Green energy helps reduce power bills, study finds

www.smh.com.au
25 Jun 2013

Wind farms, hydroelectric power and other renewable energy sources will actually cut household electricity bills, not push up bills as detractors have claimed, a new study suggests.

Research commissioned by wind farm owner Meridian Energy found the national renewable energy target-which requires electricity generators to provide at least 20% of power from clean sources by 2020 will ultimately force down wholesale power prices.

It found the renewable energy legislation would save Victorian households about $35 a year if the carbon price stayed, and $50 if it were abolished. South Australia-which already gets more than 20% of power from renewables-would save as much as $56 a year.

It is a different story in NSW and Queensland, where renewable energy has less impact on wholesale prices. Households in the northern states would pay up to $27 more because of the legislation. The study found that nationally, households would be in front, saving as much as $12 a year-assuming the carbon price survived.

Meridian Energy EnergyAustralia chief executive Ben Burge said the study, which was commissioned from consultants Sinclair Merz Knight, challenged claims that renewable energy was driving up power bills. "The [target] has been mischaracterised as a direct tax on consumers", said Mr Burge, who is also the chief executive of retailer Powershop. "What this research proves is that wind is not the culprit. Wind reduces pressure on households".

Work starts on Gullen Range windfarm

www.abc.net.au
21 Jun 2013

Construction has begun on a wind farm in the region's south. More than 80 turbines will be built as part of Goldwin's Gullen Range project, which was approved in 2009. The Upper Lachlan Council has now negotiated contracts with the company for the upgrading and reconstruction of several roads and a bridge in the region.

The Mayor John Shaw, says a lot of the roadworks have already started. "The wind farm itself is up and going already, they've done a lot of the preparation work", he said. "VICOSC think all of the pads are down for the wind towers and they're actually starting to deliver them. "It was just a matter of getting agreement on the roads and how they're going to be used and times and those sorts of things, just a traffic management plan".

Councillor Shaw says a lot of the roadwork is almost complete. "There has been some changes, there's been some upgrades to some of the roads", he said. "There was some work done in Crookwell itself, because the turbines themselves go from Goulburn on the main road through to Crookwell and to get them from going through the town of Crookwell, they had to do some road works to upgrade it".

Vestas receives 51-megawatt turbine order for Swedish wind farm

www.bloomberg.com
21 Jun 2013

Vestas Wind Systems A/VICOSC (VWS), Europe's biggest wind-turbine maker, agreed to provide 51 MWs of systems for a power plant at a Swedish paper mill. The wind farm in Varsvik, Sweden, about 100 km (60 miles) north of Stockholm, is owned by the pulp and paper supplier Holmen AB (HOLMB) and the French bank Natixis, according to a statement today from Aarhus, Denmark-based Vestas Wind Systems. The 17 x 3-MW turbines may be installed beginning in the second quarter of next year, according to the statement.

Innovative inspection method for photovoltaic systems

www.nanowerk.com
20 Jun 2013

Scientists at the Institute of Photovoltaic at the University of Stuttgart have developed an innovative method, enabling damage to the photovoltaic modules to be revealed quickly, above all for the first time also independent of lighting conditions with the help of luminescence images.

The Stuttgart Solar Centre, a working group from the Institute of Photovoltaic at the University of Stuttgart and the Steinbeis Centre for Photovoltaic, integrated together with HighFinesse GmbH the daylight luminescence method into the measurement system DaySy. This enables the luminescence to also be measured for the first time during the day.

A solar cell generates power from light and vice versa light from power. However, the solar cell only shines in places in which it is intact. This electrical luminescence is, however, not visible to the human eye. In the image of a camera optimised for the solar cell luminescence, the dark places reveal where there are defects.

Before new photovoltaic modules leave the factory, they are checked for defects as standard practice. However, damage could already occur on the transport route in the form of micro cracks and cell breakages. Incorrect assembly adds other defects. This damage generally only becomes noticeable after several years in the form of reduced output. Exchanging badly damaged modules is advisable since they could have a disproportionate impact on the performance of the system.

Up to now defective PV modules were able to be ascertained either by means of a thermal imaging camera; however, this could only be done from a solar irradiation exceeding 700 W/m², or by means of electrical luminance. The latter procedure was, however, only successful in the evening or at night since during the day the solar irradiation superimposes the considerably weaker luminescence of the systems.

The daylight luminescence method DaySy not only functions irrespective of daylight; it can also clearly classify the type of damage through the combination of electrical luminescence and photo luminescence measurements. After a short measurement time of approx. 30 seconds per module, DaySy ascertains the most frequent defects occurring with photovoltaic systems: broken cell connectors, (micro-) cracks, inactive cell surfaces, losses through series resistances, bad weak light conditions as well as potential-induced degradation (PID).

Climate change could affect power plant operations & nuclear capacity according to DOE Report

Power Engineering
July

A recent report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) says climate change and the resulting rising temperatures can potentially affect water levels and temperatures at power plants and affect demand on the power grid.

The report was released as part of the President's Climate Action Plan and states that every corner of the United States will be affected by increased temperatures. Increased temperatures and drought conditions can affect cooling water temperatures that are required for coal-fired and gas-fired power plants as reported by Power Engineering. Approximately 60 percent of the nation's thermal power plants that require water for cooling are located in areas that have been hard hit by drought conditions.

Temperatures have increased 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit over the last century. In hotter weather, customers use more electricity to cool their housing and businesses. A study by the DOE Argonne National Laboratory found that peak demand during hot weather could require the power output of 100 additional power plants.

Another example cited in the report is reduced water available for hydropower. In 2012, the Sierra Nevada Mountains experienced a lighter snowpack than normal. As a result, California had an eight percent drop in hydropower capacity. Lower levels in Lake Mead resulted in a 23 percent drop in the power generation at the Hoover Dam.

The DOE report says nuclear stations will shut down more often due to water temperatures, citing the shutdown in August 2012 at the Millstone Nuclear Power Station Shutdown due to warmer temperatures in Long Island Sound.

The report comes one week after President Obama, describing climate change as a threat to future generations, called for action to address the problem "before it's too late". The President said his goal is to cut heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing power plants.

An interactive map of the potential impacts on the U.S, energy supply can be found on the Energy.gov website.

