Australian
Tuesday 29/4/2008 Page: 6
AUSTRALIA should hold weekly auctions of greenhouse gas emission permits to avoid imposing an "impossible" financial burden on petrol companies and undermining efforts to cut fuel prices at the bowser, the Rudd Government has been told. Petrol companies are likely to be required to buy permits for the millions of tonnes of carbon emitted when motorists use their fuel, under the greenhouse gas Emissions Trading Scheme the Government has vowed to have up and running by 2010.
But the nation's biggest petrol company, Caltex, has told the review of emissions trading being conducted by Ross Garnaut that buying the permits up-front and in bulk would impose an impossible financial burden. At a carbon cost of $40 per tonne of carbon dioxide, Caltex would have to purchase $1.4 billion of permits annually for its customers' 35 million tonnes of emissions from fuel combustion.
This would impose a huge and inequitable financial risk on Caltex far out of proportion to our earnings and financial capability," the company says in its submission, just lodged. "If a permit auction was held at annual or six-monthly intervals, there is no way Caltex could fund the purchase of more than a small fraction of the permits it would need at the auctions.
Caltex's current debt level is about $600 million, and this debt could not be increased to $2 billion for an annual auction." Caltex said weekly auctions could minimise the extent to which the new cost of carbon would undermine efforts by the Government to reduce the price paid by motorists through extra monitoring of petrol prices.
In line with its election platform, the Government has appointed a petrol price commissioner and is setting up a fuelwatch system to give motorists up-to-date information on where to find the cheapest petrol. But Caltex says this system could struggle after the introduction of an additional cost on fuel through the new carbon price. "Petrol excise is quite explicit, and motorists know with certainty the rate of excise is 38.14c per litre (plus 10 per cent GST)," the submission says. "With emission trading... different companies would employ different strategies to manage carbon risk, and the cost of permits would then be recovered in various ways.
"The problem of carbon price transparency and monitoring could be reduced by frequent permit auctions: in essence, a weekly carbon auction in which there was... participation by liquid fuel suppliers could provide a benchmark carbon price for ACCC price monitoring." Caltex had previously argued that fuel should be excluded from emissions trading in favour of a direct tax on petrol and diesel, but acknowledges in its submission that the Government does not share its view and that Professor Garnaut's discussion paper, released last month, effectively rules it out.
Climate Institute Australia chief executive John Connor said he was pleased Caltex had moved on from arguing that fuel should be exempt from the scheme. "We believe a broadly based emissions trading regime is best," he said.
Monday, 12 May 2008
`Scrap subsidies' urged
Launceston Examiner
Monday 28/4/2008 Page: 12
CANBERRA - The Federal Government is being urged to scrap billions of dollars in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry ahead of likely cuts to education and health in next month's Budget. Treasurer Wayne Swan is expected to make good on his promise of delivering a surplus equivalent to 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product when he hands down his first Budget on May 13. He has also promised it will be a tough Budget intended to curb inflation and reduce the upward pressure on interest rates.
Cuts to spending in the key areas of health, education and welfare are likely as the Government seeks billions of dollars in savings. Community advocacy group GetUp says the Government should first consider cutting billions of dollars worth of subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. The subsidies, which GetUp says amount to about $4 billion, include $1.1 billion in fringe benefit tax concessions for company cars, $800 million in concessions for the aviation industry and $600 million for the automotive industry.
"The $4 billion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry - they are wasteful and inappropriate in the context of the climate crisis that we're facing," GetUp executive director Greg Solomon said. "Hidden within the Budget are these anachronistic subsidies for the fossil fuel industry and they should be redirected, partly to investment in renewable energy." In a Budget submission released yesterday, GetUp says scrapping subsidies to the mining industry alone would save the Federal Government $257 million a year.
"Why is it that we're subsidising the mining industry - surely that industry is able to stand on its own two feet in the context of a resources boom," Mr Solomon said. "All of the polling we've done shows that the Australian community supports renewable energy being subsidised over the fossil fuel industry." Mr Solomon says GetUp has identified more than $8 billion in savings that would help the Government realise its surplus target of 1.5 per cent of GDP. Cutting the tax concession on capital gains to 35 per cent would net a saving of $1.5 billion, he said. On the other side of the ledger, Mr Solomon said the solar hot water rebate should also be increased, from $1000 to $2000, and extended to 500.000 homes.
Monday 28/4/2008 Page: 12
CANBERRA - The Federal Government is being urged to scrap billions of dollars in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry ahead of likely cuts to education and health in next month's Budget. Treasurer Wayne Swan is expected to make good on his promise of delivering a surplus equivalent to 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product when he hands down his first Budget on May 13. He has also promised it will be a tough Budget intended to curb inflation and reduce the upward pressure on interest rates.
Cuts to spending in the key areas of health, education and welfare are likely as the Government seeks billions of dollars in savings. Community advocacy group GetUp says the Government should first consider cutting billions of dollars worth of subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. The subsidies, which GetUp says amount to about $4 billion, include $1.1 billion in fringe benefit tax concessions for company cars, $800 million in concessions for the aviation industry and $600 million for the automotive industry.
"The $4 billion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry - they are wasteful and inappropriate in the context of the climate crisis that we're facing," GetUp executive director Greg Solomon said. "Hidden within the Budget are these anachronistic subsidies for the fossil fuel industry and they should be redirected, partly to investment in renewable energy." In a Budget submission released yesterday, GetUp says scrapping subsidies to the mining industry alone would save the Federal Government $257 million a year.
"Why is it that we're subsidising the mining industry - surely that industry is able to stand on its own two feet in the context of a resources boom," Mr Solomon said. "All of the polling we've done shows that the Australian community supports renewable energy being subsidised over the fossil fuel industry." Mr Solomon says GetUp has identified more than $8 billion in savings that would help the Government realise its surplus target of 1.5 per cent of GDP. Cutting the tax concession on capital gains to 35 per cent would net a saving of $1.5 billion, he said. On the other side of the ledger, Mr Solomon said the solar hot water rebate should also be increased, from $1000 to $2000, and extended to 500.000 homes.
Mayor hopes wind farm is step closer
Launceston Examiner
Monday 28/4/2008 Page: 11
THE advertising of a planning application for the proposed $350 million Musselroe Wind Farm was a welcome sign that the project was proceeding, Dorset Mayor Peter Partridge said. Roaring 40s has applied for an alternate route for its transmission line, to avoid the Martins Hill Forest Reserve. Notice of the application was advertised in The Examiner on Saturday. Cr Partridge said that Roaring 40s had been in discussion with Dorset Council planners and councillors would debate the merits of the application once all requirements had been fulfilled.
"The alternate route probably involves some private landowners so there'll have to be consultation on their behalf," he said. "Since the Labor Party came to power (federally) there's been an indication that this project would proceed. "Now we're starting to get some action, which is great." The application seeks approval for construction of a high voltage 110kV transmission line in a 50m-wide easement.
It is proposed that the easement would run from south of Clarence Dam, in the Cameron Regional Reserve, to between Rex Rd and Blanca Link Rd, Winnaleah. The transmission line would connect the proposed Musselroe Wind Farm at Cape Portland to the State's electricity grid at the Derby substation. It is understood that the Labor Party's Mandatory Renewable Energy Target of 20 per cent by 2020 gave Roaring 40s the impetus to proceed with the development.
The Musselroe project accounts for only 0.1 per cent of the 45,000 gigawatt-hours anticipated to be produced by 2020. Roaring 40s gained approval for up to 80 turbines from Dorset Council in 2004. It is understood that these would generate 140MW into the State's grid - more than the Woolnorth project in the far North-West, which generates 125MW. It would be more than enough power to provide electricity to 140,000 homes.
The project is expected to take two and a half years to finish, employ a peak workforce of 120 and pump between $50 million and $80 million into the Northern Tasmanian economy. No other development applications have been submitted for more wind farms across the State, but it is understood that Roaring 40s staff are investigating a range of options. Roaring 40s also has two 50MW wind farms operating in China, with nine more under construction.
Monday 28/4/2008 Page: 11
THE advertising of a planning application for the proposed $350 million Musselroe Wind Farm was a welcome sign that the project was proceeding, Dorset Mayor Peter Partridge said. Roaring 40s has applied for an alternate route for its transmission line, to avoid the Martins Hill Forest Reserve. Notice of the application was advertised in The Examiner on Saturday. Cr Partridge said that Roaring 40s had been in discussion with Dorset Council planners and councillors would debate the merits of the application once all requirements had been fulfilled.
"The alternate route probably involves some private landowners so there'll have to be consultation on their behalf," he said. "Since the Labor Party came to power (federally) there's been an indication that this project would proceed. "Now we're starting to get some action, which is great." The application seeks approval for construction of a high voltage 110kV transmission line in a 50m-wide easement.
It is proposed that the easement would run from south of Clarence Dam, in the Cameron Regional Reserve, to between Rex Rd and Blanca Link Rd, Winnaleah. The transmission line would connect the proposed Musselroe Wind Farm at Cape Portland to the State's electricity grid at the Derby substation. It is understood that the Labor Party's Mandatory Renewable Energy Target of 20 per cent by 2020 gave Roaring 40s the impetus to proceed with the development.
The Musselroe project accounts for only 0.1 per cent of the 45,000 gigawatt-hours anticipated to be produced by 2020. Roaring 40s gained approval for up to 80 turbines from Dorset Council in 2004. It is understood that these would generate 140MW into the State's grid - more than the Woolnorth project in the far North-West, which generates 125MW. It would be more than enough power to provide electricity to 140,000 homes.
The project is expected to take two and a half years to finish, employ a peak workforce of 120 and pump between $50 million and $80 million into the Northern Tasmanian economy. No other development applications have been submitted for more wind farms across the State, but it is understood that Roaring 40s staff are investigating a range of options. Roaring 40s also has two 50MW wind farms operating in China, with nine more under construction.
Carbon plan may hit shires
Ballarat Courier
Monday 28/4/2008 Page: 6
Hepburn, Pyrenees, and Golden Plains households would suffer financially from the introduction of a carbon Emissions Trading Scheme. Due to poor or non-existent public transport making them more reliant on cars, residents in these three shires would be among the state's hardest hit by the scheme, according to research released yesterday by the Brotherhood of St Laurence the shires form three of the 14 Victorian rural local government areas identified as having "poor households" with the highest carbon use - 10 per cent or more above the state average.
West Wimmera, Hindmarsh, Southern Grampians, Northern Grampians, Moyne, Gorangamite, Loddon, Yarriambiack, Buloke, Towong and South Gippsland make up the rest of the list. The report estimates that a $35-a-tonne carbon price would increase these LGA's annual household costs by between $1173 and $1306. "Brotherhood research last year showed that imposing a carbon price will take a much bigger proportion of the income of poorer households than wealthy households, despite smaller carbon footprints," Brotherhood of St Laurence executive director Tony Nicholson said.
The latest findings show that those households in areas with little or no public transport or services will be even worse off." As a society, we must introduce carbon emissions trading because it is an economic incentive to encourage society to cut down on goods and services that require more carbon based energy in their production or operation." "However, this latest research is further evidence that a carbon price must be accompanied by measures that not only counter the impact on poorer people but also assist poor households to reduce carbon emissions." The research was drawn from National Institute of Economic and Industry Research using data derived from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Monday 28/4/2008 Page: 6
Hepburn, Pyrenees, and Golden Plains households would suffer financially from the introduction of a carbon Emissions Trading Scheme. Due to poor or non-existent public transport making them more reliant on cars, residents in these three shires would be among the state's hardest hit by the scheme, according to research released yesterday by the Brotherhood of St Laurence the shires form three of the 14 Victorian rural local government areas identified as having "poor households" with the highest carbon use - 10 per cent or more above the state average.
West Wimmera, Hindmarsh, Southern Grampians, Northern Grampians, Moyne, Gorangamite, Loddon, Yarriambiack, Buloke, Towong and South Gippsland make up the rest of the list. The report estimates that a $35-a-tonne carbon price would increase these LGA's annual household costs by between $1173 and $1306. "Brotherhood research last year showed that imposing a carbon price will take a much bigger proportion of the income of poorer households than wealthy households, despite smaller carbon footprints," Brotherhood of St Laurence executive director Tony Nicholson said.
The latest findings show that those households in areas with little or no public transport or services will be even worse off." As a society, we must introduce carbon emissions trading because it is an economic incentive to encourage society to cut down on goods and services that require more carbon based energy in their production or operation." "However, this latest research is further evidence that a carbon price must be accompanied by measures that not only counter the impact on poorer people but also assist poor households to reduce carbon emissions." The research was drawn from National Institute of Economic and Industry Research using data derived from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
NZ farmers have a cow of a time on emissions
Age
Monday 28/4/2008 Page: 2
THE Kyoto Protocol will hit the pockets of New Zealand food producers for little environmental benefit, according to a NZ farm leader. The president of the Federated Farmers of New Zealand, Charlie Pedersen, said greenhouse costs were already accruing for NZ farmers, despite farming not being directly affected by an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) until 2013. Mr Pedersen said under the ETS now before the NZ parliament, different sectors of the economy would be phased in over five years. On the face of it, we as food producers get a break, but in actual fact, in nine months' time liquid fuel, which covers transport, will be included," he said.
This will have an immediate impact on us." He was addressing a conference on greenhouse, agriculture and emissions trading, organised by the Australian Farm Institute on the Gold Coast. Mr Pedersen said energy would be included the following year, which would have a big impact on fanning. The baseline year is 2005, effectively backdating the scheme. We will need to account for any development since then, come 2013. This just adds to the cost on us as the costs are already accruing," he said.
"Every time I drive my tractor out of the shed or turn on the machine at the dairy shed, I'm also trading in emissions. And, of course, whenever I see my cows performing a natural act of nature the same applies." Agriculture accounts for 48.5% of NZ greenhouse gas emissions, with energy and transport making up most of the rest. methane from ruminant animals, at 30%, is the biggest single source of emissions.
Mr Pedersen said one of the big unknowns about the bill was where the ETS would be transacted. "Will it be at on farm' or when the produce from the farm arrives at the processing facility?" he said. The Government was grappling with two essential prerogatives. First was the administrative efficiency of dealing with 40-odd companies as opposed to 30,000 farmers. Second was the way price signals could affect behavioural change at the farm level. Mr Pedersen said the Government's decision would have a huge impact on the workability of the ETS for farmers.
