hoping it will revolutionise wind energy. The school's principal, John Jarvis, says locating the turbine at his school was a happy accident.

He had introduced solar energy at his previous school and, because of Camden's windy location, was hoping to install wind energy there. After a few letters and phone calls Jarvis linked up with a local company that had been asked to make an "unusual-looking wind generator" from fibreglass.

The company, Dynamic Systems Australia, was looking for a location nearby to test the new wind turbine and it ended up being the high school. Early results have been exciting, Jarvis says. "When we originally put in to Camden Council, [the tower] was going to be 20 metres or 22 metres," he says, "but when it was that high they found it was so effective that they have actually reduced it to about half that height. So you could quite easily site it somewhere and put trees around it, although you'd have to be careful about the trees affecting the wind catchment. But it could be disguised totally. "The remarkable thing about this is that it is actually designed so you can winch it up, and if anything goes wrong with it you can just winch it down and fix the blades and so on. It would also be a relatively inexpensive thing to put into a village in a Third World country or a farm in outback Australia."

Tony Wright, a consultant project manager for Dynamic Systems Australia, says that full-scale tests assessing the power capacity of the vertical axis wind turbine are expected to begin soon. He believes the turbine has "the capacity to produce 80 kilowatts to 100 kilowatts at very low wind speeds - at six metres per second, whereas a traditional turbine would require probably twice that [speed]". (The turbine's capacity is not a rating in kilowatts per hour. This is what the testing will accomplish, taking into account the variations in the wind.)

Small wind turbines have been attracting a lot of attention recently, especially overseas. In Britain, the Conservative Party Leader, David Cameron, famously attached a micro wind turbine to the chimney of his London home, provoking a furious debate there about whether domestic turbines were of any real value. There are plenty of turbine kits for sale in Australia. However, Dr Mark Diesendorf, a senior lecturer from the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales, says wind turbines such as Cameron's would be "almost useless" because they are situated in suburban areas where much of the wind is screened by houses, trees or other obstacles.

"There is a fashion in Britain for people to buy these things and stick them on their chimneys, and in most cases it's a complete waste of money," Diesendorf says. "They would get the same amount of energy [savings] by replacing an incandescent lamp with a fluorescent bulb." However, he says large wind turbines are extremely efficient. They are able to convert more than 45 per cent of the wind that passes through the circle of the blades into energy. He regards the Southern Tablelands, Southern Highlands and parts of the Northern Tablelands as areas with "a lot of potential" for wind farms. But the smaller turbines that would be used in domestic settings are less efficient and, Diesendorf believes, not especially practical. "There will be exceptional cases, usually in places on the coast with a lot of sea breeze exposure, but generally speaking there are much more cost effective ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the home," he says.

On the far South Coast of NSW - where, happily, it often gets very windy - Steve Garrett, the owner of Pyramid Power, has been installing domestic-sized wind turbines for 21 years. He agrees they are not for everyone but says that during the windier months in his area the small 400-watt wind generators he installs are able to provide about two kilowatt hours a day. He estimates this is equivalent to one-sixth of the power used by a reasonably energy-efficient house and 7 per cent of the power in a non energy- efficient house. Of course. in some months there is little or no wind, so no energy is provided. In addition, Garrett says, most domestic turbines are inefficient because they are not placed at a sufficient height above the building.

"You need to get clear air," he says,"so it's more an energy-efficiency flag than an energy-efficiency doer." Garrett has to prepare a council development application for every wind turbine tower over a certain height, so he recommends that people thinking about installing a wind generator at home check their council's regulations regarding height limits. `And it's a really good idea to talk to your neighbours as well".

Premiers call for emissions trading by 2010

AAP Newswire
Sunday 27/5/2007

CANBERRA, May 27 AAP - State and territory leaders today urged Prime Minister John Howard to launch an emissions trading scheme by 2010 with an environmentally credible target to cut greenhouse gases. All eight Labor premiers and chief ministers signed the open letter to Mr Howard ahead of his emissions trading task force reporting on Thursday. They reminded the prime minister their governments had already committed to a national emissions trading scheme by 2010.