Tata Power, Geodynamics commission 1 MW geothermal plant in Australia

articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com
20 Jun 2013

NEW DELHI: Strengthening its overseas footprint, Tata Power along with GeoDynamics have commissioned a 1 MW geothermal plant in Australia. Tata Power has a minority stake in Australia-based GeoDynamics, a leading player in Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) technology. In a statement, Tata Power said it has successfully commissioned 1 MW geothermal pilot plant in Australia.

"The commissioning of the 1 MW geothermal pilot plant is a significant milestone for the project and with this we plan to strengthen our footprint in the international markets", Tata Power Managing Director Anil Sardana said.

He noted that the company aims to have 20-25% of generation portfolio from clean energy. GeoDynamics has geothermal exploration interests in three Australian states including the license for exploring 2,000 km² of area in the Cooper Basin. According to the statement, GeoDynamics' tenements in the Cooper Basin contain the hottest granites on earth and are estimated to provide a thermal resource equivalent of 50 billion barrels of oil.

Besides Australia, Tata Power is implementing a 250 MW geothermal project in Indonesia in partnership with Origin Energy energy and PT Supraco. Geothermal energy is the natural heat found within the earth and in EGS technology, heat is extracted from granites located at a depth of a more than 4,000 metres. "EGS technology can potentially enable the setting up of base load power plants that are based on naturally heat and thereby making them a clean energy source for the future", the statement said.

One in 10 people in Germany producing solar power, lobby says

www.bloomberg.com
19 Jun 2013

About one in 10 people living in Germany are producing solar power, the German Solar Industry Association said. A total of 8.5 million people live in buildings that use solar systems to generate electricity or heat, the group said today in an e-mailed statement, citing figures it compiled. The units will prevent the production of about 24 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide emissions this year, it said.

After Fukushima, Japan beginning to see the light in solar energy

www.theguardian.com
18 Jun 2013

Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion".

The boom was sparked by a little-noted government policy, implemented nearly a year ago, that guaranteed generous payments to anybody selling renewable energy, including solar power. Because of that policy, known as a feed-in tariff, investors and analysts say Japan has become one of the world's fastest-growing users of solar power. This year alone, Japan is forecasted to install solar panels with the capacity of five to seven modern nuclear reactors.

Before the 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, Japan had all but neglected renewable energy, instead emphasising atomic power. But the accident at Fukushima forced the shuttering of the country's 50 operable reactors, only two of which have been restarted. The remaining shutdowns could prove temporary, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledging restarts of reactors that have been deemed safe. A majority of Japanese, though, remain opposed to atomic energy, and analysts say the solar takeoff highlights Japan's appetite for other options.

There is a downside to the rush for renewables: they are several times pricier than nuclear power or fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. The rising use of solar power means energy bills will spike, potentially complicating Abe's plan to jump-start Japan's long-foundering economy.

Most consumers, so far, think that sacrifice is worthwhile, and they say nuclear power has hidden cleanup and compensation costs that only emerge after an accident. fossil fuels, meanwhile, release greenhouse gasses and must be imported. People here tended to support clean energy projects even before the nuclear disaster, but now there is "more interest in natural energy", said Moriaki Yoshikawa, the head of an environmental NGO, Eco Plan Fukui, which has helped build five solar plants in a region of Japan that hosts four nuclear plants.

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Masdar launches wind farm in Seychelles

www.tradearabia.com
17 Jun 2013

Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) have launched a 6 MW, eight-turbine wind farm in the Republic of Seychelles which will deliver clean energy to more than 2,100 homes.

The Port Victoria Wind Farm accounts for 8% of Mahe Island's energy capacity-the main island of Seychelles-which is home to 90% of the country's population.

The clean energy generated by this project-the first renewable energy project in the Seychelles-will displace 5,500 tons of CO₂ annually, power more than 2,100 homes and save 1.6 million litres of fuel per year. The project was developed by Masdar and funded by ADFD.

Seychelles currently relies on expensive diesel generators to meet its electricity demand. With fuel accounting for 25% of the country's total net imports, the tourist nation is committed to diversifying its energy mix and reducing its reliance on fuel imports.

Being an island country, with limited options to produce electricity, wind power generation presents a viable solution to meet a national target of 15% energy from renewable sources by 2030. "Access to sustainable, clean sources of energy is vital to our long-term economic development", said James Michel, president of the Republic of Seychelles.

"The addition of wind power is a major step toward meeting our clean energy targets and reducing our dependency on imported sources of power. We look forward to further opportunities to assess our wind power potential and continue to diversify our energy mix.

"We are grateful to the UAE support for funding, developing and delivering this wind power project", remarked President Michel. "The Masdar wind farm will help us meet our rising demand for energy and also liberates budget to invest in economic and social growth opportunities", he added.

With the price of renewable energy technologies falling, wind and solar power are becoming economically viable solutions to improve energy security and access. Renewable energy is also a clean and sustainable alternative, which helps developing nations insulate themselves from volatile fuel prices.

"The Seychelles wind project is an example of how access to energy can serve as a pathway for economic development and social opportunity", said stated Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE minister of state and CEO of Masdar.

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Green light for Waterloo wind farm expansion

www.abc.net.au
17 Jun 2013

A six-turbine expansion to the wind farm at Waterloo in the Clare Valley has been approved. The Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council's development assessment panel met on Friday to make a decision on EnergyAustralia's proposal. The council had earlier endorsed an infrastructure agreement for the project. Meanwhile, about 100 people have attended a hearing on Yorke Peninsula to explain how a wind farm in the region would affect them.

The South Australian Government's select committee met concerned residents and stakeholders in Ardrossan on Friday afternoon. Evidence included figures about the negative environmental impact of construction, versus the positive impact from the final product. Committee chairman David Ridgway says the meeting was the first one held outside of the metropolitan area.

He says local residents were most concerned about the site of the wind farm. "Just raising concerns about the location", he said. "VICOSC think that's the biggest issue that was raised by most of the groups, was that this is in a very good, highly productive farming area and that maybe this development is not compatible with that type of agriculture.

"VICOSC don't think anybody was against wind farms at all but it was more just the location was the main point of argument. "It's the first hearing we've had outside of the city, so it was important to get out and let the local groups make submissions and some quite interesting evidence was given".

Liberal links to anti-wind farm fight multiply

www.crikey.com.au
14 Jun 2013

A leaked email has revealed the deep involvement of the wife of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's business tsar, Maurice Newman, and a blue-chip corporate consulting firm in a "Convoy of No Confidence"-aping anti-wind farm rally set down for Parliament House on Tuesday.

