Category: Western Australia

community owned wind farms, community support for windfarms, Fremantle Community Wind Farm, Fund Community Energy, renewable energy, Western Australia, wind farmsLeave a comment

Fremantle Community Wind Farm fights for turbines at Port

andrewr

The Fremantle Community Wind Farm has launched a new Thunderclap campaign in order to raise awareness about an incredible opportunity to generate renewable energy from within the Fremantle Port itself.

The development is expected to increase the productivity and sustainability of state-owned land at the site while also generating locals jobs and community profits.

To accomplish this the group would like to build eight new wind turbines, with an installed capacity of 6.4 MW, on unused land at Fremantle Port.

Continue reading “Fremantle Community Wind Farm fights for turbines at Port”

Abbott Government, ALP, Carbon price, Coalition, Labor, Liberal Party, Palmer United Party, Renewable Energy Target, The Coalition, The Greens, Tony Abbott, Western AustraliaLeave a comment

WA by-election leaves renewables vulnerable

andrewr

Originally posted at Climate Spectator. View the original post here. 

The panel reviewing the Renewable Energy Target (headed by Dick Warburton who suspects the academies of science across the G20 nations may be telling fibs about human-induced global warming) has released a relatively brief discussion paper as part of a request for submissions.

As expected, it canvasses the complete abolition of the large-scale and small-scale sections of the RET. It asks the following three pivotal questions, likely to deeply unsettle the renewable energy sector: Continue reading “WA by-election leaves renewables vulnerable”

Labor, Liberal Party, Palmer United Party, renewable energy, Renewable Energy Target, The Coalition, The Greens, Tony Abbott, Western Australia1 Comment

WA Senate re-run may give reprieve to renewables

andrewr

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Originally posted at RenewEconomy. View the original post here.

The large-scale renewables sector may be the beneficiary of the WA Senate rerun, with a Perth-based electoral analyst and blogger saying a likely even left/right split the most likely outcome – making it more difficult for a Coalition government to scrap or castrate the renewable energy target.

Given the tendency for by-elections to result in a swing against the government, a WA-based electoral expert believes that the WA Senate election will likely result in a three Liberal, two Labor and one Green split. The result would mean that it will be difficult for the Abbott Government to get its legislation through. Continue reading “WA Senate re-run may give reprieve to renewables”

Abbott Government, ALP, Palmer United Party, renewable energy, Renewable Energy Target, Solar Energy, Solar PV, The Coalition, The Greens, Western AustraliaLeave a comment

Can solar change the WA senate result?

andrewr

Originally posted at Climate Spectator. View the original post here. 

The Australian Solar Council’s Save Solar marketing campaign to influence the outcome of the WA Senate election is in full swing now.

Using lessons learnt from the mining industry’s campaign against the resource rent tax, but with a dose of bottom-up, crowdfunded people-power, the council is rolling out the advertisement below via television and social media channels.

Continue reading “Can solar change the WA senate result?”

Anti-wind farm campaigning, renewable energy, Waubra wind farm, Western Australia, Wind Farm Benefits, wind farm panic, wind farms & agriculture, Yambuk12 Comments

Who opposes wind power and why do they do it?

Dave Clarke

Anti-wind farm activists

I have studied wind power as it is developing in Australia for more than ten years. In the early years of Australian wind power development – from the first wind farm at Esperance in 1987 to around ten years ago – there was practically no opposition to wind farms. Serious opposition is a phenomenon that has arisen in the last five years or so.

What is the opposition all about? Why do people oppose wind power? Can we say anything about the type of people who oppose wind power developments? Can we say what motivates them?

Continue reading “Who opposes wind power and why do they do it?”

solar thermal, Western AustraliaLeave a comment
Parabolic trough solar power plant

WA solar thermal resource could power world 50 times over

Ben Courtice

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.

The study published in Energy Policy, aimed to realistically assess CSP site suitability and found it is highly dependent on the availability of infrastructure and load.

In the most commercially mature CSP technology (parabolic trough), fields of concave shaped mirrors track the sun and reflect sunlight into receiver tubes at their focal point that hold heat transfer fluid.

Parabolic trough solar power plant
Parabolic trough solar power plant

The fluid carries absorbed heat through a series of exchangers producing steam, which is then transformed into conventional electricity.

Study author and Stockholm University’s Lucas Dawson says new loads and transmission infrastructure in particular will open up suitable areas for utility CSP.

“Central WA is one of the best places in the world in terms of solar availability,” Mr Dawson says. Continue reading “WA solar thermal resource could power world 50 times over”

renewable energy, Western Australia, wind farmsLeave a comment

Collgar Wind Farm will almost double renewable energy production in South West WA

Cam Walker

The following comes from the proponent of this project. Collgar wind farm A $750 million renewable power project at Merredin in Western Australia’s central wheatbelt. Merredin farmers have leased portions of their properties to Collgar Wind Farm for the construction of the largest single stage wind farm in the southern hemisphere to date. The giant Collgar project has been developed by international investment bank UBS and the Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (REST), Australia’s largest superannuation fund by membership with 1.8 million members. The UBS International Infrastructure Fund (UBS IIF) will retain a 60 per cent ownership of the project and … Continue reading Collgar Wind Farm will almost double renewable energy production in South West WA

wave power, Western Australia6 Comments

Carnegie Wave Energy Ltd begins 15MW project

Ben Courtice

The Indian Ocean island Reunion has taken shipment of the first Ceto 4 wave power generator from WA company Carnegie Wave Energy. This will be the beginning of a 15MW wave energy generation facility. The first stage of the project is being funded by a grant from the French government. From the company’s press release, 26 September: Wave energy developer Carnegie Wave Energy Limited (ASX: CWE) is pleased to advise that its next generation commercial scale CETO unit (CETO 4) has been manufactured and delivered to its deployment location on Reunion Island by French marine defence contractor DCNS. The unit … Continue reading Carnegie Wave Energy Ltd begins 15MW project

community support for windfarms, renewable energy, small scale wind, Western Australia, wind farmsLeave a comment

Mt Barker Community Windfarm up and running

Cam Walker

The Western Australian great southern town of Mount Barker is running on green power after the town’s wind farm was officially opened at the weekend. Three wind turbines have been mounted on a hill at a farm just north of the town. The turbines were switched on late last month and are now connected to the grid. The wind turbines are now spinning on a hill on a private sheep farm 4 km north of Mt Barker on the western side of Albany Highway. The windfarm consists of three 800kW E53 Enercon wind turbines, bigger than those in Esperance but … Continue reading Mt Barker Community Windfarm up and running