For farmers to be left facing a cost, with no means of reducing their exposure except to reduce production, simply isn't smart for a country that relies so heavily on food production to drive the economy," he said. Our preference is that the point of obligation should be at the farm level." Mr Pedersen said there was a real risk that farming for carbon credits would overtake farming to feed the world. The NZ legislation should be framed to allow for the flexible use of land. "Land use efficiency must be maximised to take into account land capability," he said.
The system NZ farmers faced, if adopted around the world, could not only force up the price of food dramatically, but also create food shortages. Our view is that the process in NZ is rushed and not properly thought through," he said. Mr Pedersen said $17.2 billion, or 47% of NZ export returns, came from agriculture, and about 40% of New Zealanders were employed in the food industry.
Monday 28/4/2008 Page: 2
THE Kyoto Protocol will hit the pockets of New Zealand food producers for little environmental benefit, according to a NZ farm leader. The president of the Federated Farmers of New Zealand, Charlie Pedersen, said greenhouse costs were already accruing for NZ farmers, despite farming not being directly affected by an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) until 2013. Mr Pedersen said under the ETS now before the NZ parliament, different sectors of the economy would be phased in over five years. On the face of it, we as food producers get a break, but in actual fact, in nine months' time liquid fuel, which covers transport, will be included," he said.This will have an immediate impact on us." He was addressing a conference on greenhouse, agriculture and emissions trading, organised by the Australian Farm Institute on the Gold Coast. Mr Pedersen said energy would be included the following year, which would have a big impact on fanning. The baseline year is 2005, effectively backdating the scheme. We will need to account for any development since then, come 2013. This just adds to the cost on us as the costs are already accruing," he said.
"Every time I drive my tractor out of the shed or turn on the machine at the dairy shed, I'm also trading in emissions. And, of course, whenever I see my cows performing a natural act of nature the same applies." Agriculture accounts for 48.5% of NZ greenhouse gas emissions, with energy and transport making up most of the rest. methane from ruminant animals, at 30%, is the biggest single source of emissions.
Mr Pedersen said one of the big unknowns about the bill was where the ETS would be transacted. "Will it be at on farm' or when the produce from the farm arrives at the processing facility?" he said. The Government was grappling with two essential prerogatives. First was the administrative efficiency of dealing with 40-odd companies as opposed to 30,000 farmers. Second was the way price signals could affect behavioural change at the farm level. Mr Pedersen said the Government's decision would have a huge impact on the workability of the ETS for farmers.
For farmers to be left facing a cost, with no means of reducing their exposure except to reduce production, simply isn't smart for a country that relies so heavily on food production to drive the economy," he said. Our preference is that the point of obligation should be at the farm level." Mr Pedersen said there was a real risk that farming for carbon credits would overtake farming to feed the world. The NZ legislation should be framed to allow for the flexible use of land. "Land use efficiency must be maximised to take into account land capability," he said.
The system NZ farmers faced, if adopted around the world, could not only force up the price of food dramatically, but also create food shortages. Our view is that the process in NZ is rushed and not properly thought through," he said. Mr Pedersen said $17.2 billion, or 47% of NZ export returns, came from agriculture, and about 40% of New Zealanders were employed in the food industry.
Funds make a difference
Ballarat Courier
Saturday 26/4/2008 Page: 34
THE visual effects of climate change and the drought are arguably best represented by Ballarat's dry Lake Wendouree. A grassroots community campaign to highlight how people can make a difference to the environment at home now has 400 members compared to the 40 who first joined 18 months ago. This week it was announced the Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions group had secured $152,767 in funding from the State Government to continue its work. Among some of its initiatives are discounts for members for solar hot water heating, and seminars on the benefits of becoming self-sufficient at home.
BREAZE president Nick Lanyon said the group had grown to the point where paid staff would soon be required. "As a volunteer organisation we have done a lot, given our really limited resources, but we are getting to the stage where we need people in paid positions to really bring forward some of the ideas and initiatives we are trying to get out in the community. "We are also getting inquiries from groups from Ararat, Hamilton and Portland. They are small start-up groups trying to pick our brains and part of the grant will be to sit down and look at what we have done, how we did it and how we can do more." Ballarat East MLA Geoff Howard said the grant would further help BREAZE continue its work. "Community climate change action groups are forming across Victoria as a way for local communities to take action on climate change," he said.
Saturday 26/4/2008 Page: 34
THE visual effects of climate change and the drought are arguably best represented by Ballarat's dry Lake Wendouree. A grassroots community campaign to highlight how people can make a difference to the environment at home now has 400 members compared to the 40 who first joined 18 months ago. This week it was announced the Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions group had secured $152,767 in funding from the State Government to continue its work. Among some of its initiatives are discounts for members for solar hot water heating, and seminars on the benefits of becoming self-sufficient at home.
BREAZE president Nick Lanyon said the group had grown to the point where paid staff would soon be required. "As a volunteer organisation we have done a lot, given our really limited resources, but we are getting to the stage where we need people in paid positions to really bring forward some of the ideas and initiatives we are trying to get out in the community. "We are also getting inquiries from groups from Ararat, Hamilton and Portland. They are small start-up groups trying to pick our brains and part of the grant will be to sit down and look at what we have done, how we did it and how we can do more." Ballarat East MLA Geoff Howard said the grant would further help BREAZE continue its work. "Community climate change action groups are forming across Victoria as a way for local communities to take action on climate change," he said.
Wind farm swings into action as turbines go up
Plains Producer
Wednesday 23/4/2008 Page: 13
UP TO six turbines a week will be added to the Barunga Range skyline from the end of this month as construction of a 47 turbine wind farm gears up. However, a commitment to future expansion of the project is yet to be made. Developers Trust Power and Wind Prospect recently announced a decision to boost construction to 47 turbines, but have approval to construct up to 130 turbines on the Barunga Range site. Trust Power major project manager, Deion Campbell, assured stage two would be considered in due course.
However, he said the first stage was continuing to progress, with the second turbine lifted into place early last week, and a third last Friday. The lower half of 16 of the remaining towers are also in place. Mr Campbell said the wind farm was currently running to schedule, but would soon speed up. "We're expecting a second large crane to arrive on site sometime before the end of the month," he said. "From there, we should be able to put four to six machines up a week."
He expects all turbines to be erected and operational by September. Each machine is commissioned as it is completed, with the first commissioned last December. Individual turbines weigh 270 tonnes, and stand at 124 metres tall. The wind farm, which stretches across 17 kilometres of the Barunga Range near Snowtown, is expected to generate $1 million each year for the local community.
Wednesday 23/4/2008 Page: 13
UP TO six turbines a week will be added to the Barunga Range skyline from the end of this month as construction of a 47 turbine wind farm gears up. However, a commitment to future expansion of the project is yet to be made. Developers Trust Power and Wind Prospect recently announced a decision to boost construction to 47 turbines, but have approval to construct up to 130 turbines on the Barunga Range site. Trust Power major project manager, Deion Campbell, assured stage two would be considered in due course.
However, he said the first stage was continuing to progress, with the second turbine lifted into place early last week, and a third last Friday. The lower half of 16 of the remaining towers are also in place. Mr Campbell said the wind farm was currently running to schedule, but would soon speed up. "We're expecting a second large crane to arrive on site sometime before the end of the month," he said. "From there, we should be able to put four to six machines up a week."
He expects all turbines to be erected and operational by September. Each machine is commissioned as it is completed, with the first commissioned last December. Individual turbines weigh 270 tonnes, and stand at 124 metres tall. The wind farm, which stretches across 17 kilometres of the Barunga Range near Snowtown, is expected to generate $1 million each year for the local community.
Rebates power solar uptake
The Land
Thursday 24/4/2008 Page: 32
WITH an abundance of sunshine and plenty of infrastructure to host solar panels, NSW primary producers have at their fingertips the perfect opportunity to set themselves up for cheaper power bills, a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas and even a long-term secondary income. However, solar energy equipment suppliers say the fast-growing take-up of green energy has so far been more widespread among environmentally-conscious urban dwellers than the agricultural sector.
Since the Federal Government last July brought in a range of rebates to increase the amount of electricity produced by renewable energy sources, solar equipment suppliers say business has boomed - but 95 per cent of it has come from householders looking to power hot water systems and other domestic appliances. The rebates include covering 50pc of the cost of renewable energy equipment and a $1000 offering for replacing electric water heaters with solar for household incomes under $100,000 per annum.
The sun's energy is Australia's largest potential power source and offers two types of energy - heat and light. Thermal collectors collect heat while photovoltaic (PV) cells collect light and convert it to electricity. Panels of PV cells are becoming more common across urban roofs, thanks largely to widespread attention to climate change, and households can now set up systems whereby solar electricity is stored in the mainstream grid until needed, giving people the security of the grid. A 1.5kW solar power system has an area of about 11 square metres and generates around 1800 kilowatt hours of electricity. It would typically cost about $20,000.
According to the NSW Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability, more than 2000 homes in NSW now use solar power and are therefore preventing the emission of nearly 2500 tonnes of greenhouse gas every year. That number is growing fast. NSW regional power authority Country Energy says since July, the number of systems it has brought online where power garnered from solar panels is fed back to the grid has more than doubled.
The company's environmental portfolio manager Catherine Gordon Bathurst, said interest from farmers was based on reducing input costs and protecting the environment. The potential for generating a secondary line of income was there, however it generally took many years for that to eventuate, she said. Country Energy has in fact set up its own solar farm in Queanbeyan, where 720 panels each have a 77 watt capacity with a total system capacity of 50 kilowatts. Electricity is fed directly into the Country Energy grid and each year the farm produces 60,000kW of electricity - enough to supply about eight to ten homes, Ms Gordon said.
"It produces no greenhouse gases and saves about 60t of greenhouse gas emissions, that would otherwise have been created by coal-fired power stations, annually," she said. Since July, more and more farmers looking to replace diesel pumps were also turning to green energy, according to one of Australia and New Zealand's larger suppliers of renewable energy products, Energy Matters. Company spokesman, Max Sylvester, Melbourne, said solar pumps capable of processing 100,000 litres of water a day were now being supplied to an average of two farmers a week. Most were going to beef producers in NSW and Victoria, he said.
Thursday 24/4/2008 Page: 32
WITH an abundance of sunshine and plenty of infrastructure to host solar panels, NSW primary producers have at their fingertips the perfect opportunity to set themselves up for cheaper power bills, a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas and even a long-term secondary income. However, solar energy equipment suppliers say the fast-growing take-up of green energy has so far been more widespread among environmentally-conscious urban dwellers than the agricultural sector.
Since the Federal Government last July brought in a range of rebates to increase the amount of electricity produced by renewable energy sources, solar equipment suppliers say business has boomed - but 95 per cent of it has come from householders looking to power hot water systems and other domestic appliances. The rebates include covering 50pc of the cost of renewable energy equipment and a $1000 offering for replacing electric water heaters with solar for household incomes under $100,000 per annum.
The sun's energy is Australia's largest potential power source and offers two types of energy - heat and light. Thermal collectors collect heat while photovoltaic (PV) cells collect light and convert it to electricity. Panels of PV cells are becoming more common across urban roofs, thanks largely to widespread attention to climate change, and households can now set up systems whereby solar electricity is stored in the mainstream grid until needed, giving people the security of the grid. A 1.5kW solar power system has an area of about 11 square metres and generates around 1800 kilowatt hours of electricity. It would typically cost about $20,000.
According to the NSW Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability, more than 2000 homes in NSW now use solar power and are therefore preventing the emission of nearly 2500 tonnes of greenhouse gas every year. That number is growing fast. NSW regional power authority Country Energy says since July, the number of systems it has brought online where power garnered from solar panels is fed back to the grid has more than doubled.
The company's environmental portfolio manager Catherine Gordon Bathurst, said interest from farmers was based on reducing input costs and protecting the environment. The potential for generating a secondary line of income was there, however it generally took many years for that to eventuate, she said. Country Energy has in fact set up its own solar farm in Queanbeyan, where 720 panels each have a 77 watt capacity with a total system capacity of 50 kilowatts. Electricity is fed directly into the Country Energy grid and each year the farm produces 60,000kW of electricity - enough to supply about eight to ten homes, Ms Gordon said.
"It produces no greenhouse gases and saves about 60t of greenhouse gas emissions, that would otherwise have been created by coal-fired power stations, annually," she said. Since July, more and more farmers looking to replace diesel pumps were also turning to green energy, according to one of Australia and New Zealand's larger suppliers of renewable energy products, Energy Matters. Company spokesman, Max Sylvester, Melbourne, said solar pumps capable of processing 100,000 litres of water a day were now being supplied to an average of two farmers a week. Most were going to beef producers in NSW and Victoria, he said.
Farmers' budget wishlist
The Land
Thursday 24/4/2008 Page: 3
THE State's largest farming organisation has gone to the NSW Government with a wishlist costing more than $1 billion. The NSW Farmers' Association wishlist was topped by a railway connecting NSW to Queensland and Victoria. Other items included a $2 million incinerator to get rid of sheep, cattle and pig carcasses; a climate change liaison officer with an annual salary of $180,000; and free rent for farmers in the Western Division. The State budget, due out next month, will reveal if the association's submission was successful.
Climate change was the biggest issue covered in the association's submission to the NSW Treasury. It asked for $5 million to fund partnerships between the waste and renewable energy sectors, such as small scale biofuel plants and solar energy projects. "Given the difficulties and transmission losses associated with providing bulk power to regional and remote communities, government ought to treat regional renewable power as a high strategic priority," the submission said.
The submission's main criticism targeted the Federal Government's Emissions Trading Scheme, which it said would have "disproportionately high impacts" on regional Australia and the cost of farming through supplies such as fertiliser and fuel. The association was looking to put carbon from the city into the soil, maybe even as a part of hybrid fertiliser. "We need rules under the new Kyoto and the AETS (Australian Emissions Trading Scheme) that allow farmers to create carbon credits in soil, grass and crops as part of productive farming systems," it said.
"Agriculture could achieve a significant reduction in the risk of climate change by taking CO2 back out of the atmosphere and storing it in the soil." This follows research that states about half of all soil carbon in farmed land has been lost because of cultivation. A $2 million incinerator to dispose of livestock at Charles Sturt University's veterinary laboratory in Wagga would reduce the risk of diseases spreading through the State, the submission stated.
