Home: Renewable Energy News: Tuesday 02 February, 2010

Renewable Energy News

TUESDAY 02 FEBRUARY, 2010 |

Tony Abbot's ERF - A "Solar Sunrise" For Australia?

Tony Abbott Emissions Reduction Fund
Federal Opposition leader Tony Abbott has today announced the coalition's official climate change policies and plans for a $2.5 billion emissions reduction program in order to reduce carbon levels by 2020.

Under the Coalition's alternative to the Rudd government's ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme), businesses that reduce emissions below "business as usual activity" will be able to sell their greenhouse gas abatement to the government and those who go above will incur a financial penalty.

Among the initiatives under what the coalition has called the Emissions Reduction Fund, a range of measures would be also be introduced to support the increased uptake and use of renewable energy in homes and communities. The Coalition have referred to these measures as a "solar sunrise for Australia".

The Coalition says it will provide an additional $1,000 on top of current solar rebates for either solar panels or solar hot water systems, capped at 100,000 rebates per year, with view to achieving one million additional residential solar power installations by 2020. Mr Abbott says this will provide an additional CO2 emissions reduction of 2.4 - 3 million tonnes a year by 2020.

The Coalition says it will also apportion $100 million to a Solar Towns and Solar Schools Initiative which will provide grants for towns, non-capital cities and schools to for grid connected solar power systems. Current comparable programs under the Rudd government are Solar Cities and the National Solar Schools Program.

Other related initiatives under the Emissions Reduction Fund include $50 million to be provided to a Geothermal and Tidal Towns Initiative and $2 million to be used in a major study into the utilisation of underground electricity transmission and the potential conversion of overhead powerline corridors to urban parklands and inner suburban housing.

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Obama's Budget - $28.4 Billion For Energy

Obama cash for renewable energy
US President Barack Obama's 2011 Budget will allow USD $28.4 billion for the Department of Energy to support scientific innovation, develop clean and secure energy technologies, maintain national security, and reduce environmental risk.

The U.S. has fallen behind in clean-tech in recent years, particularly in manufacturing, with China emerging as the clean energy super power. In his recent State of the Union speech, President Obama said "I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders - and I know you don't either".

Spending highlights relating to renewable energy and energy efficiency include:

- $500 million in credit subsidy to support loan guarantees for innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

- $144 million for research, development and demonstration projects relating to the power grid, including smart-grid technologies.

- Close to $2.4 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs including $302 million for solar energy.

- $1.8 billion for basic energy sciences to discover novel ways to produce, store, and use energy.

- $300 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy to accelerate "game-changing" energy technologies in need of rapid and flexible experimentation or engineering.

As part of developing the budget, high-priority performance goals were identified that the Department of Energy will aim accomplish. These include:

- Double renewable energy generating capacity (excluding conventional hydropower) by 2012.

- Cost-effective energy retrofits of a total of 1 million housing units through 2011.

- Assist in the development and deployment of advanced battery manufacturing capacity to support 500,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles a year by 2015.

Also announced in the Budget was a phase-out of funding for inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that impede investment in clean energy sources and undermine efforts to deal with the threat of climate change.