"We see such a scheme as an indispensable step in tackling climate change and ensuring Australia reduces its greenhouse gas emissions at least cost," the letter said. "Any scheme must have an environmentally credible, long-term target for emissions reduction, helping to ensure investment certainty while also including measures to protect our energy-intensive, trade-exposed industries." The eight leaders also called for renewable energy targets and research and development of clean coal, carbon capture and renewable energy technologies. "By working together with states and territories you will help ensure a comprehensive approach to climate change action in Australia." Meanwhile, 75 professors of economics today called on the federal government to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

Australia and the United States are the only developed nations not to have signed the environmental blueprint. The economists signed a statement saying Australia would suffer economic damage by failing to reduce emissions. "Policy measures are available that would greatly reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases at modest economic cost," the statement said. "Credible estimates suggest that a 50 per cent emissions reduction is achievable for less than one year's economic growth."

Green power surge: NSW heads national trend

Sunday Telegraph
27/05/2007 Page: 35

ALMOST 700 households a day in NSW are choosing to pay extra to have their homes powered from solar, wind or water energy sources. Compared with other states and territories, NSW is now leading the nation in the number of residents requesting that energy companies supply their electricity from a renewable source.

Figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph show the volume of green power purchased by NSW residents this year alone is enough to light the Sydney Harbour Bridge continuously for 55 years. The trend is expected to encourage the development of additional wind farms and suppliers of solar energy. Must of Australia's electricity comes from burning coal, with around eight per cent from a renewable source.

Under the national GreenPower scheme, companies can be directed by the customer to purchase energy sourced from the sun, the wind, water or waste. Energy suppliers who sell accredited Green Power products buy electricity generated from accredited renewable energy generators and then feed it into the national electricity grid. Customers choosing the GreenPower option pay between $15 and $100 extra on their quarterly energy bill.

Figures supplied to the NSW Government by the State's energy companies show a record 62,000 households in NSW chose the GreenPower option in the first quarter of this year. The number of customers requesting that EnergyAustralia sources renewable power has doubled in the past year. NSW Energy Minister Ian Macdonald said a total of 130,000 households and businesses in NSW had signed up to a GreenPower scheme.

He attributed the trend to increasing community awareness about global warming and new laws introduced in January that require retailers to offer at least 10 per cent of GreenPower energy to new residential customers or those relocating.

GreenPower was launched in NSW in 1997. Nationally, more than 500,000 residents have signed up to the scheme.

Vestas workers back on the job

Hobart Mercury
Saturday 26/5/2007 Page: 12

A NEW company has been formed in Tasmania's North- West to re-employ workers of former wind-turbine maker Vestas. The new company, Southern Prospect, was established by former Vestas managing director Lee Whiteley. He has already employed 12 workers and aims to have employed 30 by the end of the year, endeavouring to give former Vestas employees the chance to keep using their skills and training.

"We're still servicing the wind-power industry but we're not going to be assembling turbines, which is what Vestas did," Mr Whiteley said. "We will be doing maintenance, component rebuilding, refurbishment, fabricating, and attracting new manufacturing opportunities to the region." Mr Whiteley said Southern Prospect would be more diverse than Vestas, in order to remain sustainable in the future.

Danish-owned Vestas Nacelles Tasmania pulled its wind-power parts and service plant out of Wynyard last year, resulting in the loss of 55 jobs. The plant's closure was attributed to falling demand for the components being produced and maintained. In 2005 Vestas decided against building a blade plant at Wynyard that could have employed another 200 people. Following the closure, the Federal Government announced a $700,000 funding package intended to resurrect the industry at Wynyard, but the funding has not yet been used.

Mr Whiteley said Southern Prospect was entirely privately funded, but he would be talking to Braddon Liberal MHR Mark Baker about trying to secure some of the federal funding to help strengthen and expand the business, which employs a significant number of former Vestas workers and is operating out of the old Vestas building. "We purchased all of Vestas' old assets, including the building, equipment and tools," Mi Whiteley said. "We've been operating for two or three months now, but we've been taking it slowly."