Thursday 24/4/2008 Page: 3
THE State's largest farming organisation has gone to the NSW Government with a wishlist costing more than $1 billion. The NSW Farmers' Association wishlist was topped by a railway connecting NSW to Queensland and Victoria. Other items included a $2 million incinerator to get rid of sheep, cattle and pig carcasses; a climate change liaison officer with an annual salary of $180,000; and free rent for farmers in the Western Division. The State budget, due out next month, will reveal if the association's submission was successful.
Climate change was the biggest issue covered in the association's submission to the NSW Treasury. It asked for $5 million to fund partnerships between the waste and renewable energy sectors, such as small scale biofuel plants and solar energy projects. "Given the difficulties and transmission losses associated with providing bulk power to regional and remote communities, government ought to treat regional renewable power as a high strategic priority," the submission said.
The submission's main criticism targeted the Federal Government's Emissions Trading Scheme, which it said would have "disproportionately high impacts" on regional Australia and the cost of farming through supplies such as fertiliser and fuel. The association was looking to put carbon from the city into the soil, maybe even as a part of hybrid fertiliser. "We need rules under the new Kyoto and the AETS (Australian Emissions Trading Scheme) that allow farmers to create carbon credits in soil, grass and crops as part of productive farming systems," it said.
"Agriculture could achieve a significant reduction in the risk of climate change by taking CO2 back out of the atmosphere and storing it in the soil." This follows research that states about half of all soil carbon in farmed land has been lost because of cultivation. A $2 million incinerator to dispose of livestock at Charles Sturt University's veterinary laboratory in Wagga would reduce the risk of diseases spreading through the State, the submission stated.
Voices of change
Hepburn Shire Advocate
Wednesday 23/4/2008 Page: 13
THE Hepburn University of Third Age has launched a new sustainability program in a bid to unite people with similar interests. The program was launched on Friday with about 30 U3A members involved in the program. Committee member Margie Thomas said sustainability was a topical issue and there were many people around Central Victoria doing terrific things to help sustainability who needed to be linked. On Friday, the group heard from the Hepburn Renewable Energy Association, which lobbied for a wind farm at Leonards Hill.
They also heard from Mount Alexander Sustainability Group on the work it is doing with the CSIRO to reduce greenhouse emissions. Ms Thomas said the work of these smaller organisations showed that in country areas people were finally realising and coming to terms with the need to be environmentally responsible. The group is looking at getting the council on board its program, as well as enlisting the new chief executive officer. Its next fortnightly session will see the group work out its ecological footprint and look at retrofitting.
"Sustainability doesn't only occur with our physical surroundings, but it's also about emotional and spiritual surroundings," Ms Thomas said. "It's about a total concept; how you fit in and feel comfortable, and how to make a contribution." Ms Thomas said the group was also planning to open some sessions to the wider community, so other locals had an opportunity for input. Long term, the group will take on a number of local issues, such as plastic bag issues, and harness members' interests to make a change. Ms Thomas said the Hepburn Shire Council was a "powerful area" in the region, with a huge environmental focus.
Wednesday 23/4/2008 Page: 13
THE Hepburn University of Third Age has launched a new sustainability program in a bid to unite people with similar interests. The program was launched on Friday with about 30 U3A members involved in the program. Committee member Margie Thomas said sustainability was a topical issue and there were many people around Central Victoria doing terrific things to help sustainability who needed to be linked. On Friday, the group heard from the Hepburn Renewable Energy Association, which lobbied for a wind farm at Leonards Hill.
They also heard from Mount Alexander Sustainability Group on the work it is doing with the CSIRO to reduce greenhouse emissions. Ms Thomas said the work of these smaller organisations showed that in country areas people were finally realising and coming to terms with the need to be environmentally responsible. The group is looking at getting the council on board its program, as well as enlisting the new chief executive officer. Its next fortnightly session will see the group work out its ecological footprint and look at retrofitting.
"Sustainability doesn't only occur with our physical surroundings, but it's also about emotional and spiritual surroundings," Ms Thomas said. "It's about a total concept; how you fit in and feel comfortable, and how to make a contribution." Ms Thomas said the group was also planning to open some sessions to the wider community, so other locals had an opportunity for input. Long term, the group will take on a number of local issues, such as plastic bag issues, and harness members' interests to make a change. Ms Thomas said the Hepburn Shire Council was a "powerful area" in the region, with a huge environmental focus.
Effluent power push to help save Warrnambool saleyards - Cattle waste `could subsidise' centre
Warrnambool Standard
Thursday 24/4/2008 Page: 1
Warrnambool's saleyards should remain on Caramut Road while the city council investigates producing green power from cattle effluent to cut waste management costs, the centre's supporters said this week. In about four weeks Warrnambool City Council will consider a consultant's report into the economic impact of closing the saleyards.
The report was commissioned after the Victorian Livestock Exchange proposed building a new saleyards complex at Garvoc if the Warrnambool and Camperdown yards closed. But former Warrnambool mayor Frank McCarthy said the council should maintain the saleyards and investigate a methane plant. "It's not anything new," he declared. "They should leave the yards where they are and investigate it." Former city councillor Jim Leahy and Mr McCarthy recently held a public meeting seeking support to retain the saleyards in or near the city.
Last month Mr McCarthy inspected the Charles piggery at Berrybank and its anaerobic digester that generates electricity from methane, conserving and recycling water and collecting waste for sale as fertiliser. Owner Melville Charles said from a $2 million investment in the waste management system 17 years ago he annually saved $100,000 in electricity, sold 6000 tonnes of organic garden products valued at $1.2 million and replaced fertiliser valued at $50,000. Mr McCarthy said he and current WCC mayor David Atkinson also inspected the piggery 17 years ago. "That's what I wanted them to put down here about 20 years ago but they didn't have the foresight to do it," he said.
"If we overcome the effluent problem the saleyards could stay there for another 50 years." The council has also indicated it had no money in its 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 budgets for rubber soft flooring needed in sale pens. But Mr McCarthy said processing the cattle waste could potentially fund the needed soft-flooring. Warrnambool Stock Agents Association president Jack Kelly said he supported the council investigating the beneficial use of the saleyards' effluent. "If the byproducts could be used it would be good for everyone." Warrong farmer and Warrnambool Stock Agents Association secretary Gerald Madden said effluent options should be vigorously investigated.
"The agents have been advised by city council that the disposal costs of effluent into the waste treatment system have escalated and were a big imposition on the financial operation of the yards." Bellwether Agriculture managing director Chris Davidson said production of the estimated 13 standard cubic feet per minute of methane gas generated from the Warrnambool saleyards' waste was equivalent to:
"What they (the Warrnambool City Council) are doing is getting rid of a waste stream that could generate a net income and have environmental gains," he said. An IBR plant sufficient to handle the saleyards' waste would have a footprint equivalent to a normal house block of about 2000 square metres. Establishment cost recovery could be about four years, depending on the actual available organic waste tonnage, electricity and carbon credit prices.
Thursday 24/4/2008 Page: 1
Warrnambool's saleyards should remain on Caramut Road while the city council investigates producing green power from cattle effluent to cut waste management costs, the centre's supporters said this week. In about four weeks Warrnambool City Council will consider a consultant's report into the economic impact of closing the saleyards.
The report was commissioned after the Victorian Livestock Exchange proposed building a new saleyards complex at Garvoc if the Warrnambool and Camperdown yards closed. But former Warrnambool mayor Frank McCarthy said the council should maintain the saleyards and investigate a methane plant. "It's not anything new," he declared. "They should leave the yards where they are and investigate it." Former city councillor Jim Leahy and Mr McCarthy recently held a public meeting seeking support to retain the saleyards in or near the city.
Last month Mr McCarthy inspected the Charles piggery at Berrybank and its anaerobic digester that generates electricity from methane, conserving and recycling water and collecting waste for sale as fertiliser. Owner Melville Charles said from a $2 million investment in the waste management system 17 years ago he annually saved $100,000 in electricity, sold 6000 tonnes of organic garden products valued at $1.2 million and replaced fertiliser valued at $50,000. Mr McCarthy said he and current WCC mayor David Atkinson also inspected the piggery 17 years ago. "That's what I wanted them to put down here about 20 years ago but they didn't have the foresight to do it," he said.
"If we overcome the effluent problem the saleyards could stay there for another 50 years." The council has also indicated it had no money in its 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 budgets for rubber soft flooring needed in sale pens. But Mr McCarthy said processing the cattle waste could potentially fund the needed soft-flooring. Warrnambool Stock Agents Association president Jack Kelly said he supported the council investigating the beneficial use of the saleyards' effluent. "If the byproducts could be used it would be good for everyone." Warrong farmer and Warrnambool Stock Agents Association secretary Gerald Madden said effluent options should be vigorously investigated.
"The agents have been advised by city council that the disposal costs of effluent into the waste treatment system have escalated and were a big imposition on the financial operation of the yards." Bellwether Agriculture managing director Chris Davidson said production of the estimated 13 standard cubic feet per minute of methane gas generated from the Warrnambool saleyards' waste was equivalent to:
- preventing the use of 3609 barrels of oil;
- displacing the use of 642,036.16 litres of petrol;
- removing emissions equivalent to 298 vehicles;
- a reduction of 179 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year; or
- planting 171.5 hectares of forest.
"What they (the Warrnambool City Council) are doing is getting rid of a waste stream that could generate a net income and have environmental gains," he said. An IBR plant sufficient to handle the saleyards' waste would have a footprint equivalent to a normal house block of about 2000 square metres. Establishment cost recovery could be about four years, depending on the actual available organic waste tonnage, electricity and carbon credit prices.
Gloomy Hydro power forecast
Hobart Mercury
Thursday 24/4/2008 Page: 9
POWER supplies will be in a critical situation by next March if there is not a wet winter. Primary Industries and Water Minister David Llewellyn said yesterday. Hydro water storages are at 18.9 per cent, the third lowest monthly figure since 2002. Tasmania would have to rely on imports over Basslink, he said. "If it does not rain this winter we're going to... have problems on a number of fronts, quite frankly, but next year around March and April will be critical," he said.
He said lie did not expect a wet winter after a briefing from the chief of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne. "He believes that the La Nina phase is dissipating and we may be entering into another El Nino phase which is the dry phase for Australia," he said. "I think we can expect lower than normal rainfalls into the future." Mr Llewellyn said it was hoped a new 200 megawatt power station in the Tamar Valley would be commissioned by March 2009. He said other facilities with a capacity of 400 megawatts would be available by then. Government was looking at renewable energy options including geothermal, private investment in wind farms and the burning of forest waste.
Thursday 24/4/2008 Page: 9
POWER supplies will be in a critical situation by next March if there is not a wet winter. Primary Industries and Water Minister David Llewellyn said yesterday. Hydro water storages are at 18.9 per cent, the third lowest monthly figure since 2002. Tasmania would have to rely on imports over Basslink, he said. "If it does not rain this winter we're going to... have problems on a number of fronts, quite frankly, but next year around March and April will be critical," he said.
He said lie did not expect a wet winter after a briefing from the chief of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne. "He believes that the La Nina phase is dissipating and we may be entering into another El Nino phase which is the dry phase for Australia," he said. "I think we can expect lower than normal rainfalls into the future." Mr Llewellyn said it was hoped a new 200 megawatt power station in the Tamar Valley would be commissioned by March 2009. He said other facilities with a capacity of 400 megawatts would be available by then. Government was looking at renewable energy options including geothermal, private investment in wind farms and the burning of forest waste.
Log-burner power push - Bid to fire up forests for electricity
Hobart Mercury
Thursday 24/4/2008 Page: 5
Forestry Tasmania wants an electricity investor to build a $70 million burner to put the debris from clearfell logging into energy, rather than smoke, generation. Forestry Tasmania managing director Bob Gordon said planning permits and approvals had been obtained to build the plant at its Southwood project in the Huon Valley. Mr Gordon said another plant could be built at its Southwood Smithton site, and Gunns Ltd's proposed pulp mill had a power boiler which could take log residue. Forestry Tasmania has come under fire this week over smoke from its burn-offs.
"It is the large pieces of wood which often smoulder over a number of days which have contributed most to the smoke haze around the state," Mr Gordon said. "Biomass energy is part of the solution. These bigger pieces should instead be going into biomass plants. It is a win-win. We can reduce the smoke going into the atmosphere and also generate renewable power." He said the company would still conduct forest burns to create ash beds but the burns would be less intense.
Wilderness Society campaigner Vica Bayley said power generated from such plants would be recognised as a manifestation of forest destruction. He said there would be little market for power from logging. "Forestry Tasmania roll out the biomass plant idea every year when they are under public pressure about burning in the forests," Mr Bayley said. "The majority of Tasmanians are upset about the smoke because of what it represents, not just the nuisance factor." Investment in renewable energy has slumped with uncertainty over Australia's renewable energy target scheme.
Mr Gordon said Forestry Tasmania had received interest in its plans. He said it would take 12 months from the time an investor put money on the table to get a plant up and running. A plant of the scale proposed would need 10,000 tonnes of wood to generate 10 megawatts of electricity. Mr Gordon said there was enough waste wood in Tasmania to fuel the plants without having to clearfell more forests. "Of course we would need to leave some large rotten logs for insect life. It wouldn't be financially viable to log simply to get waste wood product to put through a power plant," he said.
Thursday 24/4/2008 Page: 5
Forestry Tasmania wants an electricity investor to build a $70 million burner to put the debris from clearfell logging into energy, rather than smoke, generation. Forestry Tasmania managing director Bob Gordon said planning permits and approvals had been obtained to build the plant at its Southwood project in the Huon Valley. Mr Gordon said another plant could be built at its Southwood Smithton site, and Gunns Ltd's proposed pulp mill had a power boiler which could take log residue. Forestry Tasmania has come under fire this week over smoke from its burn-offs.
"It is the large pieces of wood which often smoulder over a number of days which have contributed most to the smoke haze around the state," Mr Gordon said. "Biomass energy is part of the solution. These bigger pieces should instead be going into biomass plants. It is a win-win. We can reduce the smoke going into the atmosphere and also generate renewable power." He said the company would still conduct forest burns to create ash beds but the burns would be less intense.