The email, obtained by Crikey, was sent by Jeanette Newman last month to Linda Pahl, the wife of Sydney-based Bluegrass Consulting's Rodd Pahl. The email was headed "THE NIGHTMARE COMES TRUE", and in it Jeanette Newman, who likens her struggle to that of US whistleblower Erin Brockovich, issued a rousing call to arms:

"It is imperative that as many people as possible attend. A poor attendance will be taken by politicians and the wind industry that we are conceding defeat. Whilst not true, that will be the perception and it will be shamelessly used against us to undermine our credibility".

Both the Pahls and the Newmans own property in the vicinity of proposed wind farms near the rural NSW squattocracy centres of Crookwell and Collector. A separate email chain, also obtained by Crikey, shows the Pahls' involvement in a "Friends of Collector" group set up to fight wind developments near their estate.

Bluegrass Consulting "lobbies governments through targeted, high level contact and grassroots campaigns". Rodd Pahl was previously managing director of public affairs for the local arm of global firm Burson-Marsteller. That outfit's storied history includes crisis management for Union Carbide after the Bhopal disaster.

Yesterday, The Guardian Australia reported that Maurice Newman, who will head the Coalition's Business Advisory Council in the event of a Coalition victory on September 14, vowed he would agitate to scrap the bipartisan Renewable Energy Target (RET), which mandates 20% of renewable energy by 2020. Newman is a former chairman of the ABC and the Australian Securities Exchange. He is a climate change sceptic and is a long-time supporter of anti-wind farm campaigns. In April, Newman hosted a meeting of anti-wind farm group the Crookwell District Landscape Guardians, where he warned the Coalition might not bend to his demands.

An anonymous website, Stop These Things.com, registered to a Texan web domain rental operation, has recently cropped up to plug the rally, which will likely be attended by anti-abortion Senator John Madigan, climate change sceptic and soon-to-be-former Senator Ron Boswell, soon-to-be-former Liberal MP Alby Schultz, Liberal Senator Chris Back and Hughes MP Craig Kelly, who told federal Parliament in 2011 that drinking chardonnay was one answer to global warming. Shock jock Alan Jones will serve as master of ceremonies.

The involvement of well-heeled upper crusters in the wind farm debate is widespread. Well-placed sources have confirmed the family of BRW Rich Lister and Flight Centre co-founder Bill James has been involved in a fight over a proposed wind farm on the Bass Strait cheese hub of King Island.

James, alongside fellow founders Graham Turner and Geoff Harris, reaped $620 million from their stake in the listed quasi-monopolist after its stock price soared to over $30 in the eight months to February. According to BRW, James is worth $405 million.

Last month, Crikey revealed that blue-chip Sydney PR firm Wells Haslem--whose directors had previously assisted the Exclusive Brethren, James Hardie, Scientology and Lord Christopher Monckton--had been paid tens of thousands of dollars by the No Tas Wind Farm Group. Last Friday, the ABC reported James, who is not commenting publicly on the issue, had helped fund the expensive advice.

LNP ‘lying’ over solar power cost

www.thechronicle.com.au
15 Jun 2013

DON'T blame solar, blame electricity infrastructure for the dramatic surge in your power bill, a leading Sunshine Coast solar company says. Infinity Solar has hit back at the State Government's claims solar power and green schemes are to blame for the upcoming 22.6% electricity price rise.

Director Chris Thomson blamed infrastructure and network costs as the main culprit, saying it added $127 a year to the average Queenslanders power bill. "Queensland's power grid is operating on inadequate infrastructure and is suffering from a lack of spending over previous years, meaning updating the network is going to cost Queenslanders money", Mr Thomson said.

"Solar power is an easy scapegoat for the government, when in fact the government-funded feed-in tariff is only adding $32 to an average household bill. "Network costs, on the other hand, account for almost half of a standard power bill (48.2%), with upcoming price increases hitting Queenslanders with hundreds of dollars extra on their power bills.

"Energex spent $900 million last financial year on the network and Ergon Energy spent $300 million. The solar feed-in tariff only cost $50 million, so it is completely misleading of the government to blame solar power. "People also need to keep in mind that solar power is not just a financial issue, but is a necessary tool in helping reduce Australia's carbon emissions and increase environmental sustainability".

Infinity's Sunshine Coast shop manager Ashley Pitman said Caloundra had had "one of the highest uptakes (of solar) in Australia". He said while solar did contribute to the increase in the electricity price it was only "between 2.5% and 7%". "It has become a cost, but we have to look at the benefits it's had in keeping cost down", he said.

Nelja opens biggest Lithuania wind farm for 27,000 homes

www.bloomberg.com
13 Jun 2013

Nelja Energia AS, an Estonian renewable-energy developer, opened the biggest wind farm in Lithuania, which will generate enough power for 27,000 homes. The 57.4 million-€ ($76.5 million) Ciuteliai plant has 17 turbines with 39.1 MWs of capacity, according to a statement on Nelja Energia's website. The facility north of Silute is 19 km (11 miles) from the Baltic Sea coast.

Nelja Energia supplied equity and won a 41 million-€ loan from Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEBA) and Pohjola Bank Plc (POH1S) to finance the plant, Tadas Navickas, managing director of 4energia UAB, the company's Lithuanian unit, said by e-mail.

Nelja Energia, based in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, is planning about 170 MWs of wind, mostly in Latvia and Lithuania, where installed capacity may double to 500 MWs by 2015, the Baltic nation's wind-energy association said in November. Wind-power expansion will help Lithuania curb its reliance on Russian electricity imports and counter a shortfall caused by closing nuclear capacity, according to the industry group.

Vic wind farm breakthrough, with pioneering share structure

Wind farm-breakthrough-with-pioneering-share-structure
12 June 2013

A small 5 turbine wind farm project with an innovative share ownership model has become the first wind power project in the state of Victoria to receive council approval in recent years.

The application for the Coonooer Bridge wind farm-with five turbines of up to 150 metres tall to be built near the town of the same name, north-west of Bendigo-was approved by the Buloke Shire Council on Wednesday night. It is a notable project for several reasons. It is the first wind farm proposal to gain approval from a council in the state since former Premier Ted Baillieu introduced restrictive planning policies in 2011.

And the project-located between the towns of Charlton and St Arnaud, about 90km northwest of Bendigo-is also the first in Australia to find a way to combine corporate and community ownership, and the first renewable energy project in the country with an ownership structure that includes the local farming community in this way.

