2020 - Nov 24th - Buru Energy withdraw Kimberley to Pilbara Pipeline proposal

For 11 years Buru Energy has had a proposal for a fracked gas pipeline from the Kimberley to the Pilbara lodged with the Federal Government under the E.P.B.C. act. On the 6th of November 2020 the proposal was withdrawn.

While the ‘spin’ has been that 98% of WA has been protected from fracking, the reality is that five million hectares of the State is now open to this polluting industry. Half the state’s fracking leases are in the Kimberley.

The Fitzroy River catchment, Roebuck Plains, La Grange and the Great Sandy Desert are all in the fracking firing line!

 

2020 - Nov 22nd - The Australian Government is surrounded by leaders taking climate action. Will it step up?

 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-22/the-world-strides-global-warming-australian-government-behind/12904200

The Morrison Government is surrounded by state governments, foreign trading partners, local businesses and big investors who are moving ahead to transition the world to net zero emissions by 2050.

The past few weeks have shown that Australia has only two choices when it comes to our climate-heating greenhouse gas emissions: sink good money after bad in polluting industries, or invest in the clean industries of the future.

As much as it might look like Australia is seeking one, there is no viable third option.

As the world strides ahead to try to stop global warming at 1.5C, Australia could risk being isolated and missing out on the opportunities the transition poses. Five years after Australia signed up to the Paris Agreement, the Australian Government is now surrounded by leaders making progress towards its aims — a task most would say Scott Morrison is not enthusiastically embracing.

A new incumbent in the White House and a reversal of US policy is just the start: Morrison will be dealing with a very different playing field in 2021.

A series of dramatic events over the past month have shown that a transition to net zero emissions will occur around 2050. A transition of that nature can either be done in a coordinated way — one that exploits the potential benefits — or in an uncoordinated way, which is likely to see few of the benefits but still be hit with downsides.

Just look at what our main trading partners are doing.

There's no doubt where our economy will go

China has committed to net zero emissions by 2060. China is our biggest overall trading partner, the biggest buyer of Australian thermal coal (taking about 20 per cent of all our exports), and the second biggest buyer of Australian gas (taking about 17 per cent of our LNG exports).

At about the same time, Japan and South Korea committed to net zero emissions even earlier — by 2050. Together, those two countries buy 33 per cent of our exported gas and 21 per cent of our exported thermal coal.

And looking at our top trading partners together, there's no doubt where our economy will go — by choice or otherwise.

Country	Exports from Australia	Net zero goal
China	$150.5 billion	Net zero by 2060
Japan	$52.8 billion	Net zero by 2050
EU	$33.4 billion	Net zero by 2050
South Korea	$25.1 billion	Net zero by 2050
USA	$17.5 billion	Net zero by 2050*
UK	$15.6 billion	Net zero by 2050
India	$10.8 billion	No commitment
New Zealand	$10 billion	Net zero by 2050

*Commitment made by president-elect Joe Biden. Sources: ABS and DFAT.

These massive transformations by Australia's trading partners mean changes will be imposed on our economy from the outside. Fossil fuel exports will dry up, tariffs could be placed on carbon-intensive products, and demand for clean energy will skyrocket.

Without guiding our economy towards those clean industries, and helping dirty industries transition, we're likely to be disproportionately affected by the downsides of this transformation.

In Australia, we don't have any robust federal policy to guide this transition in a meaningful way.

The Morrison Government's key policy is the so-called Technology Investment Roadmap. That policy doesn't have an emissions goal for Australia, and the bureaucrats that worked on it told Parliament last week they didn't have analysis showing how the policy would impact Australia's emissions by 2030.

In fact, in documents obtained by The Australia Institute, the Government admits the abatement expected under the roadmap is just a guess — it wasn't really modelled at all.

The modelling Australia has released shows no significant cuts to emissions to 2030.

And to meet our promise to cut emissions to 26 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, forecasts show we will only get there by claiming credits for beating targets from earlier climate agreements — the so-called "Kyoto carry-over credits", the validity of which is widely questioned.

The Federal Government is on its own

It's not just Australia's trading partners leaving our Federal Government's position isolated. It's also our own state and territory governments.

Every single state and territory in Australia has declared they will aim to reach net zero emissions by 2050. So Australia does actually plan on doing that — the only thing we're lacking is federal coordination for how it will happen.

