Climate Council: National Energy Guarantee will put handbrake on Australia’s renewable energy boom
In its current form the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) will put a handbrake on the renewables boom and prevent states transitioning to clean energy, according to the Climate Council. Australia also needs to slash carbon emissions “rapidly and deeply” to tackle climate change effectively, CEO Martin Rice says, describing the NEG’s current target of 26 […]
Victoria’s Port Fairy plans to become a Smart Energy Precinct
Port Fairy plans to fight rising power bills by becoming the site of south-west Victoria’s first Smart Energy Precinct. Located 300 km west of Melbourne on the Great Ocean Road, the town’s local businesses and organisations are now discussing their future energy options. Potential sites and energy sources include wind, solar, biogas, geothermal and wave energy […]
ACT households turn to solar as Canberra electricity bills continue to rise
Households in the ACT are facing an annual increase of $378 in combined gas and electricity bills, a new study shows. According to the St Vincent de Paul Society report, electric-only Canberra electricity bills had an increase of $275-$330 in costs since July 2017. This means on average an annual bill of around $1,040 less for […]
Clean Energy Summit: CEC announces clean energy ‘Best Practice Charter’
The Clean Energy Council (CEC) has established a new Best Practice Charter for renewable energy developments. At the CEC Clean Energy Summit this week, thirty-seven businesses agreed to sign up to the new charter. The charter sets a Code of Conduct for the industry to safeguard communities that live near renewable energy projects. It is […]
Josh Frydenberg says there is no place in Australia for new coal plants
Energy minister Josh Frydenberg said at a Clean Energy Summit dinner last night that new coal plants are not a viable option for Australian electricity generation, the AFR reports. Frydenberg said new coal-fired power stations are “an option that no large energy company or investor will touch”. This is due to the high cost of […]
Energy storage batteries critical to electricity market: CEFC
The role of energy storage batteries in Australia’s future electricity market is critical, claims the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). The comments come as the corporation released record renewable investment figures for 2017-18. The government-funded finance body directly committed to 39 projects in the past financial year, up from 36 the previous year. The CEFC […]
Online solar power monitoring for cleaner, cheaper energy use
If you own a solar panel and battery storage system, solar power monitoring questions like the following have probably crossed your mind: ‘Are the panels generating power right now? Is the battery charging? Did the home use mostly grid power or solar power last week? How would I know if it all stopped working?’ In […]
Coalition’s climate change deniers must agree to NEG: Victorian government
The Victorian government says it’s unfair to ask states and territories to sign up to the Turnbull Government’s National Energy Guarantee (NEG) if the Coalition’s own climate change deniers won’t approve it. Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said to do so would be a “leap of faith” because the government’s “coal ideologues” have threatened to […]
AEMC: change rules to allow solar users access to Virtual Power Plants
A new recommendation from the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) would encourage solar energy users to join virtual power plants (VPP). A VPP is a network of small generators, such as rooftop solar energy systems, connected to form a single large power source. This is then managed by an organisation that trades the power on […]
Bendigo community solar project to save tenants hundreds on their bills
The Bendigo Sustainability Group (BSG) has set up a fundraising campaign for a community solar project to install 100 rooftop solar panels on eight local social housing units. Once the solar installation is complete, the units’ tenants should save around $300 a year on power bills. So far, BSG has raised a bit over half of […]