In all, 30 owners of property sited within 3km of the planned wind farm have been offered shares, including one family with turbines on their land. All have taken up the offer, despite the concerns about wind power of some. Windlab Systems, a spin-off from the CSIRO which has developed an expertise in identifying strong wind resource areas, retains the majority stake.

"We wanted to create a fair and open relationship with all landholders around the site, not just the landowners who would lease land for turbines", says Luke Osborne, director of Coonooer Bridge wind farm Pty Ltd, who spent 12 months putting the agreement together.

Read More…

Capital's solar buyback slashed

www.canberratimes.com.au
13 Jun 2013

ActewAGL has been accused of not paying customers a reasonable price for solar power with a new scheme about to offer 10¢ a kW hour less than the current arrangement. However, other industry players have suggested the reduced price was inevitable and in line with what was happening in other jurisdictions.

Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury has also called on Labor to honour its parliamentary agreement with the ACT Greens which included a 20 year guaranteed payment for households and businesses installing solar power. Solar power providers are also bracing for a rush for the technology as consumers try to lock into the current ''generous'' solar buyback scheme which ends in the ACT on June 30.

ActewAGL has been buying solar power from customers at about 18¢ per kW through the current solar buyback scheme. Under the new system of net metering, to be introduced on July 1, ActewAGL Retail will buy excess electricity at 7.5¢ per kW hour.

Existing customers will continue their arrangement under the buyback scheme until June 20, 2020 when they will revert to net metering. New customers will be still subject to the buyback scheme if they submit special connect request forms, via an installer, to ActewAGL before the close of business on June 30. ActewAGL said there were 2357 active solar buyback customers in the ACT. There were 93 applications pending for entry to the scheme.

ActewAGL general manager retail Ayesha Razzaq said the change meant instead of ActewAGL paying a tariff for all solar power produced by customers, it would be paying for only the ''excess'' solar electricity exported to the network, taking into account the power used by the customer.

Read More…

Four companies join up on solar energy, energy storage tech

www.elp.com
12 Jun 2013

A group of four companies plans to pool resources and work to develop solar power storage technology for the military. In time, the technology could be adapted for commercial or residential use. Lincad, Oxis Energy, Pure Wafer and Solutronic are developing a system that combines lightweight solar panels, electronics and a battery energy storage device, according to Power Engineering.

Lincad will lend their battery design expertise, while Oxis will supply the lithium sulfur cell technology. Pure Wafer will supply the military solar panels that will charge the lithium sulfur batteries during the day when the sun shines, and Solutronic will provide electronics that connect the solar panels, batteries and equipment to power.

U.S. photovoltaic power installations rise 33 pct in 1st quarter

www.reuters.com
11 Jun 2013

New solar photovoltaic power installations in the United States totaled 723 MWs (MW) during the first quarter, up 33% over the same period in 2012, industry analysts said in a report on Tuesday.

GTM Research and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) forecast that during 2013, the industry will install 4.4 GWs of photovoltaic power facilities-enough to power about 800,000 average American homes. That will rise to nearly 9.2 GW annually in 2016.

As the cost of solar photovoltaic panels declines, solar power is one of the fastest-growing new energy sources in United States "Installations will speed up over the next four years as projects become economically preferable to retail power in more locations", said Shayle Kann, vice president of research at renewable power information company GTM, a unit of Greentech Media.

Kann warned, however, that changes to net metering and electricity rate structures could serve as the market's primary barrier. SEIA is an industry trade group.

The report said the average residential photovoltaic system price fell below $5.00 per watt, while the average nonresidential system price fell below $4.00 per watt. The report also said concentrating solar power capacity is expected to make "major gains" by the end of the year, adding more than 900 MW of capacity.

The report looked at both photovoltaic power, which uses solar panels to generate power, and concentrating solar power, which uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight on a tower or other structure to heat liquid to produce steam to power a turbine. It said the United States now has more than 8.5 GW of installed solar capacity and is expected to add 5.3 GW in 2013.

Some of the biggest solar power companies include units of Abengoa SA, Consolidated Edison Inc, Electricite de France SA, Enel Green Power SpA, FirstSolar Inc, Iberdrola SA, NextEra Energy Resources, NRG Energy Inc, Sempra Energy and SunPower Corp.

Wind Co-Op to study community attitudes

www.abc.net.au
11 Jun 2013

The Central New South Wales Renewable Energy Cooperative which wants to buy a turbine at the proposed Flyer's Creek wind farm near Blayney, says it has a back-up plan if the development is not approved. The wind farm application was lodged in 2008 and Chairman Pat Bradbery says the group will not be disbanded if the wind farm does not get the go-ahead.

"The first is to look at another wind farm that has been approved and preliminary talks have happened about that", he said. "But we will then at the same time look at our other goals, which is that we really want to do what we can to increase the amount of renewable energy being used in the central regions of New South Wales".

He says solar farms and an initiative where businesses can rent solar panels to reduce their energy costs could be considered. "Orange, Bathurst, the Central Tablelands in particular gets a quite a lot of sunlight and so solar power is very do-able. "Also this part of the country is high wind territory so it certainly has the natural resources that are required to produce renewable energy".

The co-op has received a $60,000 state government grant to be spent on a study into community attitudes on wind farms, and a series of seminars. Mr Bradbery says the grant will pay for a study on community attitudes to windfarms being done by the University of Technology Sydney. "They've actually almost finished that.

"We're just waiting on the final report and to run 10 seminars through the region, in which we will present the results of the research and also get feedback about what they think of wind power". Seminars will be held in Orange, Bathurst, Lithgow, Cowra, Parkes, Forbes and Mudgee over the next two months.

Wind-linked disease fails to catch-on amongst scientists

www.businessspectator.com.au
10 Jun 2013

Groups opposed to wind farms are referencing an ailment "vibroacoustic disease" that a new study suggests is not recognised as a genuine health problem in the scientific literature, beyond a single research group in Portugal.

It is claimed by opponents of wind farms that they emit large amounts of low frequency noise (although noise measurement studies suggest this is not the case) which has been found to cause an ailment referred to as "vibroacoustic disease" or VAD.

The Portugese researchers who coined the disease based on studies of aircraft technicians, believe that chronic exposure to low frequency noise greater that 90dB leads to a range of ailments. These include slight mood swings, indigestion and heatburn to more severe problems such as psychiatric disturbances, duodenal ulcers, intense muscular and joint pain and even haemorrhoids.