Wilderness Society campaigner Vica Bayley said power generated from such plants would be recognised as a manifestation of forest destruction. He said there would be little market for power from logging. "Forestry Tasmania roll out the biomass plant idea every year when they are under public pressure about burning in the forests," Mr Bayley said. "The majority of Tasmanians are upset about the smoke because of what it represents, not just the nuisance factor." Investment in renewable energy has slumped with uncertainty over Australia's renewable energy target scheme.
Mr Gordon said Forestry Tasmania had received interest in its plans. He said it would take 12 months from the time an investor put money on the table to get a plant up and running. A plant of the scale proposed would need 10,000 tonnes of wood to generate 10 megawatts of electricity. Mr Gordon said there was enough waste wood in Tasmania to fuel the plants without having to clearfell more forests. "Of course we would need to leave some large rotten logs for insect life. It wouldn't be financially viable to log simply to get waste wood product to put through a power plant," he said.
UN suspends Greece from carbon trading
Adelaide Advertiser
Thursday 24/4/2008 Page: 38
GREECE has been suspended from United Nations carbon trading in an unprecedented punishment for violating greenhouse gas reporting rules that underpin a fight against global warming. Legal experts enforcing compliance with the Kyoto Protocol said the UN also was opening proceedings against Canada for alleged violations of rules on accounting for heat-trapping gases.
"Greece is declared to be in noncompliance," the enforcement branch stated. Greek authorities had failed to maintain a proper national system for recording greenhouse gas emissions - the key to ensuring compliance with the protocol seeking to slow temperature rises that could bring more floods, droughts, heatwaves and rising seas. "Greece is not eligible to participate in the (trading) mechanisms... of the protocol pending the resolution of the question of implementation," the enforcement branch stated. It is the first such ruling since Kyoto came into force in 2005.
Submission of new data by Greece had not entirely convinced the compliance experts, who were seeking extra opinions, said a UN official. who declined to be named. Of the Greek ruling, spokesman John Hay of the Climate Change Secretariat said: "This case shows that the compliance committee of the Kyoto Protocol is up and running properly." The Kyoto Protocol imposes a cap on emissions of greenhouse gas by 37 industrialised countries but allows them to meet their targets by paying for emissions cuts elsewhere, such as in the developing world or former east bloc nations.
The ruling means Greece is barred from such offsetting, except under one track of emissions trading with former communist countries. Greek companies still will be able to take part in a European Union market for carbon dioxide. Greece's emissions were running 26 per cent above 1990 levels in 2006, slightly above the nation's Kyoto target of no more than 25 per cent above 1990 levels between 2008 and 20012. As a result it has little need to buy offsets. The enforcement branch also said Canada had failed to provide a proper registry for greenhouse gases and had missed a January 1 reporting deadline by more than two months. The Canadian finding was preliminary and needed further research before any rulings.
Thursday 24/4/2008 Page: 38
GREECE has been suspended from United Nations carbon trading in an unprecedented punishment for violating greenhouse gas reporting rules that underpin a fight against global warming. Legal experts enforcing compliance with the Kyoto Protocol said the UN also was opening proceedings against Canada for alleged violations of rules on accounting for heat-trapping gases.
"Greece is declared to be in noncompliance," the enforcement branch stated. Greek authorities had failed to maintain a proper national system for recording greenhouse gas emissions - the key to ensuring compliance with the protocol seeking to slow temperature rises that could bring more floods, droughts, heatwaves and rising seas. "Greece is not eligible to participate in the (trading) mechanisms... of the protocol pending the resolution of the question of implementation," the enforcement branch stated. It is the first such ruling since Kyoto came into force in 2005.
Submission of new data by Greece had not entirely convinced the compliance experts, who were seeking extra opinions, said a UN official. who declined to be named. Of the Greek ruling, spokesman John Hay of the Climate Change Secretariat said: "This case shows that the compliance committee of the Kyoto Protocol is up and running properly." The Kyoto Protocol imposes a cap on emissions of greenhouse gas by 37 industrialised countries but allows them to meet their targets by paying for emissions cuts elsewhere, such as in the developing world or former east bloc nations.
The ruling means Greece is barred from such offsetting, except under one track of emissions trading with former communist countries. Greek companies still will be able to take part in a European Union market for carbon dioxide. Greece's emissions were running 26 per cent above 1990 levels in 2006, slightly above the nation's Kyoto target of no more than 25 per cent above 1990 levels between 2008 and 20012. As a result it has little need to buy offsets. The enforcement branch also said Canada had failed to provide a proper registry for greenhouse gases and had missed a January 1 reporting deadline by more than two months. The Canadian finding was preliminary and needed further research before any rulings.
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Griffin steps up plans for more coal-fired power
West Australian
Tuesday 22/4/2008 Page: 11
Ric Stowe's Griffin Group hopes to have final environmental approvals by mid-2009 to build another two coal-fired power stations near Collie and will consider more in the future to meet the growing demand for electricity in WA. Griffin's two new 208 megawatt Bluewaters coal-fired units, which will cost up to $500 million each, will have to meet the highest level of environmental assessment after the Environmental Protection Authority ruled yesterday they would be subject to a full public environmental review.
The EPA released its assessment decision as Greens MLC Paul Llewellyn said he would introduce a Bill in State Parliament seeking to prevent any more conventional coal-fired power stations in WA. "We can't afford to approve more coal-fired power stations that will lock in high emissions for the next 30 years," Mr Llewellyn said. As The West Australian revealed last week, Griffin is seeking approval to build the two new coalfired power stations at its Coolangatta industrial estate near Collie, where the Stowe company is already building the first two Bluewaters units. Griffin hopes to sell that extra 416MW of power to State-owned retailer Synergy and big industrial customers.
The company also plans to build a second wind farm near Cervantes, capable of producing up to 130MW Griffin power generation chief Wayne Trumble said yesterday the two new Bluewaters units would include technology to remove sulfur dioxide and would be engineered to capture carbon when such technology became commercially viable. Mr Trumble said the new power stations would also be built so 15 per cent of the fuel could be provided by biomass.
He anticipated Griffin would have its environmental approvals in place by mid-2009, enabling construction of the third unit to begin by September next year. The public environmental review includes an eight-week public consultation period, which will help shape the recommendations the EPA will make to Environment Minister David Templeman. The process starts with a community meeting in Collie scheduled for May 7.
Mr Trumble claimed coal had a long-term future as a source of fuel for electricity generation in WA because as January's shutdown on North-West Shelf plant had illustrated, the State could not afford to be over-reliant on gas. He said while also pursuing plans for gasfired power generation and wind farms, Griffin would consider building more coal-fired power stations to keep pace with growing demand for energy.
Mr Llewellyn queried whether Griffin had complied with the conditions of its first two Bluewaters units, claiming it had not made public its greenhouse gas abatement program in the specified time. But Mr Trumble said Griffin's abatement plan was with the Department of Environment and Conservation awaiting approval.
Tuesday 22/4/2008 Page: 11
Ric Stowe's Griffin Group hopes to have final environmental approvals by mid-2009 to build another two coal-fired power stations near Collie and will consider more in the future to meet the growing demand for electricity in WA. Griffin's two new 208 megawatt Bluewaters coal-fired units, which will cost up to $500 million each, will have to meet the highest level of environmental assessment after the Environmental Protection Authority ruled yesterday they would be subject to a full public environmental review.The EPA released its assessment decision as Greens MLC Paul Llewellyn said he would introduce a Bill in State Parliament seeking to prevent any more conventional coal-fired power stations in WA. "We can't afford to approve more coal-fired power stations that will lock in high emissions for the next 30 years," Mr Llewellyn said. As The West Australian revealed last week, Griffin is seeking approval to build the two new coalfired power stations at its Coolangatta industrial estate near Collie, where the Stowe company is already building the first two Bluewaters units. Griffin hopes to sell that extra 416MW of power to State-owned retailer Synergy and big industrial customers.
The company also plans to build a second wind farm near Cervantes, capable of producing up to 130MW Griffin power generation chief Wayne Trumble said yesterday the two new Bluewaters units would include technology to remove sulfur dioxide and would be engineered to capture carbon when such technology became commercially viable. Mr Trumble said the new power stations would also be built so 15 per cent of the fuel could be provided by biomass.
He anticipated Griffin would have its environmental approvals in place by mid-2009, enabling construction of the third unit to begin by September next year. The public environmental review includes an eight-week public consultation period, which will help shape the recommendations the EPA will make to Environment Minister David Templeman. The process starts with a community meeting in Collie scheduled for May 7.
Mr Trumble claimed coal had a long-term future as a source of fuel for electricity generation in WA because as January's shutdown on North-West Shelf plant had illustrated, the State could not afford to be over-reliant on gas. He said while also pursuing plans for gasfired power generation and wind farms, Griffin would consider building more coal-fired power stations to keep pace with growing demand for energy.
Mr Llewellyn queried whether Griffin had complied with the conditions of its first two Bluewaters units, claiming it had not made public its greenhouse gas abatement program in the specified time. But Mr Trumble said Griffin's abatement plan was with the Department of Environment and Conservation awaiting approval.
Support renewables, says WISE
Midland Express
Tuesday 22/4/2008 Page: 4
Woodend Integrated Sustainable Energy (WISE), is supporting the uptake of all forms of renewable energy projects in Macedon Ranges Shire (MRS). WISE is a local community organisation which seeks to help the community take responsibility for its energy and carbon future. Spokesperson, Peter Hansford, said WISE support of renewable energy includes wind, solar and biofuels, be they large, medium or domestic, as well as sustainable building design with respect to energy and water conservation.
"In this day and age, we as a people need to think not only about impending climate change, but also the depletion, increasing expense and eventual disappearance of fossil fuels as an energy source." He points out that MRS is a wind-rich area (Victorian Wind Atlas, 2004), blessed due to its own topography with wind resources equal to coastal areas.
WISE asks, why not use this resource for our community's benefit? Mr Hansford said Denmark and the United States, among others, have embraced community-owned wind power generation for decades. "They have enjoyed the benefits flowing on from this, including a source of ongoing revenue for the community shareholders, and the proud feeling that comes from creating and using for themselves energy from a clean, renewable resource." Mr Hansford said WISE respects the opinions of local community members concerned about the potential impacts on landscape, flora and fauna, but simply asks that this be considered in the light of reason and current understanding.
WISE believes that bird strike, however, is one of many myths that needs exploding. The group points to detailed surveys conducted by various commercial and government agencies which have concluded bird strike by wind turbine is an extremely rare phenomenon, and that far more birds are killed by buildings and cars, not to mention the fate of these birds in an environment where climate and habitat changes continue unabated.
Mr Hansford said that with respect to flora, the footprint of wind turbines is small, so that the impact on vegetation is limited. "Further, productive agricultural land is being used right now in Victoria for wind farms, with the landholders enjoying annual annuities and leases on easements. This is at odds with the current Council position on using 'productive agricultural land' as an exclusion layer for siting wind turbines.
"In the MRS, this excludes a huge area which may otherwise be used for clean power production for community benefit. "WISE supports (councillor) John Letchford's comments on the positive benefits of wind power, and is heartened that the Council may be changing its current `hands off' attitude." Mr Hansford said WISE particularly supports community owned renewable energy production, in the form of initiatives such as small-scale wind `parks' (consisting of two to three wind turbines), which for example, could provide enough household energy for local towns and assist in achieving a carbon neutral future for the Shire.
He said the area would likewise benefit from other initiatives such as bulk purchasing of residential solar power systems, retrofitting of existing buildings for energy and water conservation, and introducing planning provisions for sustainable buildings. "The facts must be weighed with both reason and an appreciation of the bigger picture," Mr Hansford said.
Tuesday 22/4/2008 Page: 4
Woodend Integrated Sustainable Energy (WISE), is supporting the uptake of all forms of renewable energy projects in Macedon Ranges Shire (MRS). WISE is a local community organisation which seeks to help the community take responsibility for its energy and carbon future. Spokesperson, Peter Hansford, said WISE support of renewable energy includes wind, solar and biofuels, be they large, medium or domestic, as well as sustainable building design with respect to energy and water conservation.
"In this day and age, we as a people need to think not only about impending climate change, but also the depletion, increasing expense and eventual disappearance of fossil fuels as an energy source." He points out that MRS is a wind-rich area (Victorian Wind Atlas, 2004), blessed due to its own topography with wind resources equal to coastal areas.
WISE asks, why not use this resource for our community's benefit? Mr Hansford said Denmark and the United States, among others, have embraced community-owned wind power generation for decades. "They have enjoyed the benefits flowing on from this, including a source of ongoing revenue for the community shareholders, and the proud feeling that comes from creating and using for themselves energy from a clean, renewable resource." Mr Hansford said WISE respects the opinions of local community members concerned about the potential impacts on landscape, flora and fauna, but simply asks that this be considered in the light of reason and current understanding.
WISE believes that bird strike, however, is one of many myths that needs exploding. The group points to detailed surveys conducted by various commercial and government agencies which have concluded bird strike by wind turbine is an extremely rare phenomenon, and that far more birds are killed by buildings and cars, not to mention the fate of these birds in an environment where climate and habitat changes continue unabated.
Mr Hansford said that with respect to flora, the footprint of wind turbines is small, so that the impact on vegetation is limited. "Further, productive agricultural land is being used right now in Victoria for wind farms, with the landholders enjoying annual annuities and leases on easements. This is at odds with the current Council position on using 'productive agricultural land' as an exclusion layer for siting wind turbines.
"In the MRS, this excludes a huge area which may otherwise be used for clean power production for community benefit. "WISE supports (councillor) John Letchford's comments on the positive benefits of wind power, and is heartened that the Council may be changing its current `hands off' attitude." Mr Hansford said WISE particularly supports community owned renewable energy production, in the form of initiatives such as small-scale wind `parks' (consisting of two to three wind turbines), which for example, could provide enough household energy for local towns and assist in achieving a carbon neutral future for the Shire.
He said the area would likewise benefit from other initiatives such as bulk purchasing of residential solar power systems, retrofitting of existing buildings for energy and water conservation, and introducing planning provisions for sustainable buildings. "The facts must be weighed with both reason and an appreciation of the bigger picture," Mr Hansford said.