Among those states, the Liberal-National NSW government this month announced some of the strongest policies to reach that target. It plans to build a massive 12 gigawatts of renewable energy in the next decade, supported by two gigawatts of storage.

Also this month, the Liberal Tasmanian government passed a 200 per cent renewables target through the lower house.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government is also being left behind by Australian investors and big business. Most of Australia's five biggest super funds have committed to reducing the emissions of their investments to net zero by 2050.

Within the last month ANZ has committed to align its business to support a transition to a net zero economy and Woolworths (Australia's sixth-largest electricity user) committed to go 100 per cent renewable within five years. Even business groups like the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group support net zero by 2050 targets.

In the end, a federal net zero target for 2050 would carry little meaning on its own, since every jurisdiction within the federation already has that target. But if it was formally acknowledged by the Federal Government, it could help what really matters: guiding policies to help achieve the goal.

Politics, politics, politics

Emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor says the Federal Government does want Australia to reach net zero emissions "as soon as possible" and that it will happen before 2100.

In launching the Technology Investment Roadmap, Taylor argued that "long term targets without a plan" would "penalise energy-intensive industries and reduce economic activity".

He argued that other countries, "particularly our largest trading partners, are reluctant to commit to policies and targets with material economic costs".

That seems completely true. But what was not said was that those trading partners see great economic benefit in their much stronger targets and the policies that enact them.

It is no secret that climate policy has been a poison chalice for the federal Coalition and Labor alike, having claimed the heads of many leaders and prime ministers.

So it could be politically convenient to leave climate policy to the states, where governments of both political persuasions are getting on with the job.

Politically, that might let be win-win for the federal Coalition. But it leaves the federation without a coordinated approach — and a united front to show the world it's taking the global problem seriously.

States can do a lot of the work, albeit less efficiently. But there are some things they can't do. They can't themselves do what the UK and other countries are doing and plan a transition towards electric vehicles, for example.

They can't introduce fuel efficiency standards, helping Australia catch up to the rest of the world, while simultaneously reducing emissions and costs to consumers.

And they can't easily drive a shift away from a reliance on fossil fuel exports towards commodities that will still have a significant market in a decade or two.

When asked if he was worried about our fossil fuel exports, Taylor seemed relaxed, telling Sky News this week he was confident those commodities will have a market "for years to come" and that the mix of commodities "will change" but that "was natural".

But one can't help wondering if addressing that transition — and planning for it to happen — might be a better strategy than letting it happen to us.

2020 - Nov 18th - Britain will ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030

 Britain will ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 as part of a “green industrial revolution” that will “transform living in the UK’’ and make it the first G7 country to decarbonise road transport.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said even hybrid cars, which have proven popular across the country, would be phased out by 2035.

He said in addition to banning petrol and diesel cars, Britain would have a neighbourhood powered by hydrogen within two years and an entire town of tens of thousands of homes heated with hydrogen by 2030. More than £500m will be immediately invested­ in developing hydrogen for heating and cooking.

The plan is for Britain to be a green pioneer and comes ahead of next year’s UN climate change summit.

“My 10-point plan will create, support and protect hundreds of thousands of green jobs, whilst making strides towards net zero by 2050.’’

Most of the jobs will be created in the north of England and across the Midlands, as well as in Scotland and Wales.

Mr Johnson’s new timeline has brought forward the end of petrol and diesel cars by a decade and fast-tracks plans to support electric vehicles with a rollout of £1.3bn worth of electric vehicle chargepoints in homes and on streets.

The government will begin ­offering £582m in grants to encourage­ the purchase of zero- or ultra-low-emission vehicles. A similar amount will be spent in the next four years on advancing the production of electric vehicle batteries.

“This will put the UK on course to be the first road country to decarbonise road transport,’’ Mr Johnson said.

The plan also includes investing heavily in more offshore wind farms to quadruple production and produce enough energy to power every home in the country in nine years.

While wind power is desig­nated for the home; energy for ­industry and transport will be ­hydrogen based. There are plans to generate 5GW of low-carbon hydrogen production by the end of the decade.

Mr Johnson is advancing ­nuclear as a clean energy source, and developing the next generation of small and advanced reactors. In addition, 30,000ha of trees will be planted every year.

Greenpeace supported the transport measures, saying they helped to tackle the climate emergency, but said the plans fell short by looking to nuclear and ­hydrogen.

