Abbott Government, Australia, renewable energy, renewable energy and the energy grid, Renewable Energy Target, Rudd Government1 Comment

Is $15 a year really too much to pay for renewable energy?

May 7, 2014May 3, 2014 katleuch

Published by The Conversation. View original article.

Cooling towers at Yallourn, one of Victoria’s major brown coal power generators. Flickr/ccdoh1

Australia’s Renewable Energy Target looks likely to be weakened or even axed, with the Prime Minister saying the scheme needs to be reviewed because it is causing “pretty significant price pressure”.

But does $15 a year sound like a “pretty significant” cost to you?

According to the last national review of the Renewable Energy Target, $15 a year from now to 2031 is all that an average Australian household would save if we scrapped our national scheme to drive extra investment in renewable power. Continue reading “Is $15 a year really too much to pay for renewable energy?”

#Auspol, Coalition, community owned wind farms, Community solar, community support for windfarms, Hepburn community wind farm, Labor, Liberal Party, Regional Development, renewable energy, Rudd GovernmentLeave a comment

Election ’13: Community groups call on Labor, Coalition to back $50m community energy fund

August 7, 2013August 19, 2013 Leigh Ewbank

Dozens of community groups from around Australia have joined national environment organisations to publish an open letter calling on Labor and the Coalition to commit to a $50 million fund for community energy projects.

The open letter, addressed to the minister for climate change, Mark Butler (ALP) and shadow minister for climate change, Greg Hunt (Coalition), calls on both major parties to lock in their support the emerging community energy sector.

The campaign believes politicians risk killing off the infant community renewable energy sector if they fail to establish a multi-million dollar fund.

“Like any new sector, community-owned renewables are growing quickly and will need short-term support to succeed,” said Nicky Ison, spokesperson for the Fund Community Energy campaign.

“Over 40 communities across Australia are developing community-owned wind and solar projects, but only two are up and running. If the other 38 groups don’t receive start-up assistance soon, they risk dying on the vine,” added Miss Ison. Continue reading “Election ’13: Community groups call on Labor, Coalition to back $50m community energy fund”

#Auspol, energy transition, Gillard Government, Greg Hunt, Liberal Party, Policy Watch, Pollie Watch, Regional Development, renewable energy, renewable energy and the energy grid, Renewable Energy Target, Rudd Government, The Coalition, The Greens, Tony Abbott, Wind Farm BenefitsLeave a comment

Policy Watch: Greens launch renewable energy plan to address key policy gap

July 14, 2013July 22, 2013 Leigh Ewbank

At the weekend, the Australian Greens released the second tranche of its Clean Energy Roadmap. The plan addresses a critical gap in Australia’s energy policy architecture and would help drive the shift to 100 percent renewable energy.

The Clean Energy Roadmap deals with a key shortcoming of the Gillard Government’s carbon price–namely, the lack of support for enabling infrastructure.

Building new transmission lines to renewable energy hotspots does not directly reduce emissions, therefore, such projects do not benefit from the carbon price or offset markets. The critical infrastructure is also beyond the capacity of the private sector due to high capital costs and the lack of short-term profitability. The Greens call for public investment and long-term vision would open up new regions for sustainable development.

Continue reading “Policy Watch: Greens launch renewable energy plan to address key policy gap”