Home to bright ideas
Moonee Valley Leader
Monday 21/4/2008 Page: 14
THE Building & Home Improvement Expo offers inspiration for every homeowner and builder. The focus this year is affordability in sustainability. Visitors to the expo can expect a one-stop destination for information and ideas on the latest renovation and building related materials and products. Organised with the Master Builders Association, the event will feature more than 250 companies showing the latest in their fields and highlight solutions to a range of topical issues such as affordable energy efficiency, water saving and sustainability in the home. Topics covered include smart technology, solar power, bathrooms, flooring, landscaping, heating, kitchens, roofing, skylights and security. There's also the latest in home automation and smart technology.
Visitors can take advantage of the many DIY demonstrations along with building and design seminars during the three-day event and get practical advice from the professionals. Given that market conditions in real estate have led many people to renovate and extend rather than buy, the expo should be the perfect destination for anyone looking to research and discover new ideas to improve their homes. The Building and Home Improvement Expo is on May 16-18 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Southbank.
Visit www.buildexpo.com.au for more information.
Monday 21/4/2008 Page: 14
THE Building & Home Improvement Expo offers inspiration for every homeowner and builder. The focus this year is affordability in sustainability. Visitors to the expo can expect a one-stop destination for information and ideas on the latest renovation and building related materials and products. Organised with the Master Builders Association, the event will feature more than 250 companies showing the latest in their fields and highlight solutions to a range of topical issues such as affordable energy efficiency, water saving and sustainability in the home. Topics covered include smart technology, solar power, bathrooms, flooring, landscaping, heating, kitchens, roofing, skylights and security. There's also the latest in home automation and smart technology.Visitors can take advantage of the many DIY demonstrations along with building and design seminars during the three-day event and get practical advice from the professionals. Given that market conditions in real estate have led many people to renovate and extend rather than buy, the expo should be the perfect destination for anyone looking to research and discover new ideas to improve their homes. The Building and Home Improvement Expo is on May 16-18 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Southbank.
Visit www.buildexpo.com.au for more information.
Shell floats plan for offshore carbon capture
Australian
Tuesday 22/4/2008 Page: 25
ROYAL Dutch Shell is considering capturing and burying carbon dioxide at its planned Prelude floating liquefied natural gas operation off the coast of Western Australia, according to documents lodged with environmental regulators. Shell is looking to build a 3.5 million tonnes a year floating LNG plant to process gas from the Prelude field, about 450km northeast of Broome, according to an application lodged with the federal Environment Department earlier this month.
The project has "potential for carbon dioxide sequestration, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of the project", Shell says in the application. Floating LNG, in which gas is liquefied offshore on a floating plant rather than piping the fuel to shore, is an untested technology that large oil companies, including Shell, are trying to commercialise as LNG plant development costs spiral higher and as LNG prices make developing isolated gas fields more attractive.
The move to sequester, or capture and store underground, the carbon dioxide from the gas comes as the federal Government plans to bring in a carbon trading scheme by 2010 as part of a plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions. "A successful Prelude floating LNG development will provide the catalyst for the development of other stranded gas fields in Australia and elsewhere," Shell says in the application. Shell, along with partner Woodside Petroleum, is considering using floating LNG at the Sunrise project in the Timor Sea.
The floating LNG plant is expected to be 480m long with a width of between 70m and 80m and would be built outside Australia and towed to Prelude, Shell says. The plant is expected to run for 25 years to 2037, Shell says, indicating an expected start date of 2012. The planned unit, which would be anchored to the seabed, would not disconnect in bad weather and would be designed to survive a one in 10,000 years cyclone. Shell executive director of gas and power Linda Cook said earlier this month that an application had been lodged. She said preliminary estimates showed the Prelude field held between 2 trillion and 3 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Tuesday 22/4/2008 Page: 25
ROYAL Dutch Shell is considering capturing and burying carbon dioxide at its planned Prelude floating liquefied natural gas operation off the coast of Western Australia, according to documents lodged with environmental regulators. Shell is looking to build a 3.5 million tonnes a year floating LNG plant to process gas from the Prelude field, about 450km northeast of Broome, according to an application lodged with the federal Environment Department earlier this month.
The project has "potential for carbon dioxide sequestration, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of the project", Shell says in the application. Floating LNG, in which gas is liquefied offshore on a floating plant rather than piping the fuel to shore, is an untested technology that large oil companies, including Shell, are trying to commercialise as LNG plant development costs spiral higher and as LNG prices make developing isolated gas fields more attractive.
The move to sequester, or capture and store underground, the carbon dioxide from the gas comes as the federal Government plans to bring in a carbon trading scheme by 2010 as part of a plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions. "A successful Prelude floating LNG development will provide the catalyst for the development of other stranded gas fields in Australia and elsewhere," Shell says in the application. Shell, along with partner Woodside Petroleum, is considering using floating LNG at the Sunrise project in the Timor Sea.
The floating LNG plant is expected to be 480m long with a width of between 70m and 80m and would be built outside Australia and towed to Prelude, Shell says. The plant is expected to run for 25 years to 2037, Shell says, indicating an expected start date of 2012. The planned unit, which would be anchored to the seabed, would not disconnect in bad weather and would be designed to survive a one in 10,000 years cyclone. Shell executive director of gas and power Linda Cook said earlier this month that an application had been lodged. She said preliminary estimates showed the Prelude field held between 2 trillion and 3 trillion cubic feet of gas.
White elephant fear for Congo hydro project
Age
Tuesday 22/4/2008 Page: 10
SEVEN African governments and the world's largest banks and construction firms met in London yesterday to plan the most powerful dam ever conceived - an $85 billion hydropower project on the Congo River, which, its supporters say, could double the amount of electricity available on the continent. G8 and some African governments hope the Grand Inga dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo will generate twice as much electricity as the world's current largest dam, the Three Gorges in China, and jump-start industrial development on the continent, bringing electricity to hundreds of millions of people.
But while governments and banks expect it to export electricity as far away as South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and even to Europe and Israel, environment groups and local people warned that it could bypass the most needy and end up as Africa's most ruinous white elephant, consigning one of the poorest countries to mountainous debts. The dam is being planned to exploit one of the largest water flows on earth where the world's second-largest river drops nearly 100 metres in just 13 kilometres.
Two hydro-electric plants, known as Inga 1 and Inga 2, were constructed in the 1970s and a third is planned, but
Grand Inga would dwarf them all.
Grand Inga was proposed in the 1980s but never got beyond feasibility studies because of political turmoil in central Africa. But now it stands a chance, according to Gerald Doucet, secretary-general of the World Energy Council, which is convening the London meeting.
"It is the greatest sustainable development project, offering Africa a unique chance for interdependence and prosperity," Mr Doucet said. "It's much more feasible now than ever." Grand Inga's prospects of being completed by 2022 are said to have risen significantly in the past year as countries, banks and private companies have found they can earn high returns from the emerging global carbon offset market and UN climate change credits.
"The banks and the City of London see that Grand Inga is serious," Mr Doucet said. "The G8 countries are behind it because they can get UN clean development mechanism (CDM) credits to offset their emissions. Chinese, Brazilian and Canadian dam-building companies, as well as the World Bank, are all interested." But advocacy groups said the plans ignored local people and could leave Congo with massive debts rather than a sustainable industrial base.
The project would be a magnet for corruption in one of the world's least stable regions," said Terri Hathaway, Africa campaigner with the International Rivers, a watchdog group monitoring the project. "Its enormous budget and large contracts could devolve Inga into a corruption riddled white elephant.
"Inga will centralise a vast store of the region's electric and financial power, a development model that can foster tensions and civil wars." Ms Hathaway said the 94% of people in Congo DRC and the two-in-three Africans who have no electricity now were unlikely to benefit because the dam depends on exporting its electricity to existing centres of industry, especially in South Africa, where there have been power shortages. As it stands, the project's electricity won't reach even a fraction of the continent's 500 million people not yet connected to the grid," she said.
"Building a distribution network that would actually light up Africa would increase the project's cost exponentially. It would be very different if rural energy received the kind of commitment and attention now being lavished on Inga." Despite Congo having exported electricity for years from Inga 1 and Inga 2, access to electricity across the country is less than 6%, and in rural areas, where nearly 70% of people live, it is only 1%.
"My village is three kilometres from Inga's power lines. They built a line almost 2000 kilometres to the mines (in Katanga province) but in all of these years we have been left without electricity," said Simon Malanda, a community representative.
Tuesday 22/4/2008 Page: 10
SEVEN African governments and the world's largest banks and construction firms met in London yesterday to plan the most powerful dam ever conceived - an $85 billion hydropower project on the Congo River, which, its supporters say, could double the amount of electricity available on the continent. G8 and some African governments hope the Grand Inga dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo will generate twice as much electricity as the world's current largest dam, the Three Gorges in China, and jump-start industrial development on the continent, bringing electricity to hundreds of millions of people.
But while governments and banks expect it to export electricity as far away as South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and even to Europe and Israel, environment groups and local people warned that it could bypass the most needy and end up as Africa's most ruinous white elephant, consigning one of the poorest countries to mountainous debts. The dam is being planned to exploit one of the largest water flows on earth where the world's second-largest river drops nearly 100 metres in just 13 kilometres.
Two hydro-electric plants, known as Inga 1 and Inga 2, were constructed in the 1970s and a third is planned, but
Grand Inga would dwarf them all.
Grand Inga was proposed in the 1980s but never got beyond feasibility studies because of political turmoil in central Africa. But now it stands a chance, according to Gerald Doucet, secretary-general of the World Energy Council, which is convening the London meeting.
"It is the greatest sustainable development project, offering Africa a unique chance for interdependence and prosperity," Mr Doucet said. "It's much more feasible now than ever." Grand Inga's prospects of being completed by 2022 are said to have risen significantly in the past year as countries, banks and private companies have found they can earn high returns from the emerging global carbon offset market and UN climate change credits.
"The banks and the City of London see that Grand Inga is serious," Mr Doucet said. "The G8 countries are behind it because they can get UN clean development mechanism (CDM) credits to offset their emissions. Chinese, Brazilian and Canadian dam-building companies, as well as the World Bank, are all interested." But advocacy groups said the plans ignored local people and could leave Congo with massive debts rather than a sustainable industrial base.
The project would be a magnet for corruption in one of the world's least stable regions," said Terri Hathaway, Africa campaigner with the International Rivers, a watchdog group monitoring the project. "Its enormous budget and large contracts could devolve Inga into a corruption riddled white elephant.
"Inga will centralise a vast store of the region's electric and financial power, a development model that can foster tensions and civil wars." Ms Hathaway said the 94% of people in Congo DRC and the two-in-three Africans who have no electricity now were unlikely to benefit because the dam depends on exporting its electricity to existing centres of industry, especially in South Africa, where there have been power shortages. As it stands, the project's electricity won't reach even a fraction of the continent's 500 million people not yet connected to the grid," she said.
"Building a distribution network that would actually light up Africa would increase the project's cost exponentially. It would be very different if rural energy received the kind of commitment and attention now being lavished on Inga." Despite Congo having exported electricity for years from Inga 1 and Inga 2, access to electricity across the country is less than 6%, and in rural areas, where nearly 70% of people live, it is only 1%.
"My village is three kilometres from Inga's power lines. They built a line almost 2000 kilometres to the mines (in Katanga province) but in all of these years we have been left without electricity," said Simon Malanda, a community representative.
Collaboration announced
Daily Advertiser
Saturday 19/4/2008 Page: 7
AUSTRALIAs largest energy supply network, Country Energy, has announced its global collaboration with IBM aimed at developing and deploying an "Intelligent Network" in Australia. Country Energy is pursuing the Intelligent Network concept to improve reliability, support the growth of renewables like solar and wind and make energy efficiency simpler for customers.
"Climate change and cost of living fears have made families and businesses keener than ever to control their energy and water use," Country Energy's managing director Craig Murray said. "At the same time, Australia's power grids are beginning to show their age - we need a blueprint to renew those grids as more efficient and responsive `Intelligent Networks'. "We need to put the digital age to work for our network customers.
"By 2020, Intelligent Networks need to do for essential services what the internet has done for information." Through the development of an Intelligent Network, Country Energy can combat short-term carbon adjustment costs, and the long term costs of moving to a low-carbon future. In Australia, IBM and Country Energy are focusing on developing solutions specific to local conditions and electricity networks, which will enable small renewable generators to interact with the network.
Saturday 19/4/2008 Page: 7
AUSTRALIAs largest energy supply network, Country Energy, has announced its global collaboration with IBM aimed at developing and deploying an "Intelligent Network" in Australia. Country Energy is pursuing the Intelligent Network concept to improve reliability, support the growth of renewables like solar and wind and make energy efficiency simpler for customers.
"Climate change and cost of living fears have made families and businesses keener than ever to control their energy and water use," Country Energy's managing director Craig Murray said. "At the same time, Australia's power grids are beginning to show their age - we need a blueprint to renew those grids as more efficient and responsive `Intelligent Networks'. "We need to put the digital age to work for our network customers.
"By 2020, Intelligent Networks need to do for essential services what the internet has done for information." Through the development of an Intelligent Network, Country Energy can combat short-term carbon adjustment costs, and the long term costs of moving to a low-carbon future. In Australia, IBM and Country Energy are focusing on developing solutions specific to local conditions and electricity networks, which will enable small renewable generators to interact with the network.
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Ready for heavy weather
Age
Monday 21/4/2008 Page: 13
As weather patterns turn more volatile, we need to climate-proof our cities, writes Peter Fisher.
EVEN the mild autumn days we're enjoying, it is easy to forget that almost three weeks ago Melbourne was battered by storms that not only caused property damage and a great deal of personal inconvenience but, more importantly, resulted in two deaths. These storms show that climate change need not be a gradual, creeping, almost benign process - balmy winters, growing acidity, water shortages, that sort of thing - but is capable of turning very nasty.
The damage and disruption to Melbourne's urban fabric - houses and commercial buildings, train lines, roads, power networks, even losses to our tree canopy - as well as the loss of human life, have demonstrated that the city needs to be better prepared against such ravages, which Premier John Brumby has conceded will "happen more often" under climate change.
Change is already locked into the global weather system. So in addition to trying to limit carbon emissions by renewable energy and clean coal, we should also be developing means to more adequately manage the effects of climate change, to minimise risks from cyclonic-force winds, deluges, blistering heat waves (such as that visited on Adelaide last month), bushfires and sea-level rise.