Price hikes to combat climate change "not end of the world"

AAP Newswire,
Friday, 25 May 2007

Australian of the Year Tim Flannery says higher power and transport charges to combat climate change wouldn’t be the end of the world for average consumers. The government is set to receive a report from a taskforce into emissions trading next week. Prime Minister John Howard has already flagged the government has no intention of introducing any schemes which could damage Australia ’s coal industry .. which provides the bulk of the nation ’s energy.

Professor Flannery has told ABC TV in order to begin reducing Australia ’s greenhouse gas emissions .. the country needs to think seriously about non-polluting sources of energy. He ’s predicted a carbon price of 50 dollars a tonne will help level the playing field for renewable energy providers .. saying at that price .. all of the renewables become fairly competitive. He says this would equate to about a 30 per cent increase in the retail price .. but there would be something wrong if people couldn’t make efficiency gains in their homes .. as everyone wastes electricity.

Experts cool on UK nuclear plan

Australian Financial Review,
Page: 56 Friday, 25 May 2007

UK Secretary of Industry Alistair Darling has come under fire for his plans to ensure Britain's energy future as North Sea oil and gas supplies dwindle. He wants private energy firms to have the option of investing in new nuclear projects but opponents say he's missed the boat as they take too long to build. He also wants to see more renewable energy sources but points out that 170 applications for renewable energy projects have been delayed due to public objections.

Capitalising on skills

Burnie Advocate, Page: 9
Friday, 25 May 2007

FORMER Vestas managing director Lee Whiteley is capitalising on the valuable resource of trained and experienced staff in the windturbine industry. In the wake of last year ’s closure of Vestas ’ windturbine assembly plant at Wynyard, Mr Whiteley is now heading a new company, Southern Prospects. And by the end of next week Southern Prospects plans to employ 27 per cent of the ex-Vestas staff.

"Vestas spent a lot of money on training their employees," he said. "We had a work force that travelled extensively and being able to get that group of people back together and being able to capitalise on a investment that was made by Vestas in those people, we see this is a significant advantage to Southern Prospects." Mr Whiteley said Southern Prospects was a much more diverse business than Vestas, which manufactured and assembled components for wind farms.

Locally, the new company is providing support services to the wind farm at Woolnorth. and other fabrication work. Having worked inter nationally in the industry, Mr Whiteley has a strong interest in attracting new opportunities from outside the region. "I think if we ’re prepared to attract the right expertise and look further afield, than Tasmania and probably even Australia, then we’ll find new opportunities." Mr Whiteley said the company had already sent consultants to Denmark and China.

B&B windy

Herald Sun,
Page: 44 Friday, 25 May 2007

WIND energy investor Babcock and Brown Wind Partners has completed a $1.68 billion refinancing of its global wind farm portfolio.

The refinancing will combine its project, asset and corporate level debt across three continents and five countries and nine wind regions into an efficient single corporate facility. The new multi-currency structure will have a single borrower for each region (Australia, Europe and USA), where it should be refinanced every two to three years.

Exxon director wakes up to a hostile shareholder climate

Australian, Page: 24
Friday, 25 May 2007

Houston US and European institutional investors worth $US700 billion ($854 billion) led a charge on Wednesday to oust an Exxon-Mobil board member for "inaction" on climate change. F&C Management, which manages $US2O1 billion in assets and owns 2.6 million Exxon shares, and two dozen other leading institutional investors said they were withholding support for Michael Boskin because of his repeated refusals to meet them over its controversial climate strategy.

Professor Boskin chairs the public issues committee of the world ’s biggest listed oil company and is up for reappointment at its annual meeting at the end of this month. "Professor Boskin appears to have misread the mood of the shareholder base," said Karma Litvack, director of governance and sustainable investment at F&C. "A substantial proportion think climate change is vitally important for Exxon." Exxon has long been a target of environmentalists on climate change.

Under Lee Raymond, Exxon ’s previous chief executive, environmentalists criticised the company for comments by its executives, and over groups that it has supported financially, expressing scepticism about the evidence on climate change. Yet it has been far more responsive to the issue under Rex Tillerson, Mr Raymond ’s successor. Henry Hubble, Exxon vice-president of investor relations, said in an interview that Professor Boskin had responded to the group four times in writing and had set up a full day with several corporate vice-presidents to address the company ’s position on climate change with the investors last July.

