Browsing Archives of Author »Ben Courtice«
Electricity should be a public matter
The following article by Ben Courtice was first published at New Matilda Markets are neither free nor efficient, and they are bad for the environment. While that may sound like a timeless left-wing credo, it’s also a simple assessment of 20 years of privatisation and market-oriented restructuring of Australia’s electricity industry. It has become an […]
Do wind farms hinder firefighting?
January 22, 2013
One argument sometimes raised against wind farms is that they will hinder aerial firefighting efforts. Anti-windfarm campaigners are flogging this line for all it’s worth, such as in this article in the January 11 Goulburn Post. What do firefighters actually think about wind farms, though? This comment on the article is from someone who calls […]
A turn for the better
January 21, 2013
If there’s one thing Wonthaggi has plenty of it’s wind. Energy researcher BEN COURTICE looks at whether it could prove to be one of the shire’s biggest assets. Bass Coast Post IF YOU install solar panels to offset your entire electricity use, you pay no electricity bill – you may even get a credit. There […]
Pollie Watch: Wind farms save on peak prices
December 13, 2012
At the recent official opening of the Mortlake gas-fired power station, Energy and Resources Minister Michael O’Brien took a swipe at wind power. Quoted in the December 6 Warrnambool Standard, he said “The wind energy can’t be as reliable in the same way as natural gas – it is intermittent.”Wind will supplement coal and gas […]
Solar costs falling while fossil costs rise
September 27, 2012
In not-so-sunny southern Victoria, how does solar power stack up for producing cheap power? Peter Reefman of the Portland Sustainability Group offers the following comparative calculations. As he points out, solar panel cost “is falling by approximately 7% per year, while fossil fuel costs continue to rise”.
Wind farms: two steps forward, one step back
September 3, 2012
Todays news has seen two wind farms getting the go-ahead, and one abandoned by its proponent. Giles Parkinson at Renew Economy reports on the Taralga wind farm in NSW: CBD Energy said it has signed a power purchase agreement with TRUenergy that will allow construction of the 108MW Taralga wind farm to begin later this […]
WA solar thermal resource could power world 50 times over
August 1, 2012
The following news is from the Science WA website (via HelioNoticias) WA can power world electricity 50 times over, if only for infrastructure Written by Renee Sizer WESTERN Australia’s concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) potential has been assessed in a world first study that has found previous assumptions overestimate realistic site suitability for the technology. […]
How solar power can save consumers on bills
June 25, 2012
Texas solar power’s effects could give $520 million in benefits to consumers, and the same principles are at play here. Who said renewables were too expensive? Solar Power’s Merit Order Effect And The Texas Electricity Market by Energy Matters (25 June 2012) The people of Texas face higher electricity bills and the threat of unstable […]
Lay off the wind farms
June 18, 2012
Much has been made of the farmer whose chickens laid yolkless eggs, near the Waterloo wind farm, mentioned in articles in The Australian. Sinister? Maybe it’s not such a worry. The following was a letter published in the Mid North Broadcaster in Burra, South Australia: Fowl Falsity Speculation that wind farms are bad for you […]
Happy Global Wind Day
June 15, 2012
Carbon emissions are still rising and we have a lot of work to do. But at least alternative energy sources are proving their worth quite emphatically! Here’s a positive example of what communities can do – from around the world, since wind energy is now truly global with significant projects on all inhabited continents. Electric […]
April 10, 2013
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