Residents still have little to guide them in their choice of housing or building locations. Vast numbers are living and working in susceptible localities. Low-lying flood-prone areas, waterfronts, land likely to slip and perhaps areas liable to strong wind or bushfire are clear concerns. The insurance industry is acutely aware of these risks and in the future will reflect them in higher premiums or a refusal to insure, as already happens with seafront properties in Florida often hit by hurricanes.
While the building industry is researching stronger materials to protect against things such as large hail damage, retrofit programs are needed, especially in more densely settled areas, to guard against heat stress (which killed thousands of elderly people in the Paris heat wave of August 2003), retain run-off from heavy rain and direct high winds away from high population areas. Trees can be strategically used, especially for cooling, with the added bonus of carbon sequestration, provided these are species that are less prone to limb fall. Hard surface coverage and reflective glass should be reduced and other heat absorbing and radiating exteriors limited.
Victoria's building requirements have recently been revised to include five-star energy provisions, but do not incorporate adaptation to weather extremes. For example, there are no stipulations barring box spoutings between joined buildings, which have a tendency to overload and allow water to seep between walls. Houses without eaves, even though frowned on by the Planning Appeals Tribunal, can still be built, and stipulations about surfaces being able to readily absorb stormwater are patchy and spread across many levels of planning jurisdiction.
The Rudd Government's recently announced $15 million Climate Change Adaptation Research networks should help define how many of these issues are to be tackled in the Australian building code. With the state's key infrastructure, we should plan to counter low-risk, high-impact events such as the destruction of the Thomson, our largest water catchment, by bushfire. With winds like those we have just experienced, the best buffer zone in the world could not keep a fire out of the watershed. Once fire had broken through, there would be contamination of dam water and a lowered yield as thirsty mountain ash saplings soak up run-off for a decade or more.
Melbourne proposes to insulate itself against such a supply emergency by building a large desalination plant. But will this solve the problem? These plants, located close to the shoreline, could be flooded in decades to come as sea levels rise from melting ice sheets in Greenland and western Antarctica or by a storm surge through a combination of high tide, torrential rain and gale force winds increasing wave heights under the influence of an intense low-pressure system. This is not the working of an overactive imagination. A storm surge destroyed the clubhouse of the Sea Spray Surf Life Saving Club last June. The rest of the structure fell into the sea a few days later.
It is vital that storm surge and sea-level rise are factored into the placement and modelling of desalination plants. A few weeks ago the Wilke Ice Shelf suddenly lost a large chunk. It lies just five degrees north of the western Antarctic ice sheet, which rests on rock below sea level. Should this disintegrate, global sea levels would rise by five metres. Described by one climatologist as an "awakening giant", the western Antarctica ice sheet should be on the whiteboards of all water planners.
Meteorologists have predicted that cyclones will track further south in the future. But Melbourne's recent storm came from an unexpected quarter - tropical cyclone Pancho, which descended from the Kimberley coast and combined with a cold, low-pressure system in the bight before heading west. While Sydney periodically experiences highly damaging stomas, Melbourne has been relatively immune from such disturbances. If this is about to change, many power lines will need to go underground.
If, as the science suggests, there is a connection between climate change in full swing and extremes in weather patterns, we should not only be thinking about the security of future city water supplies or drought at large. An early start needs to be made on "climate-proofing" our city as it takes time to change buildings, redesign infrastructure and establish coastal setbacks. The longer we delay, the harder it will get.
Dr Peter Fisher is an environment management consultant. He co-ordinated a climate change risk assessment - one of the first in Australia - commissioned by City of Port Phillip council.
Monday 21/4/2008 Page: 13
As weather patterns turn more volatile, we need to climate-proof our cities, writes Peter Fisher.EVEN the mild autumn days we're enjoying, it is easy to forget that almost three weeks ago Melbourne was battered by storms that not only caused property damage and a great deal of personal inconvenience but, more importantly, resulted in two deaths. These storms show that climate change need not be a gradual, creeping, almost benign process - balmy winters, growing acidity, water shortages, that sort of thing - but is capable of turning very nasty.
The damage and disruption to Melbourne's urban fabric - houses and commercial buildings, train lines, roads, power networks, even losses to our tree canopy - as well as the loss of human life, have demonstrated that the city needs to be better prepared against such ravages, which Premier John Brumby has conceded will "happen more often" under climate change.
Change is already locked into the global weather system. So in addition to trying to limit carbon emissions by renewable energy and clean coal, we should also be developing means to more adequately manage the effects of climate change, to minimise risks from cyclonic-force winds, deluges, blistering heat waves (such as that visited on Adelaide last month), bushfires and sea-level rise.
Residents still have little to guide them in their choice of housing or building locations. Vast numbers are living and working in susceptible localities. Low-lying flood-prone areas, waterfronts, land likely to slip and perhaps areas liable to strong wind or bushfire are clear concerns. The insurance industry is acutely aware of these risks and in the future will reflect them in higher premiums or a refusal to insure, as already happens with seafront properties in Florida often hit by hurricanes.
While the building industry is researching stronger materials to protect against things such as large hail damage, retrofit programs are needed, especially in more densely settled areas, to guard against heat stress (which killed thousands of elderly people in the Paris heat wave of August 2003), retain run-off from heavy rain and direct high winds away from high population areas. Trees can be strategically used, especially for cooling, with the added bonus of carbon sequestration, provided these are species that are less prone to limb fall. Hard surface coverage and reflective glass should be reduced and other heat absorbing and radiating exteriors limited.
Victoria's building requirements have recently been revised to include five-star energy provisions, but do not incorporate adaptation to weather extremes. For example, there are no stipulations barring box spoutings between joined buildings, which have a tendency to overload and allow water to seep between walls. Houses without eaves, even though frowned on by the Planning Appeals Tribunal, can still be built, and stipulations about surfaces being able to readily absorb stormwater are patchy and spread across many levels of planning jurisdiction.
The Rudd Government's recently announced $15 million Climate Change Adaptation Research networks should help define how many of these issues are to be tackled in the Australian building code. With the state's key infrastructure, we should plan to counter low-risk, high-impact events such as the destruction of the Thomson, our largest water catchment, by bushfire. With winds like those we have just experienced, the best buffer zone in the world could not keep a fire out of the watershed. Once fire had broken through, there would be contamination of dam water and a lowered yield as thirsty mountain ash saplings soak up run-off for a decade or more.
Melbourne proposes to insulate itself against such a supply emergency by building a large desalination plant. But will this solve the problem? These plants, located close to the shoreline, could be flooded in decades to come as sea levels rise from melting ice sheets in Greenland and western Antarctica or by a storm surge through a combination of high tide, torrential rain and gale force winds increasing wave heights under the influence of an intense low-pressure system. This is not the working of an overactive imagination. A storm surge destroyed the clubhouse of the Sea Spray Surf Life Saving Club last June. The rest of the structure fell into the sea a few days later.
It is vital that storm surge and sea-level rise are factored into the placement and modelling of desalination plants. A few weeks ago the Wilke Ice Shelf suddenly lost a large chunk. It lies just five degrees north of the western Antarctic ice sheet, which rests on rock below sea level. Should this disintegrate, global sea levels would rise by five metres. Described by one climatologist as an "awakening giant", the western Antarctica ice sheet should be on the whiteboards of all water planners.
Meteorologists have predicted that cyclones will track further south in the future. But Melbourne's recent storm came from an unexpected quarter - tropical cyclone Pancho, which descended from the Kimberley coast and combined with a cold, low-pressure system in the bight before heading west. While Sydney periodically experiences highly damaging stomas, Melbourne has been relatively immune from such disturbances. If this is about to change, many power lines will need to go underground.
If, as the science suggests, there is a connection between climate change in full swing and extremes in weather patterns, we should not only be thinking about the security of future city water supplies or drought at large. An early start needs to be made on "climate-proofing" our city as it takes time to change buildings, redesign infrastructure and establish coastal setbacks. The longer we delay, the harder it will get.
Dr Peter Fisher is an environment management consultant. He co-ordinated a climate change risk assessment - one of the first in Australia - commissioned by City of Port Phillip council.
Solar thermal energy can `replace coal in US'
Canberra Times
Monday 21/4/2008 Page: 3
Solar thermal electricity can be the "big gorilla on the grid", replacing coal-fired power stations across the United States - the world's biggest greenhouse polluter - over the next 40 years, a leading Australian scientist says. California-based solar energy entrepreneur and former Sydney University physicist David Mills told a US energy conference solar power was the only technology capable of ''almost eliminating" global warming caused by electricity generation by 2050.
Solar thermal electricity could supply "the great majority" of the US electricity grid and " by logical extension those of China and India", as well as eliminating carbon emissions from cars by powering fast-recharging electric vehicles. Earlier this month, federal Energy Minister Martin Ferguson described Australia as a fossil fuel dependent economy, adding there was no alternative to building new coal-fired power stations.
Frustrated by a lack of federal funding for renewables, Dr Mills left Australia last year to base his solar energy company, Attsra, in California, after venture capitalists offered $ U S40 million ($A43 million) to bankroll his world-first technology. The company is currently building a 177-megawatt solar thermal plant to supply the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger launching the project last November.
Addressing an International Energy Agency conference in California, Dr Mills said peer-reviewed research showed 90 per cent of US electric grid and car energy needs could be met by solar thermal power. "The US could nearly eliminate dependence on coal, oil and gas for electricity and transportation, drastically slashing global warming pollution without increasing costs for energy.
This new study shows that our daily and annual energy needs closely snatch the energy production potential from solar thermal power plants with heat energy storage, and our models show solar thermal power will cost less than continuing to import oil." Dr Mills called for " a rethink of the function and forth of electricity grid networks" to include solar thermal arrays, which use lines of computer controlled mirrors to capture the still's energy to boil water and drive steam turbines.
During a visit to Australia this month, Dr Mills said China "clearly favours solar thermal far above airy other resource" for electricity generation and had already held high-level discussions with his company. CSIRO National Solar Energy Centre research leader Wes Stein said solar thermal energy could make a "substantial and positive" contribution to cutting Australia's greenhouse emissions.
"The technology is certainly there and we can do it, but there are complexities and a lot of pragmatics to consider because it takes time for large solar installations to be designed and built." It would only require a solar thermal array built across an area about "50km by 50km square in the centre of Australia somewhere" to supply all of Australia's electricity needs by 2020, he said. "solar thermal is really taking off globally and there is an opportunity for Australia to get on board as a maker, rather than a taker, of technology."
Monday 21/4/2008 Page: 3
Solar thermal electricity can be the "big gorilla on the grid", replacing coal-fired power stations across the United States - the world's biggest greenhouse polluter - over the next 40 years, a leading Australian scientist says. California-based solar energy entrepreneur and former Sydney University physicist David Mills told a US energy conference solar power was the only technology capable of ''almost eliminating" global warming caused by electricity generation by 2050.
Solar thermal electricity could supply "the great majority" of the US electricity grid and " by logical extension those of China and India", as well as eliminating carbon emissions from cars by powering fast-recharging electric vehicles. Earlier this month, federal Energy Minister Martin Ferguson described Australia as a fossil fuel dependent economy, adding there was no alternative to building new coal-fired power stations.
Frustrated by a lack of federal funding for renewables, Dr Mills left Australia last year to base his solar energy company, Attsra, in California, after venture capitalists offered $ U S40 million ($A43 million) to bankroll his world-first technology. The company is currently building a 177-megawatt solar thermal plant to supply the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger launching the project last November.
Addressing an International Energy Agency conference in California, Dr Mills said peer-reviewed research showed 90 per cent of US electric grid and car energy needs could be met by solar thermal power. "The US could nearly eliminate dependence on coal, oil and gas for electricity and transportation, drastically slashing global warming pollution without increasing costs for energy.
This new study shows that our daily and annual energy needs closely snatch the energy production potential from solar thermal power plants with heat energy storage, and our models show solar thermal power will cost less than continuing to import oil." Dr Mills called for " a rethink of the function and forth of electricity grid networks" to include solar thermal arrays, which use lines of computer controlled mirrors to capture the still's energy to boil water and drive steam turbines.
During a visit to Australia this month, Dr Mills said China "clearly favours solar thermal far above airy other resource" for electricity generation and had already held high-level discussions with his company. CSIRO National Solar Energy Centre research leader Wes Stein said solar thermal energy could make a "substantial and positive" contribution to cutting Australia's greenhouse emissions.
"The technology is certainly there and we can do it, but there are complexities and a lot of pragmatics to consider because it takes time for large solar installations to be designed and built." It would only require a solar thermal array built across an area about "50km by 50km square in the centre of Australia somewhere" to supply all of Australia's electricity needs by 2020, he said. "solar thermal is really taking off globally and there is an opportunity for Australia to get on board as a maker, rather than a taker, of technology."
Oil man backs wind, 'I expect to make money on them'
Townsville Bulletin
Saturday 19/4/2008 Page: 82
LEGENDARY Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens has gone green with a plan to spend $US10 billion ($A10.7 billion) to build the world's biggest wind farm. But he's not doing it out of generosity - he expects to turn a buck. The Southern octogenarian's plans are as big as the Texas prairie, where he lives on a ranch with his horses, and entail fundamentally reworking how Americans use energy. Next month, Pickens' company, Mesa Power, will begin buying land and ordering 2,700 wind turbines that will eventually generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity.
This is the equivalent of building two commercial scale nuclear energy plants and enough power for about 1 million homes. "These are substantial," said Pickens, speaking to students at Georgetown University yesterday. "They're big." Pickens knows a thing or two about big. He heads the BP Capital hedge fund with over $US4 billion ($A4.27 billion) under management, and earned about $US1 billion ($A1.07 billion) in 2006 making big bets on commodity and equity markets. Though a long-time oil man, Pickens said he has embraced the call for cleaner energy sources that don't emit heat trapping greenhouse gases. "I'm an environmentalist - I can pass the saliva test," he said.
But Pickens intends to make money. Though Pickens admits that wind power won't be the cash cow oil has been, he still expects the huge Texas project to give him at least a 25 per cent return. "When I go into these markets, I expect to make money on them," Pickens said. "I don't expect to lose." While many states in the US have rejected big coal-fired power projects on environmental concerns, they are offering a bounty of incentives to build renewable sources.