He was also in the process of setting up another such meeting. Professor Boskin does not meet individually on the issue because Exxon has designated Mr Tillerson as its board spokesman on climate change. The investors said they would support shareholder resolutions requesting Exxon to set specific greenhouse gas reduction goals and boost its spending on renewable energy resources.

It's easy being green: big profits for GE

Australian, Page: 24
Friday, 25 May 2007

General Electric has doubled sales from environmentally friendly products to $US12 billion ($14.58 billion) over the past two years, in the strongest sign yet that corporate America ’s drive to respond to climate change is beginning to pay off Jeffrey Immelt, GE ’s chief executive, is expected to announce that the company has $US5O billion of projects in the pipeline and is on track to meet its target of $US2O billion in "green" sales by 2010.

According to GE, sales of environmentally friendly products such as wind turbines, water purification systems and energy efficient appliances rose from $US6 billion in 2004 to $US1O billion in 2005 and $US12 billion last year. Over the same period, overall sales at GE grew just more than 20 per cent to $US163 billion.

News of the sharp rise in revenues from "ecoimagination" the marketing campaign launched in 2005 to highlight GE ’s focus on green issues comes as US companies are scrambling to take advantage of opportunities presented by climate change. In recent weeks, News Corp, IBM and Citigroup announced plans to invest billions of dollars on environmental projects to gain a leading position in areas such as alternative energy, carbon emission trading and energy efficiency.

Executives at GE say its "ecoimagination" sales show that, far from being a drag on earnings, such strategies can benefit the bottom line. "I think the idea has traction now. As a business, you have got to be willing to have your own strategy (on the climate change)," Mr Immelt told the FT this week. The focus on driving revenues from greener products is a priority in Mr Immelt ’s plan to reduce GE ’s exposure to low-growth industries and reshape its portfolio towards more profitable sectors. GE will also reveal that last year it invested $US900 million of its $US3.7 billion annual research and development budget on green projects.

Mr Immelt has pledged to raise R&D spending on eco-projects to $US1.5 billion by the end of the decade. It also reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 4 per cent in 2006, ahead of its target of lowering them by 1 per cent before 2012. The company was expected overnight to showcase forthcoming products including a prototype for the world ’s first diesel-electric hybrid locomotive. The locomotive saves fuel by storing up energy when it brakes.

The choice of product is significant because GE, which dominates the US market for locomotives, has been attacked by environmental groups for opposing plans by the Environmental Protection Agency to slash smog emissions from locomotives. GE has defended its position but the criticisms highlight the reputational risk it faces as it strives to ditch its traditional image of an old-style industrial conglomerate.

Super risk in climate change

Geelong Advertiser
Page: 27 Friday, 25 May 2007

CLIMATE change is a huge risk not only to the environment but also to superannuation, say industry players. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and its role in climate change have not been more topical, nor more alarming.

Catholic Super chief investment officer Tim Hughes said climate change was the "biggest long-term risk we face", but also presents great possibilities to capture opportunities. Firms want to see a price put on carbon to mitigate some of the risks they are taking. "Climate change is a huge risk to the superannuation industry," Mr Hughes said at a climate change forum in Sydney yesterday.

He said there were weather related risks such as increasing cyclone or hail storms that could affect business productivity. And as most super funds had a large proportion of their savings invested in Australian and international companies, the returns of fund members were linked directly to the long-term financial performance of those investments.

Another major risk was that the government was likely to impose limits on the amount of greenhouse gases companies were allowed to emit. Companies that exceed these limits may pay penalties that could affect their bottom line. These types of risks also posed a threat to superannuation because they could affect a company ’s longterm profitability and, therefore, its share price, which, in turn, had an affect on fund members ’ returns.

Mr Hughes said it was important for superannuation funds to engage corporate Australia to find out their carbon risks and that businesses should be aware of their carbon risk. "Its simple really, ... super funds want to see change," Mr Hughes said. "We don ’t want to wake up one day and see that our portfolios are invalid because (the businesses in which they invest are) so far behind the rest of the world ’s policies. "We want to see a price put on carbon."