However a study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health has drawn doubt over the veracity of VAD as a legitimate disease with little recognition amongst health researchers. The study entitled, 'How the factoid of wind turbines causing 'vibroacoustic disease' came to be 'irrefutably demonstrated' ', undertook a search of the scientific journal literature as well as a search of the internet to determine the prevalence of VAD as a genuine health concern.

The peer-reviewed journal search for 'vibroacoustic disease' retrieved 182 papers. Screening of titles and abstracts resulted in exclusion of 62 articles which used the term vibroacoustic in relation to either fetal ultrasound measurement or occupational measurement of noise. After removal of duplicates, a total of 35 papers were found on vibroacoustic disease. Of the 35 papers, 34 had a first author from a single Portuguese research group. Seventy-four% of citations to these papers were self-citations by the group whereas median self-citation rates in science are around 7%.

In addition none of the 35 papers contained any reference to wind turbines.

Instead, according to the authors of the study-Simon Chapman and Alexis St. George, vibroacoustic disease was linked to wind turbines through a conference presentation case study by Alves-Pereira of a single 12 year-old boy who had "memory and attention skill" problems in school and "tiredness" during physical education activities.

Yet according to Chapman and St George such complaints are very common and further analysis would be required before suggesting they could be attributed to the nearby turbines. They stated,

"there are many other houses in the area adjacent to the turbines [nearby to the 12 year old boy's residence], but her research group conducted no investigations of residents in any of these, as would be expected in any elementary epidemiological investigation. Again, Alves-Pereira asserted that wind turbine exposure was a plausible explanation for the boy's school problems. No other possible explanations were considered in the presentation or apparently investigated".

New way for farmers to make money

www.nzherald.co.nz
10 Jun 2013

There is a new way for farmers to make money these days that will actually benefit our environment.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) estimates that around 140,000kWh of solar power falls on the roof of a typical farm shed each year. Most of this simply heats up a piece of tin and adds minimal value while milking sheds and arable land operations (which use dryers and pumps) consume large amounts of costly power.

Why not capture even some of that energy for domestic use and sell it back to the grid when it is not needed? In Australia, there are over 1,000,000 grid-tied solar customers, who make electricity for their own use and sell the excess back to the grid. This clever idea is starting to catch on in New Zealand-with renewable energy generation leaders Meridian Energy providing the technology and Westpac pitching in to finance farmers putting in solar panels.

If this initiative catches on (and why wouldn't it?) the agricultural sector will save thousands of dollars from their energy bill, we will reduce our needs to generate electricity through fossil fuels and energy security will be improved.

It is great to see Meridian Energy initiating something that will improve the environmental performance of farmers, who are constantly criticised by the urban population for the cumulative effect their industry has on waterways and greenhouse emissions.

One can only hope that when farmers save money through solar generation that they might invest it into fencing and riparian planting rather than the latest model 4WD. But seriously, if you park the complicated and hotly contested environmental arguments about climate change and power generation for just one minute-free energy from the sun makes simple economic sense.

Read More…

San Onofre nuclear power plant to shut down permanently

www.examiner.com
8 Jun 2013

Southern California Edison (SCE) announced yesterday that they will be decommissioning their two unit nuclear power plant in San Onofre California. San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, or SONGS for short, units 2 and 3 have been shutdown for 17 months after leaks were detected in faulty tubes in their newly replaced steam generators. Until now SCE had been working diligently to repair the two units, but the uncertainty of gaining approval from the NRC to restart the units combined with the cost of keeping the units in a state of readiness for restart has pushed SCE into permanently shutting them down.

Ron Litzinger, SCE's President had this to say, "Looking ahead we think that our decision to retire the units will eliminate uncertainty and facilitate orderly planning for California's energy future".

SONGS has been serving the region for over 40 year, employs some 1500 people, and has power capabilities able to light up roughly 1.4 million homes. With California already in a difficult state as concerns power production for its citizens, this major reduction in baseload capacity may cause difficulties in the future. SCE has already paid some $500 million dollars in buying replacement power over the 17 months the units have been offline, which is then passed on to the rate payer. It is still wholly unclear how replacement power will be provided in the long run, as California's political climate precludes investment in and construction of power sources that make reliable baseload electricity.

The future of SONGS will be decommissioning, where the reactor and auxiliary buildings are placed in a state of non-use and the nuclear material is place in a safe condition. With no national spent nuclear fuel repository and only a few lower grade nuclear waste repositories in operation in the U.VICOSC, it is highly unlikely that any of the radioactive material will ever leave the site. Given California's aforementioned political climate it is also unlikely that the SONGS site could be used as a nuclear waste storage facility for other facilities that produce radioactive waste, like hospitals and universities, in California.

The cost of decommissioning, per federal law, has been collected from the consumers of the electricity slowly over the past 40 years. However, since the lives of the plants are being cut slightly short, these funds might not be enough to fully decommission the facility if decommissioning were to start immediately. Likely SCE will hold off on the process as it waits for the interest of the money it has set aside to accrue enough to make decommissioning feasible.

New Design for solar panels that can simultaneously generate and store energy

www.azonano.com
18 Jul 2013

The potential energy available via solar power might seem limitless on a sunny summer day, but all that energy has to be stored for it to be truly useful. If you see a solar panel on a rooftop, in a large-scale array, or even on a parking meter, a bulky battery or supercapacitor is hidden just out of sight, receiving energy from the panel through power lines.

However, that's a storage method that doesn't scale well for solar-powered devices with no space for a battery pack. In a quest for a smaller, more self-sustaining solar power source, a UW-Madison electrical engineer has proposed a design for solar panels that can simultaneously generate power from sunlight and store power reserves for later, all within a single device.

Hongrui Jiang and his students developed the idea, published in the journal Advanced Materials June 6. Jiang is the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of electrical and computer engineering at UW-Madison and specializes in microscale devices. He and his students developed the technology as an offshoot of a National Institutes of Health grant to design a self-focusing contact lens that adapts to the eyes of adults suffering from presbyopia, a natural aging process that stiffens the lens and reduces the eye's ability to focus, especially at short distances.

To power that contact lens, Jiang and his team have worked out a design that balances energy harvesting, storage and usage. "We needed a multi-functional and small-form-factor device in order to integrate it all into a single contact lens structure", says Jiang.

The top layer of each photovoltaic cell is a conventional photo electrode, converting sunlight into electrons. During that conversion process, the electrons split off into two directions: most electrons flow out of the device to support a power load, while some are directed to a polyvinylidene fluoride polymer (PVDF) coated on zinc oxide nanowires. The PVDF has the high dielectric constant required to serve as an energy storage solution. "When there's no sunlight, the stored power will come back through the nano wires to power the load".