US crude futures at new records above $US115 ($A122.80) a barrel means a bright future for renewable sources like wind and solar. Pickens' wind farm is part of his wider vision for replacing natural gas for power generation with wind and solar, and using the natural gas instead to power vehicles. To picture Pickens' energy strategy, imagine a compass. Stretching from north to south from Saskatchewan to Texas would be thousands of wind turbines, which could take advantage of some of the best US wind production conditions.
On the east-west axis from Texas to California would be large arrays of solar generation, which could send electricity into growing Southern California cities like Los Angeles. The end result would be to free up more clean-burning natural gas - primarily a power generation fuel now - to power automobiles. Major oil companies have embraced so-called natural gas liquids because they have spent billions of dollars building refineries and pipelines to turn crude oil into petrol, Pickens said. But shifting natural gas used in power generation to transportation needs could cut US crude oil imports by nearly 40 per cent, he said.
Saturday 19/4/2008 Page: 82
LEGENDARY Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens has gone green with a plan to spend $US10 billion ($A10.7 billion) to build the world's biggest wind farm. But he's not doing it out of generosity - he expects to turn a buck. The Southern octogenarian's plans are as big as the Texas prairie, where he lives on a ranch with his horses, and entail fundamentally reworking how Americans use energy. Next month, Pickens' company, Mesa Power, will begin buying land and ordering 2,700 wind turbines that will eventually generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity.This is the equivalent of building two commercial scale nuclear energy plants and enough power for about 1 million homes. "These are substantial," said Pickens, speaking to students at Georgetown University yesterday. "They're big." Pickens knows a thing or two about big. He heads the BP Capital hedge fund with over $US4 billion ($A4.27 billion) under management, and earned about $US1 billion ($A1.07 billion) in 2006 making big bets on commodity and equity markets. Though a long-time oil man, Pickens said he has embraced the call for cleaner energy sources that don't emit heat trapping greenhouse gases. "I'm an environmentalist - I can pass the saliva test," he said.
But Pickens intends to make money. Though Pickens admits that wind power won't be the cash cow oil has been, he still expects the huge Texas project to give him at least a 25 per cent return. "When I go into these markets, I expect to make money on them," Pickens said. "I don't expect to lose." While many states in the US have rejected big coal-fired power projects on environmental concerns, they are offering a bounty of incentives to build renewable sources.
US crude futures at new records above $US115 ($A122.80) a barrel means a bright future for renewable sources like wind and solar. Pickens' wind farm is part of his wider vision for replacing natural gas for power generation with wind and solar, and using the natural gas instead to power vehicles. To picture Pickens' energy strategy, imagine a compass. Stretching from north to south from Saskatchewan to Texas would be thousands of wind turbines, which could take advantage of some of the best US wind production conditions.
On the east-west axis from Texas to California would be large arrays of solar generation, which could send electricity into growing Southern California cities like Los Angeles. The end result would be to free up more clean-burning natural gas - primarily a power generation fuel now - to power automobiles. Major oil companies have embraced so-called natural gas liquids because they have spent billions of dollars building refineries and pipelines to turn crude oil into petrol, Pickens said. But shifting natural gas used in power generation to transportation needs could cut US crude oil imports by nearly 40 per cent, he said.
Information night on plan for home solar panels
Ballarat Courier
Monday 21/4/2008 Page: 5
A MEETING to explain a solar panel scheme will be held in Ballarat on Wednesday. The "Ballarat Solar Neighbourhood" scheme, run by a company called Beyond Building Energy, aims to make photovoltaic panels more affordable for Ballarat householders. BBE spokesman Erik Zimmerman will make a presentation to members of the Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions group and any other interested Ballarat residents. More than 140 people attended an information night late last year, and within a week of the scheme opening to expressions of interest, more than 100 residents signed up. Mr Zimmerman said the response in Ballarat was unprecedented.
BREAZE president Nick Lanyon said the enthusiasm shown for the scheme was "reminiscent of an Internet based Myer Boxing Day sale." "BREAZE knew that people would be keen to hear about the scheme, but we frankly didn't anticipate the size of the stampede," Mr Lanyon said. "What it goes to show is that ordinary Jill and Joe Blows in Ballarat are wanting to do what they can to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that their hones are responsible for. They're impatient to take positive, practical action to protect our future climate." The scheme involves the installation of a one kilowatt solar array and an inverter which allows surplus power to be fed into the grid.
Over a year a one kilowatt array would generate a quarter to one-third of the power consumed by an average household. "And should the Victorian Government see through on their pre-election promise to create a feed-in tariff for renewable electricity generation, people with solar panels will reap even greater financial benefits," Mr Lanyon said. The information night at the Cooinda Centre in Learmonth Rd, Wendouree, would feature news on Smart Meter technology, the possibility of further Ballarat Solar Neighbourhoods and presentations from City of Ballarat heritage advisers and town planners on the installation of solar panels and solar hot water systems in heritage areas.
The presentations start at 7.30pm.
Monday 21/4/2008 Page: 5
A MEETING to explain a solar panel scheme will be held in Ballarat on Wednesday. The "Ballarat Solar Neighbourhood" scheme, run by a company called Beyond Building Energy, aims to make photovoltaic panels more affordable for Ballarat householders. BBE spokesman Erik Zimmerman will make a presentation to members of the Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions group and any other interested Ballarat residents. More than 140 people attended an information night late last year, and within a week of the scheme opening to expressions of interest, more than 100 residents signed up. Mr Zimmerman said the response in Ballarat was unprecedented.
BREAZE president Nick Lanyon said the enthusiasm shown for the scheme was "reminiscent of an Internet based Myer Boxing Day sale." "BREAZE knew that people would be keen to hear about the scheme, but we frankly didn't anticipate the size of the stampede," Mr Lanyon said. "What it goes to show is that ordinary Jill and Joe Blows in Ballarat are wanting to do what they can to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that their hones are responsible for. They're impatient to take positive, practical action to protect our future climate." The scheme involves the installation of a one kilowatt solar array and an inverter which allows surplus power to be fed into the grid.
Over a year a one kilowatt array would generate a quarter to one-third of the power consumed by an average household. "And should the Victorian Government see through on their pre-election promise to create a feed-in tariff for renewable electricity generation, people with solar panels will reap even greater financial benefits," Mr Lanyon said. The information night at the Cooinda Centre in Learmonth Rd, Wendouree, would feature news on Smart Meter technology, the possibility of further Ballarat Solar Neighbourhoods and presentations from City of Ballarat heritage advisers and town planners on the installation of solar panels and solar hot water systems in heritage areas.
The presentations start at 7.30pm.
Monday, 28 April 2008
Warming threat underestimated
Canberra Times
Friday 18/4/2008 Page: 1
Climate change expert Nicholas Stern says he underestimated the threat from global warming in a report 18 months ago when he compared the economic risk to the Great Depression of the 1930s. The latest climate science showed global emissions of planet-heating gases were rising faster and upsetting the climate more than previously thought, Lord Stern said in an interview yesterday. For example, evidence was growing that the planet's oceans - an important "sink" - were increasingly saturated and couldn't absorb as much as previously of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
"Emissions are growing much faster than we'd thought, the absorptive capacity of the planet is less than we'd thought, the risks of greenhouse gases are potentially bigger than more cautious estimates, and the speed of climate change seems to be faster," he said. Lord Stern said that increasing commitments from some countries such as the European Union to curb greenhouse gases now needed to be translated into action. Policymakers, businesses and environmental pressure groups frequently cite his climate change report - the Stern Review - as a blueprint for urgent climate action.
The report predicted that, on current trends, average global temperatures would rise by 2-3 degrees in the next 50 years or so and could reduce global consumption per head by tip to 20 per cent, with the poorest nations feeling the most pain. Some academics said he had overplayed the costs of potential future damage from global warming at up to 20 times the cost of fighting the problem now, such as by replacing fossil fuels with more costly renewable power.
Lord Stern said increasing evidence of the threat from climate change had vindicated his report, published in October 2006. "People who said I was scaremongering were profoundly wrong," he told a climate change conference organised by industry information provider IHS. A UN panel of scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, writes regular summaries on climate science and shared the Nobel Peace Prize last year with former US vice-president Al Gore for raising awareness.
Its latest report in 2007 had not taken detailed account of some dangerous threats, including the falling ability of the world's oceans to absorb CO2, because scientists had to be cautious and that evidence was just emerging, the former World Bank chief economist said. "The IPCC has done a tremendous job but things are moving on," he said.
"The IPCC's [cautious] approach to this is entirely understandable and sensible, but if you're looking ahead and asking about the risk then you do have to go beyond." Lord Stern said global greenhouse gas emissions should halve by mid-century to minimise the risks of dangerous climate change. The US should cut its emissions by tip to 90 per cent by then. He spoke before a senior White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said US President George W. Bush planned to call for a halting of growth in US greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.
Friday 18/4/2008 Page: 1
Climate change expert Nicholas Stern says he underestimated the threat from global warming in a report 18 months ago when he compared the economic risk to the Great Depression of the 1930s. The latest climate science showed global emissions of planet-heating gases were rising faster and upsetting the climate more than previously thought, Lord Stern said in an interview yesterday. For example, evidence was growing that the planet's oceans - an important "sink" - were increasingly saturated and couldn't absorb as much as previously of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide."Emissions are growing much faster than we'd thought, the absorptive capacity of the planet is less than we'd thought, the risks of greenhouse gases are potentially bigger than more cautious estimates, and the speed of climate change seems to be faster," he said. Lord Stern said that increasing commitments from some countries such as the European Union to curb greenhouse gases now needed to be translated into action. Policymakers, businesses and environmental pressure groups frequently cite his climate change report - the Stern Review - as a blueprint for urgent climate action.
The report predicted that, on current trends, average global temperatures would rise by 2-3 degrees in the next 50 years or so and could reduce global consumption per head by tip to 20 per cent, with the poorest nations feeling the most pain. Some academics said he had overplayed the costs of potential future damage from global warming at up to 20 times the cost of fighting the problem now, such as by replacing fossil fuels with more costly renewable power.
Lord Stern said increasing evidence of the threat from climate change had vindicated his report, published in October 2006. "People who said I was scaremongering were profoundly wrong," he told a climate change conference organised by industry information provider IHS. A UN panel of scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, writes regular summaries on climate science and shared the Nobel Peace Prize last year with former US vice-president Al Gore for raising awareness.
Its latest report in 2007 had not taken detailed account of some dangerous threats, including the falling ability of the world's oceans to absorb CO2, because scientists had to be cautious and that evidence was just emerging, the former World Bank chief economist said. "The IPCC has done a tremendous job but things are moving on," he said.
"The IPCC's [cautious] approach to this is entirely understandable and sensible, but if you're looking ahead and asking about the risk then you do have to go beyond." Lord Stern said global greenhouse gas emissions should halve by mid-century to minimise the risks of dangerous climate change. The US should cut its emissions by tip to 90 per cent by then. He spoke before a senior White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said US President George W. Bush planned to call for a halting of growth in US greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.
Wind of change concern
Geelong Advertiser
Friday 18/4/2008 Page: 11
A TINY Surf Coast town has vowed to take on a developer who has proposed to build a wind farm near their homes. Future Energy Pty Ltd managing director David Shapero has lodged an application with Surf Coast Shire to build 14 turbines in Gnarwarre, just outside Winchelsea. Local residents said it would change the rural town's skyline, increase the dust, bring tourists to the area and there had been a lack of consultation. The wind farms are proposed to be built on a 700ha site which borders Gnarwarre Rd, Mt Pollock Rd and Peels Rd.
Gnarwarre resident Kathy Russell said the 130m turbines sat on top of a 184m volcanic cone. "We believe that the siting of seven of the proposed 14 turbines on the top and slopes of Mt Pollock has the detrimental effect of changing the natural sky line forever. Mt Pollock can be seen from as far as the You Yangs, Anakie, Mt Buninyong and areas in between," Mrs Russell said. She said Mt Pollock Rd would turn into a "dust bowl" with increased pressure on the road from tourists wanting to see the turbines.*
"We suffer now from a lack of maintenance on this road - construction and tourists will make it even more dangerous," Mrs Russell said. Surf Coast Shire's Cr Lindsay Schroeter said he did not have an issue with the proposal. "I say bring it on," Cr Schroeter said. "The ones proposed are not loud and will only make a swish - if I couldn't sleep under them I'll eat my own socks." Cr Schroeter also quashed claims the turbines would kill bird life. "We have had windmills for 2000 years and you don't see dead birds under them," he said. "The problem is people want renewable energy but nobody wants it in their back yard. You would not have them in a main street and this is the ideal spot for them."
* Clearly Kathy Russell hasn't studied the anti-wind propaganda. Wind farms are supposed to "destroy" tourism.
Friday 18/4/2008 Page: 11
A TINY Surf Coast town has vowed to take on a developer who has proposed to build a wind farm near their homes. Future Energy Pty Ltd managing director David Shapero has lodged an application with Surf Coast Shire to build 14 turbines in Gnarwarre, just outside Winchelsea. Local residents said it would change the rural town's skyline, increase the dust, bring tourists to the area and there had been a lack of consultation. The wind farms are proposed to be built on a 700ha site which borders Gnarwarre Rd, Mt Pollock Rd and Peels Rd.
Gnarwarre resident Kathy Russell said the 130m turbines sat on top of a 184m volcanic cone. "We believe that the siting of seven of the proposed 14 turbines on the top and slopes of Mt Pollock has the detrimental effect of changing the natural sky line forever. Mt Pollock can be seen from as far as the You Yangs, Anakie, Mt Buninyong and areas in between," Mrs Russell said. She said Mt Pollock Rd would turn into a "dust bowl" with increased pressure on the road from tourists wanting to see the turbines.*
"We suffer now from a lack of maintenance on this road - construction and tourists will make it even more dangerous," Mrs Russell said. Surf Coast Shire's Cr Lindsay Schroeter said he did not have an issue with the proposal. "I say bring it on," Cr Schroeter said. "The ones proposed are not loud and will only make a swish - if I couldn't sleep under them I'll eat my own socks." Cr Schroeter also quashed claims the turbines would kill bird life. "We have had windmills for 2000 years and you don't see dead birds under them," he said. "The problem is people want renewable energy but nobody wants it in their back yard. You would not have them in a main street and this is the ideal spot for them."