The rest of the panel included ABN AMRO ’s director financial markets Craig McBurnie, lAG ’s sustainability research manager Elayne Grace, AMP Capital senior analyst Ian Woods and Origin Energy communications and government relations manager Tony Wood. Origin Energy’s Mr Wood said emissions trading produced a least cost pathway for business to reduce their greenhouse output.

Mr Wood presented a package of proposed action that included a long-term emissions target in line with global action, market-based carbon pricing scheme introduced from 2010, funding for research and development of low and zero emission technologies and more focused support for renewable energy projects. AMP ’s Dr Woods said there was already a significant market for carbon trading, with 374 million tonnes of Co2 traded in 2005 under the Kyoto Protocol.

Bus trip to answer turbine troubles

Cooma Monaro Express
Thursday 24/5/2007 Page: 3

MEMBERS of the local community will travel to Ararat this weekend to find out more about how wind turbines have affected the community there. The 33 people will leave Cooma on Friday and visit the Challicum Hills windfarm in the Ararat Shire in Victoria. Friends of Renewable Energy spokesperson, Bev Allen, said people would get a better understanding of windfarms on the trip because the Ararat region had a similar - and comparable - landscape to the Monaro. "The Ararat Shire is very like our broadacre farming country here, therefore we should get a good idea of what windfarms look like here," said Mrs Allen. "This will also give people an understanding of the technology behind windfarms," she said.

Cooma Monaro Council representative Cr Roger Norton will talk to windfarm owners, residents with property adjacent to windfarms, councillors of the Ararat Shire and other members of the local community to get a greater understanding of how they have all reacted to the installation of the Challicum Hills windfarm. "I would like to get a clear view of why the community accepted the installation of the windfarms and see if anyone raises any issues as well," said Councillor Norton. "It's such an important topic and it's very important we have all the information available, so we can hopefully make the best decision in the interest of our community," he said.

UK decision earns praise

Jimboomba Times
23/05/2007 Page: 69

BY 2016, all new homes built in the United Kingdom will be zero emission on heating and cooling. The UK Government's Code for Sustainable Homes legislates binding regulations for energy reduction with staggered targets. These are 20 per cent more efficient by 2010, 44 per cent by 2013, and 100 per cent, or zero emissions by 2016. Now passed into law, the code sets minimum standards for energy and water efficiency.

In addition, the UK government has agreed that any home achieving Level Six sustainability rating will be exempt from stamp duty. "The UK government has made a groundbreaking decision," said Matthew Wright, spokesman for Beyond Zero Emissions. "By 2050, 70 per cent of homes in the UK will be zero emissions. "Here is a government with a vision for the future, willing to take rapid and affirmative actions to combat climate change. "The Australian government is ignoring its responsibility to safeguard our country."

Companies from the UK and abroad are already building homes compliant with the 2016 code, some with cost increases of only two per cent more than similar traditionally built homes. Stuart Milne runs the largest housing company in Scotland and is offering for sale a zero emissions home available off plan. He has released a house autonomously warmed and cooled with the assistance of a substance called Energain. Installed on the interior walls and ceilings of the home, coated panels absorb and release heat depending on the temperature, reducing any need for energy intensive air conditioning or heating.

"These are homes that need no heating whatsoever, even through extreme UK winters;" Mr Wright said. "Using intelligent and natural design, homes are prefabricated with insulation, economically creating a more comfortable and liveable environment. "The increase in cost is marginal, which is comprehensively offset through massive savings in energy bills." A home constructed by the company Osborne has virtually no energy consumption requirements.

The house contains a mechanical heat recovery system which removes moist, stale air from rooms and passes it over cool, fresh air from outside to regulate constant comfortable air temperatures. "With the addition of solar panels and wind turbines, homes in the near future will be entirely self-sufficient, generating electricity on-site," said Mr. Wright. "Australians now need to put pressure on our federal government to adopt these simple conservative measures in line with what one of the leading economies in the world is doing. As a country and as a planet, we need to become zero emissions across all sectors as soon as possible."

The latest report (commissioned by the Victorian Government) from the CSIRO warns of blackouts by 2030 caused by increased use of air conditioning and climate related infrastructure failure. If all houses by 2016 are built to zero emission standards, not requiring air conditioning, then this will lessen the effects of more severe weather that is forecast from human forced global warming.