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Renewable energy use hits record heights in Australia

designbuildsource.com.au
8 Jun 2013

The latest data from Australia's peak clean energy body indicates that the country's use of renewable energy hit record heights last year. According to figures from the Clean Energy Council's 2012 Clean EnergyAustralia Report, a record-breaking 13.14% of Australia's electricity was derived from renewable energy in 2012.

Both solar power and wind power have reached major milestones since the start of 2012, Australia's 62 wind farms produced enough electricity to supply power to one million households for the first time last year, while the country installed its millionth solar power system earlier this year.

While solar power and wind power saw an increase in their share of renewable energy generated, rising to 26% and 8% respectively, hydroelectric power nonetheless remains the dominant form of clean power, accounting for 57% in 2012.

CEC chief executive David Green said the report shows that renewable energy is fast emerging as an economically viable power source, especially in light of the rising expense of its conventional, mainstream peers. "The cost of fossil fuels such as gas has been going up, while clean energy has been getting cheaper-fast", he said

Green also highlighted rapid growth in the deployment of renewable energy in Australia, and the sector's salutary contribution to the national economy. "The clean energy industry contributed $4.2 billion in investment and approximately 24,300 to the Australian economy in 2012", he said. Despite this impressive level of spending, however, the report found that Australian investment in renewables actually fell significantly last year, dropping $1.3 billion dollars from $5.5 billion in 2011.

The decline in investment has been largely attributed to the solar sector due to the scuppering of government incentives for the installation of rooftop panels and declines in systems cost. Further declines in investment are also expected this year as a result of political uncertainty in the lead up to the federal election this year, and the potential impact on the renewable energy sector of a Coalition victory.

CTRL+P: Printing Australia's largest solar cells

www.theage.com.au
7 Jun 2013

Using the same technology needed to print a T shirt, scientists have produced the largest flexible, plastic solar cells in Australia-10 times the size that they were previously able to.

A team of researchers from the University of Melbourne, CSIRO and Monash University have produced the largest flexible solar cells in Australia. They are now able to print organic photovoltaic cells the size of an A3 sheet of paper thanks to a new printer installed at the CSIRO. The scientists are part of a collaboration between research and industry partners called the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC).

The new printer, worth AU$200,000, is a big step up for the VICOSC team. In just three years they have gone from making cells the size of a fingernail to cells 10 cm². Now with the new printer they have jumped to cells that are 30 centimetres wide and can roll out 10 metres of solar cells per minute.

VICOSC project co-ordinator and University of Melbourne researcher David Jones says one of the great advantages of the group's approach is that they're using existing and affordable printing techniques, making it a very accessible technology. "We're using the same techniques you would use if you were screen printing an image onto a T-Shirt", says Dr Jones, from the University's Bio21 Institute and School of Chemistry.

Using semiconducting inks, the researchers print the cells straight onto paper-thin flexible plastic or steel. With the ability to print at speeds of up to 10 metres per minute, this means they can produce one cell every two seconds. As the researchers continue to scale up their equipment, the possibilities will become even greater.

"Eventually we see these being laminated to windows that line skyscrapers", Dr Jones says. "By printing directly to materials like steel, we'll also be able to embed cells onto roofing materials". "There are so many things we can do with cells this size", het them into advertising signage, powering lights and other interactive elements. We can even embed them into laptop cases to provide backup power for the computers inside".

According to CSIRO materials scientist Scott Watkins, the organic photovoltaic cells, which produce 10 50 watts of power per m², could even be used to improve the efficiency of more traditional silicon solar panels.

"The different types of cells capture light from different parts of the solar spectrum. So rather than being competing technologies, they are actually very complementary", Dr Watkins says. The scientists predict the future energy mix for the world, including Australia, will rely on many non-traditional energy sources.

"We need to be at the forefront of developing new technologies that match our solar endowment, stimulate our science and support local, high-tech manufacturing", Dr Watkins says. "While the consortium is focused on developing applications with current industrial partners there are opportunities to work with other companies through training programs or pilot-scale production trials", he says.

The Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium is a research collaboration between CSIRO, The University of Melbourne, Monash University, Blue-Scope Steel, Robert Bosch SEA, Innovia Films and Innovia Security. It is supported by the Victorian State Government and the Australian Government through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

New poll reveals 70 percent support for wind farms

www.thecourier.com.au
5 Jun 2013

THE wind may be turning in the favour of building more wind farms to produce renewable energy in Australia. In an online survey conducted by Essential Research, 76% of respondents supported building wind farms in Australia to produce renewable energy. The figures indicate high support across demographic groups and voters. The research was conducted from May 30 to June 2 and is based on 1049 respondents.

Of those who supported building wind farms, 82% were Labor voters, 71% were Liberal or National Party voters, and 89% were Australian Greens voters. Victorian Wind Alliance state co-ordinator Andrew Bray welcomed the news. Mr Bray, who is part of the not-for-profit organisation supporting wind power, said the research was a reminder that the public overwhelmingly supported wind power, no matter which side of the political fence they were on.

"The research (also) shows that the public aren't swallowing the misleading claims put around by anti-wind campaigners like the Waubra Foundation. "Wind power is the most cost-effective source of large-scale renewable energy. "We should be embracing it in Victoria to deliver jobs, investment and tangible economic benefits to regional areas like Ballarat".

But Sarah Laurie, who heads the Waubra Foundation, an organisation examining the health effects of living near wind turbines, said there was a lack of research into the subject. "There has been a long history of problems at Waubra, Cape Bridgewater and Leonard's Hill", Ms Laurie said. "I believe they need to be investigated".

The data for this report was gathered from a weekly online omnibus conducted by Your Source, an Australian social and market research company specialising in recruitment, field research, data gathering and data analysis. Other questions put to the respondents concerned Australia's renewable energy target, compulsory, vaccinations, privatising the ABC, sports betting and the manufacturing industry.

Mongolia opens $122 million wind farm with aim to cut pollution

www.bloomberg.com
6 Jun 2013

Mongolia is scheduled to start operations at its first wind farm this month, a $122 million project that's the biggest power plant in 30 years and part of a government effort to cap pollution cloaking the capital city.

