A decision by The Hon. Justin Madden, Minister for Planning and Community Development, on one of Victoria’s longest running Environment Effects Assessment is now imminent. The proposal for major boating infrastructure at Bastion Point, Mallacoota, an iconic surf beach on Victoria’s Wilderness Coast, has met with overwhelming community opposition. The Save Bastion Point Campaign, which is supported by state, national, and international conservation and recreation organizations, maintains the development is both inappropriate and unsustainable, and will irrevocably change, to its detriment, this outstanding coastal environment and tourist destination.

As countries around the world look to stimulate the uptake of solar power, schools are being recruited for their substantial roof space resources

The Australian Senate Environment Committee’s response yesterday to a proposed uniform and nationalised system of feed-in tariffs to encourage the uptake of renewable energy technologies including wind and solar power has met with mixed reactions. 

Speaking at Greens National Conference being held in Brisbane, Senator Christine Milne along with 7 other Greens Party MP’s has renewed calls for a national uniform gross feed in tariff and to ensure that home owners are fairly recompensed for all renewable energy generated from any source, such as wind energy or solar power – and of any size.

Lester R. Brown, referred to by the Washington Post as “one of the world’s most influential thinkers”, has recently published his views via the Earth Policy Institute on the nuclear vs. wind and solar power debate; stating that nuclear power is uneconomical compared to renewable energy.

A recent report states wind power could potentially generate 12% of the world’s energy requirements and save 10 billion tones of CO2 within 12 years; playing a critical role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally.

With voting in the US elections almost over, much of the renewable energy industry is hoping for an Obama/Democrats win. On the stock market, the whole solar sector has been trading higher as Barack Obama has been ahead of John McCain in recent polls.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new anti-reflective coating for solar panels that dramatically increases the amount of sunlight captured across the entire solar spectrum and from just about any angle.

Travelling 15,000 kilometres over 140 days and crossing Canada twice, Canadian Marcelo Da Luz broke the world record for distance travelled in a solar powered vehicle late last week. 

Australia’s Low Pollution Future: The Economics of Climate Change Mitigation was released by the Australian government yesterday and based on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, the bottom line for households is an expectation of an increase of an average of $4 – $5 extra per week on electricity and $2 extra per week on gas and other household fuels.