Home: Renewable Energy News: Wednesday 28 October, 2009

Renewable Energy News

WEDNESDAY 28 OCTOBER, 2009 |

Australian Solar Power In The Maldives

Maldives Solar Power
Melbourne, Victoria, October 28, 2009. An Australian solar power company has its sights set on assisting the Maldives in making the switch to renewable energy.

According to Max Sylvester, co-founder of national solar power solutions provider, Energy Matters, the Maldives may become the first carbon neutral nation.

"For the people of Maldives, this isn't just about being the first; it's not a glory seeking exercise - it's about a nation's survival and leading by example. Most of the country is only 1.5 meters above sea level and the sea surrounding the nation is rising due to global warming; spurred on in part by coal fired power generation by the rest of the world."

Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed set a target in March 2009 to make his country carbon-neutral within a decade and solar power will play an important role in achieving that goal.

"We're currently in negotiations with several large organisations in the Maldives for solar power systems and we're looking forward to bringing our expertise gained through thousands of projects in Australia to the people of the Maldives." said Mr. Sylvester.

"Given that the rest of the world is largely responsible for the Maldives climate change challenges, we believe it's important for the global community to step up to the plate and assist; be it through dramatically reducing our own carbon emissions or providing assistance in technology transfer to help the Maldives in its own efforts."

Energy Matters has implemented an online registration form where Maldives businesses and organisations can register their interest in making the switch to solar power. The form and further information can be found at:

http://www.energymatters.com.au/maldives

About Energy Matters

Energy Matters is one of Australia's largest companies solely dedicated to renewable energy solutions for residential and commercial applications. Energy Matters is also active on an industry level and in the community in lobbying the Government on challenges facing the local renewables sector and providing education on topics relating to solar and wind power, sustainability and other environmental issues.

CONTACT:
Max Sylvester
Energy Matters
PH: +61 1300 727 151
max.sylvester@energymatters.com.au
http://www.energymatters.com.au

US Solar Bill Of Rights Proposed

Solar Bill Of Rights
Rhone Resch, President and CEO of the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), today urged the US solar industry to throw down the gauntlet in its battle against the deep pockets of the fossil fuel lobbyists, stating " When it comes to engaging in the major policy battles ahead, we face a choice right here, right now. There are two alternatives—and two alone: Go big. Or go home."

Speaking at the General Session of Solar Power International 2009 today, Mr Resch also proposed a solar bill of rights for the USA. He outlined 8 points to be included on the bill to help ensure solar power uptake in the USA continues to grow. Briefly, these are:

1. The right to install solar power on homes or businesses. Many Americans currently have to battle excessive red tape in order to install solar panel arrays.

2. The right to connect solar energy systems to the mains grid with uniform national standards.

3. The right to feed in tariffs and payments of at least the retail value for any electricity exported to the mains grid.

4. A fair competitive environment for the solar industry. As is the case in Australia, the US fossil fuel industry continues to receive many billions of dollars more government money annually than the renewable energy sector. The US fossil fuel sector receives about USD $70 billion from taxpayers in the form of subsidies every year, whereas the renewable energy industry receives around USD $12 billion.

5. Equal access to public lands as the fossil fuel industry for the solar power sector.

6. The right to interconnect and build new transmission lines for renewable energy.

7. The right for consumers to buy solar electricity from their electricity company.

8. Consumers having the right to the highest ethical treatment from the solar industry.

In his speech, Mr Resch also said "...our opponents are pumping as much haze into the energy debate as they are into the environment. They are spending millions of dollars on lobbying, PR and advertising, and much of it is financing a deliberate effort to discredit our industry. In advertising alone, the coal industry will spend $50 million and the oil and gas industries will spend over $100 million on advertising this year...And guess how much the solar industry is spending on advertising to clear the air: Zero."

In his closing remarks, Mr Resch stated, "We can accept the tyranny of a century of policies that protects our competitors, or we can fight for a new century of policies that secure our rights."

The full text of Mr. Resch's speech can be viewed here.