The 50 MW facility developed by Clean Energy LLC using 31 turbines from General Electric Co. (GE) is located on a wind-raked ridge about 45 miles (72 km) southwest of Ulaanbaatar. Sengee Enkh-Amgalan, the company's chief executive officer, plans to officially start the plant on June 20.

Mongolia is seeking alternatives to fossil fuels such as coal that power its industry and mines. The government has set a target to get 20% to 25% of its energy from renewables by 2020, up from less than 2% currently. Coal supplies about 80% of the nation's energy.

"In order to meet the 20% goal, the government really has to support these kinds of enterprises", said Enkh-Amgalan, adding that he expects the government will subsidize the costs of wind power in order to make it affordable.

smog from burning coal has choked the capital in recent months, causing the World Health Organisation to name Ulaanbaatar the second-worst city for air quality behind Ahvaz in western Iran. Residents use coal to heat homes when winter temperatures plunge to minus 30 Fahrenheit.

Clean Energy says the wind park will save 122,000 tons of coal, 1.6 million tons of water and will eliminate 180,000 tons of CO₂ emissions each year.

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U.K. to share more wind-power wealth with local residents

www.bloomberg.com
6 Jun 2013

The U.K, will give residents more say over onshore wind farms and higher payments to communities affected by them, an effort to heal a rift over the technology that's divided lawmakers and sparked local resistance.

wind farm developers must pay 5,000 pounds ($7,721) a MW each year to communities that host projects, a five-fold increase from the current rate, the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency said in a statement today.

Prime Minister David Cameron's administration is seeking to balance a need to boost renewable energy and meet climate goals with the wishes of voters who are concerned about noise and visibility of turbines. About 100 lawmakers in Cameron's Conservative Party last year called for subsidy cuts for the machines, saying they're a blight on the landscape.

"It is important that onshore wind is developed in a way that is truly sustainable--economically, environmentally and socially", Energy Secretary Ed Davey said. "Today's announcement will ensure that communities see the windfall from hosting developments near to them, not just the wind farm".

New planning guidance will require that communities are consulted earlier on applications and that more weight is given to concerns about the impact on the landscape. For significant projects, such consultation will be compulsory before applications are lodged. Housing and Local Government Minister Mark Prisk said today in Parliament "significant" would depend on turbine height, size and density of plants and wouldn't include a small turbine in a backyard.

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Record in renewables

www.theage.com.au
5 Jun 2013

Australia produced a record amount of renewable energy last year, with clean electricity sources such as hydroelectric, wind and solar generating more than 13% of the nation's power, new industry figures show. A report by the Clean Energy Council says hydroelectric electricity is still the most dominant clean-energy source, representing 58% of all renewable electricity generated in 2012.

But the council's chief executive, David Green, said other sources were growing strongly, with wind power rising to 26% of renewable generation and solar to 8%. Despite the growth, the report also finds Australian investment in renewables fell by $1.3 billion dollars last year, from $5.5 billion in 2011 to $4.2 billion.

Much of the decline in investment came in solar, as government incentives to install rooftop panels were axed and the cost of systems fell. The fall mirrors a 10% decline in renewable energy investment globally in 2012.

Mr Green said the findings showed technologies such as wind, solar and bioenergy were starting to make a major difference to the way electricity was produced and consumed. SMA inverter & 20x250 w Trina Solar Honey Quality systems made affordable.

Google buys output from Swedish wind farm for Finnish servers

www.bloomberg.com
4 Jun 2013

Google Inc. (GOOG), which has invested more than $1 billion in wind-and solar power projects, said it will buy the entire output of a new wind farm in Pajala, northern Sweden, to run its data center in Hamina, Finland.

The 10 year power purchase agreement has helped secure financing for building the 72 MW project for owner O2 Vind AB from Allianz SE (ALV), Europe's largest insurer. When the Maevaara wind park is fully operational in early 2015, Munich-based Allianz will assume ownership while O2 will manage the facility, Mountain View, California-based Google said in an e-mailed statement today.

The agreement benefits from the Nordic region's shared electricity market and grid system, Nord Pool, which lets Google buy the wind farm's electricity output in Sweden and consume the same amount of power at its data center in Finland, the company said.

Kanpur gets pollution free light with solar power

articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
5 Jun 2013

KANPUR: Residents of Krishnapuram GT Road are a happy lot as their area remains illuminated even during power cuts.

People have no fear while going for a stroll in their locality or park even during late evening or night hours, courtesy, the Kanpur Nagar Nigam, which has installed solar lights on an experimental basis in the locality. In all, 25 solar lights were installed here in the year 2009, three out of which were stolen. However, remaining solar lights are in working condition and residents take care of these lights now.

According to Rajeev Sharma, deputy commissioner of Kanpur division, who was then municipal commissioner, KNN, nearly 25 solar lights were installed in the area. Five solar lights were installed in the lane just behind the Manoj Guest House while nine were installed in the locality park and remaining 11 were installed in the side lanes of the area.

The residents had asked for the installation of solar lights instead of street lights powered by electricity as area used to witness frequent power-cuts and rostering. Sharma had asked the road light department to install solar lights as an experiment and had passed an order to monitor them. Now these light are proving to be a boon for the local residents.

A K Tandon, Reserve Bank employee and a resident of the area, said, use of generator has minimised in his lane as roads remained illuminated by solar lights. Minimum use of gen-sets has led to better environment in the locality. Not only the residents of Krishnapuram GT Road but people from the nearby localities also come here for walk in evening when there is a power cut in their area.

Abha Sharma, another resident of the area, said besides solar lights, she also uses solar cooker and solar water heater and Dr Anand Nigam, her neighbour, also uses solar water heater and cooker to save fuel as well as save environment from carbon emission. They have also inspired their neighbour who are now planning to follow them.

Nagar Nigam has also installed solar lights in few other parks like Rajeev Vatika where people enjoy in late evening hours irrespective of power cuts.

DOI approves SolarReserve 100 MW concentrated solar power project

www.elp.com
4 Jun 2013

US Secretary of the Interior (DOI) Sally Jewell announced the approval of the Quartzsite Solar Energy Project located in La Paz County, Ariz. With this authorization, SolarReserve, a U.S, developer of large-scale solar power projects, is proceeding with the development of its 100 MW project, located on Bureau of Land (BLM) managed land.

The Quartzsite Project will be using SolarReserve's concentrated solar power (CSP) technology with integrated storage that allows the facility to operate like a conventional power plant, but without the environmental damage from emissions and waste.