* Clearly Kathy Russell hasn't studied the anti-wind propaganda. Wind farms are supposed to "destroy" tourism.
Thurla leading `industrial ecology' charge
Mildura Weekly
Friday 11/4/2008 Page: 10
TO the casual observer heavy industry and the environment don't exactly go hand-in-hand. But Sunraysia will soon be at the forefront of a push to show they can work together. It's called 'industrial ecology' and aims to minimise and re-use waste products produced by industry. And Sunraysia's upcoming, state-of-the art Thurla Industrial Park is set to be one of the only examples of this new concept in country Australia. Melbourne-based industrial ecology company Ecopathways has been brought in to work on the Thurla project and is currently negotiating with several large companies to make the concept a reality in Sunraysia.
Managing director Markus Fraval said industrial ecology was modelled on nature. "With industrial ecology we're really trying to mimic nature," Mr Fraval said. "Instead of the by-products produced or left over from the manufacture of a product going to landfill, there's a more circular approach." Mr Fraval said waste or by-products become 'inputs' which are re-used in the manufacture of other products, rather than going to landfill or other waste facilities.
He said waste could also be treated and then on-sold to other industries. Mr Fraval said Thurla's location in an agriculture- rich area such as Sunraysia opened up opportunities for 'biomass', which is plant and animal material which can be converted into energy and fuel sources. Examples are green waste and manure from livestock which can be used to generate electricity, light, heat and fuels. "In terms of Thurla, we're very keen to target some form of biomass - anything that's agriculture or plant or animal based," he said. Mr Fraval said there were plans for a biodigester, which processes biomass, at Thurla which would put the district squarely in the national spotlight in terms of renewable energy.
"The first one is going in to the United States, a small scale one and ours will be the first, or one of the first in Australia at Thurla," Mr Fraval said. "We're looking at doing a feasibility study now to see what size biodigester would be needed." Water usage will be another focus of the industrial park according to Mr Fraval. "Water coming out of a manufacturing process comes out as a lower class, it's then retreated and re-used in another element of the industrial park," he said.
The combination of water re-use and waste recycling would mean the cost of waste management would drop significantly, which would be another attraction for businesses considering moving into the district. Mr Fraval said the next step was to engage tenants that could help build the industrial ecology side of the park. He said possibilities included biodiesel companies and food processing industries which were well suited to the industrial ecology ethos. "Our next step is to work with the Sunraysia Mallee Economic Development Board in the next couple of months," Mr Fraval said. "We aim to work with them to start approaching local and non-local industries to talk about the concept and the vision with a view to attracting businesses to the park."
Friday 11/4/2008 Page: 10
TO the casual observer heavy industry and the environment don't exactly go hand-in-hand. But Sunraysia will soon be at the forefront of a push to show they can work together. It's called 'industrial ecology' and aims to minimise and re-use waste products produced by industry. And Sunraysia's upcoming, state-of-the art Thurla Industrial Park is set to be one of the only examples of this new concept in country Australia. Melbourne-based industrial ecology company Ecopathways has been brought in to work on the Thurla project and is currently negotiating with several large companies to make the concept a reality in Sunraysia.
Managing director Markus Fraval said industrial ecology was modelled on nature. "With industrial ecology we're really trying to mimic nature," Mr Fraval said. "Instead of the by-products produced or left over from the manufacture of a product going to landfill, there's a more circular approach." Mr Fraval said waste or by-products become 'inputs' which are re-used in the manufacture of other products, rather than going to landfill or other waste facilities.
He said waste could also be treated and then on-sold to other industries. Mr Fraval said Thurla's location in an agriculture- rich area such as Sunraysia opened up opportunities for 'biomass', which is plant and animal material which can be converted into energy and fuel sources. Examples are green waste and manure from livestock which can be used to generate electricity, light, heat and fuels. "In terms of Thurla, we're very keen to target some form of biomass - anything that's agriculture or plant or animal based," he said. Mr Fraval said there were plans for a biodigester, which processes biomass, at Thurla which would put the district squarely in the national spotlight in terms of renewable energy.
"The first one is going in to the United States, a small scale one and ours will be the first, or one of the first in Australia at Thurla," Mr Fraval said. "We're looking at doing a feasibility study now to see what size biodigester would be needed." Water usage will be another focus of the industrial park according to Mr Fraval. "Water coming out of a manufacturing process comes out as a lower class, it's then retreated and re-used in another element of the industrial park," he said.
The combination of water re-use and waste recycling would mean the cost of waste management would drop significantly, which would be another attraction for businesses considering moving into the district. Mr Fraval said the next step was to engage tenants that could help build the industrial ecology side of the park. He said possibilities included biodiesel companies and food processing industries which were well suited to the industrial ecology ethos. "Our next step is to work with the Sunraysia Mallee Economic Development Board in the next couple of months," Mr Fraval said. "We aim to work with them to start approaching local and non-local industries to talk about the concept and the vision with a view to attracting businesses to the park."
Fund adds energy for positive communities
Moyne Gazette
Thursday 17/4/2008 Page: 3
MOYNE community groups are being urged to put pen to paper and apply for the current round of the Sustainable Communities Funding from Pacific Hydro. Pacific Hydro is making the grants available for a second year with applications closing on Monday, April 28. Applications are invited in the areas of health and welfare, education and training, sporting and recreation, the environment and arts and culture. Pacific Hydro's community relations manager, Emily Wood, encouraged Moyne region groups to get their applications in soon.
Last year funding went to a range of projects, Ms Wood said. The projects included the Bridgewater Surf Life Saving Club, Friends of the Great South West Walk, State Emergency Service rescue equipment and an indigenous arts project. Pacific Hydro's Sustainable Communities Fund provides funding for community groups and organisations which are making a positive contribution to their community.
The fund, which is based on a percentage of revenue from Pacific Hydro's Portland Wind Energy Project, calls for applications each year and will be available for the life of the project. Applications can be made online at www.pacifichydro.com.au/fund or contact Pacific Hydro's Community Fund coordinator Chloe Carpenter on 8621 6428.
Thursday 17/4/2008 Page: 3
MOYNE community groups are being urged to put pen to paper and apply for the current round of the Sustainable Communities Funding from Pacific Hydro. Pacific Hydro is making the grants available for a second year with applications closing on Monday, April 28. Applications are invited in the areas of health and welfare, education and training, sporting and recreation, the environment and arts and culture. Pacific Hydro's community relations manager, Emily Wood, encouraged Moyne region groups to get their applications in soon.
Last year funding went to a range of projects, Ms Wood said. The projects included the Bridgewater Surf Life Saving Club, Friends of the Great South West Walk, State Emergency Service rescue equipment and an indigenous arts project. Pacific Hydro's Sustainable Communities Fund provides funding for community groups and organisations which are making a positive contribution to their community.
The fund, which is based on a percentage of revenue from Pacific Hydro's Portland Wind Energy Project, calls for applications each year and will be available for the life of the project. Applications can be made online at www.pacifichydro.com.au/fund or contact Pacific Hydro's Community Fund coordinator Chloe Carpenter on 8621 6428.
Wind farm expansion
Mid-West Times
Thursday 17/4/2008 Page: 3
PLANS for a Badgingarra Wind Farm with the potential to power 80,000 homes have been unveiled. Announcing the 130MW proposal with up to 65 turbines, joint project developers Griffin Energy and Stanwell Corporation said the wind farm plans came on the back of the success of their 80MW Emu Downs Wind Farm. Community meetings on the project will be held at 7.30pm on April 29 at Badgingarra Community Hall and 7.30pm on April 30 at Cervantes Community Hall.
Thursday 17/4/2008 Page: 3
PLANS for a Badgingarra Wind Farm with the potential to power 80,000 homes have been unveiled. Announcing the 130MW proposal with up to 65 turbines, joint project developers Griffin Energy and Stanwell Corporation said the wind farm plans came on the back of the success of their 80MW Emu Downs Wind Farm. Community meetings on the project will be held at 7.30pm on April 29 at Badgingarra Community Hall and 7.30pm on April 30 at Cervantes Community Hall.
Mixed opinions on co-op wind farm
Lithgow Mercury
Thursday 17/4/2008 Page: 2
A meeting in Bathurst this week to discuss a proposal for the establishment of a community operated wind farm received less than overwhelming support. The Western Advocate reported that about 70 people attended the forum but less than half supported the wind farm concept. Nine landholders at the meeting said they would like a windfarm feasibility study to be conducted on their properties. The indications of support have been sufficient for the organisers, the Bathurst Community Climate Network, to press ahead with another planning meeting for next month with a view to establishing a working committee.
The proposal announced by the Climate Network is for a wind farm of six turbines to generate sufficient electricity for 7500 domestic properties. It would require a 400 hectare site 'somewhere between Blayney and Lithgow and would be operated as a community cooperative. Among the speakers at the forum were Hugh Litchfield, owner operator of the twin turbines at Hampton, and Gavin Douglas who has a similar private project at Black Springs. Both spoke of the challenges they faced in setting up their wind turbines. There has been considerable opposition aired by landholders in the Rydal area when proposals for further turbines have come before Lithgow Council in recent years.
Thursday 17/4/2008 Page: 2
A meeting in Bathurst this week to discuss a proposal for the establishment of a community operated wind farm received less than overwhelming support. The Western Advocate reported that about 70 people attended the forum but less than half supported the wind farm concept. Nine landholders at the meeting said they would like a windfarm feasibility study to be conducted on their properties. The indications of support have been sufficient for the organisers, the Bathurst Community Climate Network, to press ahead with another planning meeting for next month with a view to establishing a working committee.
The proposal announced by the Climate Network is for a wind farm of six turbines to generate sufficient electricity for 7500 domestic properties. It would require a 400 hectare site 'somewhere between Blayney and Lithgow and would be operated as a community cooperative. Among the speakers at the forum were Hugh Litchfield, owner operator of the twin turbines at Hampton, and Gavin Douglas who has a similar private project at Black Springs. Both spoke of the challenges they faced in setting up their wind turbines. There has been considerable opposition aired by landholders in the Rydal area when proposals for further turbines have come before Lithgow Council in recent years.
Call to reinstate Gorge to more `than a mere trickle': More power, but no more water
Launceston Examiner
Friday 18/4/2008 Page: 1
A MINI power station below Duck Reach in the South Esk River is being investigated by Hydro Tasmania. But it appears that the scheme, which if built could cost around $2 million, would not result in the release of any more water through Launceston's Cataract Gorge. Hydro corporate affairs spokesman David Jeffrey said yesterday that the company was looking at a number of ways to improve efficiency and the mini hydro scheme was one of a number of ideas.
"This is really, really, early days and we have put it on the list of things to look at over the next six months," Mr Jeffrey said. "If it was feasible we would look at it further... but at the moment it is a bright idea on the list to look at." Mr Jeffrey said the Federal Government's Mandatory Renewable Energy Target scheme could "tip the balance" in Hydro's favour to build a 1.5MW station that would provide enough power to supply 900 homes.
A similar station at Lake Parangana, in the North-West, cost Hydro $1.5 million in 2002. Mr Jeffrey said a new station would not lead to an increase in water flow through the Gorge. Hydro releases 1.5 cumec from Lake Trevallyn to "maintain environmental quality" in the Gorge. "If it were to be a goer, it would use the existing environmental flow that's put through the Gorge area. It wouldn't be increased," Mr Jeffrey said.
Since the agreement that requires Hydro to release a minimum of 1.5 cumec, the Meander Dam has become operational - putting a more consistent flow of water into the South Esk River, which flows into Lake Trevallyn. At the height of summer, the Rivers and Water Supply Commission must release 20ML a day, or 0.23 cumecs, from the Meander Dam to meet its environmental flow requirements. In April, the RWSC must release 70ML a day, which equates to 0.8 cumecs.
Because of recent rainfall, the RWSC decided to increase flows from Meander Dam to 4.5 cumecs, but Hydro has not released any of that extra water through the Gorge. However, after concerns about water quality in the upper reaches of the Tamar River, Hydro decided to increase its flows to 6 cumecs for a four-hour period today to flush-out the yacht Basin. The 4.5 cumecs from the Meander Dam added to the Hydro's environmental flow of 1.5 cumecs adds up to the 6 cumecs - which the Hydro said would be released at a value of $5000.
Friday 18/4/2008 Page: 1
A MINI power station below Duck Reach in the South Esk River is being investigated by Hydro Tasmania. But it appears that the scheme, which if built could cost around $2 million, would not result in the release of any more water through Launceston's Cataract Gorge. Hydro corporate affairs spokesman David Jeffrey said yesterday that the company was looking at a number of ways to improve efficiency and the mini hydro scheme was one of a number of ideas.
"This is really, really, early days and we have put it on the list of things to look at over the next six months," Mr Jeffrey said. "If it was feasible we would look at it further... but at the moment it is a bright idea on the list to look at." Mr Jeffrey said the Federal Government's Mandatory Renewable Energy Target scheme could "tip the balance" in Hydro's favour to build a 1.5MW station that would provide enough power to supply 900 homes.
A similar station at Lake Parangana, in the North-West, cost Hydro $1.5 million in 2002. Mr Jeffrey said a new station would not lead to an increase in water flow through the Gorge. Hydro releases 1.5 cumec from Lake Trevallyn to "maintain environmental quality" in the Gorge. "If it were to be a goer, it would use the existing environmental flow that's put through the Gorge area. It wouldn't be increased," Mr Jeffrey said.
Since the agreement that requires Hydro to release a minimum of 1.5 cumec, the Meander Dam has become operational - putting a more consistent flow of water into the South Esk River, which flows into Lake Trevallyn. At the height of summer, the Rivers and Water Supply Commission must release 20ML a day, or 0.23 cumecs, from the Meander Dam to meet its environmental flow requirements. In April, the RWSC must release 70ML a day, which equates to 0.8 cumecs.
Because of recent rainfall, the RWSC decided to increase flows from Meander Dam to 4.5 cumecs, but Hydro has not released any of that extra water through the Gorge. However, after concerns about water quality in the upper reaches of the Tamar River, Hydro decided to increase its flows to 6 cumecs for a four-hour period today to flush-out the yacht Basin. The 4.5 cumecs from the Meander Dam added to the Hydro's environmental flow of 1.5 cumecs adds up to the 6 cumecs - which the Hydro said would be released at a value of $5000.
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