"These projects reflect the Obama Administration's commitment to expand responsible domestic energy production on our public lands and diversify our nation's energy portfolio", Secretary Jewell said. "Today's approvals will help bolster rural economies by generating good jobs and reliable power and advance our national energy security".

With more than $600 million of direct investment in Arizona, the Quartzsite Solar Energy Plant will generate approximately 440 jobs during peak construction and 50 full-time jobs for operations and maintenance. In addition, the project is expected to create local economic stimulus in the form of $15.7 million in sales tax during the construction period, with construction spending injecting another $46.3 million into the local and regional economy.

SolarReserve's lead CSP project, the Crescent Dunes Project, is currently in construction near Tonopah, Nev., with construction scheduled to be substantially complete by late 2013. The 110 MW project has a 25 year power purchase agreement with NV Energy to sell 100% of the electricity output of the facility.

Construction has peaked at more than 600 workers and is estimated to create more than 4,300 direct, indirect and induced jobs at companies that provide engineering, equipment supply and manufacturing, transportation and other value-added services The Quartzite Solar Energy Project has completed all major permitting necessary for advancing the project into construction and is actively engaged in power marketing efforts. The project is slated to begin construction in 2014, once a power purchase agreement has been contracted and financing for the project complete.

Industry News: Google and Warren Buffet invest billions into wind energy

www.stockhouse.com
3 Jun 2013

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired)--06/03/13 -Building Turbines, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of patented, innovative commercial rooftop wind turbine systems has received further validation of the earning potential, visibility, and ecological importance of the emerging wind power market on the heels of Google Corp.'s research division "Google X" and Warren Buffet's announcements of recent, sizable investments into the wind power companies.

Google X recently announced that they have acquired California based Makani Power for $110 Million. Makani Power produces energy through cable tethered "flying wings" and represents Google's interest in developing alternative wind power with a sizable dollar investment. Since 2010 Google's research division has made 11 renewable energy investments of comparable sizes including $200 Million into "Spinning Spur" wind farm in the Texas panhandle and investments into Atlantic Wind Connection for offshore grids designed to capitalize off wind power.

Legendary mogul Warren Buffet has recently been dubbed a leader in wind power investments after spending $1.9 Billion on wind farm projects in Iowa and has been well known for his investments into the alternative energy sector in the past two years. Additionally, his megastar energy company MidAmerican began building wind turbines in 2004 bringing his current total investments in wind power to date to $5.4 Billion.

"BLDW sees promise in market trends which lean to the most successful investors the world has ever seen taking interest in their market. With Texas being the number one state in America for wind power harvesting and production the idea of major players snooping about for companies to acquire has gone from small business dream to big market trend. Especially exciting is that our turbines are DG (distributed generation), meaning the power is produced where it is consumed, not in some field or over the ocean", according to John Graham, CEO

Researchers poke holes in solar cells to improve efficiency

www.designnews.com
3 Jun 2013

Researchers have been working on a variety of ways to improve the efficiency of solar cells, including the use of a spray-coating technique and by working with electrons and photons. Now, government researchers have come up with yet another way--poking holes in silicon wafers so they don't reflect and waste valuable sunlight.

The method, called "dark solar", has been developed by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and it enables the cells to reflect only 2% of the sunlight that reaches them. The solar cells they've produced through this technology can work at an 18.2% efficiency rate, which is competitive for the type of black silicon cells researchers are working with.

The development of the black solar cells is "quite simple", but is enhanced by the hole-etching technique, according to information about the work provided to Design News by NREL spokesman William Scanlon.

To develop the cells, researchers first put the silicon silver/gray-colored wafer in a liquid solution of silver nitrate and hydrofluoric acid. In that bath, the ionic silver changes to silver nanoparticles. The wafer is then placed in a second bath of hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide, where the silver nanoparticles act as a catalyst for the oxidation of silicon, according to researchers.

While this process of making black silicon is not new, it's the etching of holes in the second bath of hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide that NREL has developed to bolster cell efficiency. These holes maximize the cell's sunlight conversion by preventing reflection of sunlight off the cell. To ensure the cells achieve top efficiency through the process, researchers had to consider the depth and size of the cells--they had to be deep and small enough to suppress reflections, but not too deep to impact the conversion efficiency.

"As the wavelengths move deeper and deeper into the holes they change gradually from wavelengths of air to wavelengths of silicon", researchers said in the NREL document provided by Scanlon. "That gradualness is the key. The photons never perceive an abrupt change from gas (air) to solid (silicon), and thus don't bounce back toward the atmosphere". That lack of bounce-back is what allows the photos to be absorbed in the silicon holes and thus non-reflective.

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Abbott strangles $20bn green investment – to save 50c/week

reneweconomy.com.au
3 Jun 2013

Two news stories over the weekend give a chilling insight into what might await the Australian renewable energy industry under a Federal Coalition government.

The first story was mostly symbolic in nature. The Newcastle Herald reported that the only wind turbine in Newcastle, the 600kW Kooragang turbine that was constructed in 1997 to "promote the emerging green energy market" is to be removed by Ausgrid-to make way for a new coal loader.

It is just a single turbine but, amazingly, apart from a small demonstration turbine at the CSIRO energy centre nearby, it is the only one in NSW north of Sydney. In fact, going north, you need to travel 2,000kms to the Atherton Tablelands before coming across another commercial wind turbine, 20 small towers amounting to 12MW at Windy Hill in the Atherton Tablelands. There are two other small turbines on Thursday Island, at the tip of the country and that is it-just 12.45MW of wind power north of Sydney, out of a total of 2,500MW across the country.

How many other turbines are built in NSW will likely be influenced by key decisions being made by NSW Cabinet as early as today about rules governing wind farm developments and the state's renewable energy plans. That, of course, and the fate of the large-scale renewable energy target-a federal decision.

The second story was not just one, but a barrage of media placements from Queensland Premier Campbell Newman and others seeking to lay the blame for the state's stunning 22.5% average rise in electricity costs in 2013/14 on green energy schemes, glossing over the fact that the overwhelming majority of the bill increases come because the cost of the billions of dollars of network upgrades is being borne by the consumer.

These are dangerous times for the renewables industry in Australia, particularly those looking to construct some $20 billion of utility-scale installations-be they wind or solar. Newman threw in large-scale renewables as part of the cause of rising prices, but the analysis by the Queensland Competition Authority shows that only 3.5% of the average customer bill of $1451 a year will go to support the renewable energy target, including the small and large-scale schemes. That's less than $1 a week for the average household.

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