“It’s a shame the Prime Minister remains fixated on other speculative solutions, such as ­nuclear and hydrogen from fossil fuels, that will not be taking us to zero emissions any time soon, if ever,” it added.

Labour said the measures did not go far enough and claimed the strategy was “deeply, deeply disappointing’’.

Ed Miliband, the shadow business secretary, said the measures would not be introduced quickly enough. “This isn’t fundamentally a green stimulus, it’s ­nowhere near the scale of what is required,’’ he said, highlighting how Germany and France had pledged tens of billions of euros to combat climate change.

2020 - Nov 19th- San Francisco just banned gas in all new buildings. Could it ever happen in Australia?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-19/san-francisco-just-banned-gas-in-all-new-buildings.-could-it-ev/12896666 

Natural gas provides about 26 per cent of energy consumed in Australia — but it's clearly on the way out.

Last week San Francisco became the latest city to ban natural gas in new buildings. The legislation will see all new construction, other than restaurants, use electric power only from June 2021, to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

San Francisco has now joined other US cities in banning natural gas in new homes.

The move is in stark contrast to the direction of energy policy in Australia, where the Morrison Government seems stuck in reverse: spruiking a gas-led economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Natural gas provides about 26 per cent of energy consumed in Australia — but it's clearly on the way out. It's time for a serious rethink on the way many of us cook and heat our homes.

Cutting out gas

San Francisco is rapidly increasing renewable-powered electricity to meet its target of 100 per cent clean energy by 2030. Currently, renewables power 70 per cent  of the city's electricity.

The ban on gas came shortly after San Francisco's mayor London Breed announced all commercial buildings over 50,000 square feet must run on 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2022.

Buildings are particularly in focus because 44 per cent of San Francisco's citywide emissions come from the building sector alone.

Following this, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the ban on gas in buildings.

They cited the potency of methane as a greenhouse gas, and recognised that natural gas is a major source of indoor air pollution, leading to improved public health outcomes.

From January 1, 2021, no new building permits will be issued unless constructing an "All-Electric Building". This means installation of natural gas piping systems, fixtures and/or infrastructure will be banned, unless it is a commercial food service establishment.

Switching to all-electric homes

In the shift to zero-emissions economies, transitioning our power grids to renewable energy has been the subject of much focus. But buildings produce 25 per cent of Australia's emissions, and the sector must also do some heavy lifting.

A report by the Grattan Institute this week recommended a moratorium on new household gas connections, similar to what's been imposed in San Francisco.

The report said natural gas will inevitably decline as an energy source for industry and homes in Australia. This is partly due to economics — as most low-cost gas on Australia's east coast has been burnt.

There's also an environmental imperative, because Australia must slash its fossil fuel emissions to address climate change.

While acknowledging natural gas is widely used in Australian homes, the report said "this must change in coming years". It went on:

This will be confronting for many people, because changing the cooktops on which many of us make dinner is more personal than switching from fossil fuel to renewable electricity.

The report said space heating is by far the largest use of gas by Australian households, at about 60 per cent. In the cold climates of Victoria and the ACT, many homes have central gas heaters. Homes in these jurisdictions use much more gas than other states.

By contrast, all-electric homes with efficient appliances produce fewer emissions than homes with gas, the report said.

Zero-carbon buildings

Australia's states and territories have much work to do if they hope to decarbonise our building sector, including reducing the use of gas in homes.

In 2019, Australia's federal and state energy ministers committed to a national plan towards zero-carbon buildings for Australia. The measures included "energy smart" buildings with on-site renewable energy generation and storage and, eventually, green hydrogen to replace gas.

The plan also involved better disclosure of a building's energy performance.

To date, Australia's states and territories have largely focused on voluntary green energy rating tools, such as the National Australian Built Environment Rating System. This measures factors such as energy efficiency, water usage and waste management in existing buildings.

But in 2020, just 2 per cent of buildings in Australia achieved the highest six-star rating. Clearly, the voluntary system has done little to encourage the switch to clean energy.

The National Construction Code requires mandatory compliance with energy efficiency standards for new buildings.

However, the code takes a technology neutral approach and does not require buildings to install zero-carbon energy "in the absence of an explicit energy policy commitment by governments regarding the future use of gas".

An economically sensible move

An estimated 200,000 new homes are built in Australia each year. This represents an opportunity for states and territories to create mandatory clean energy requirements while reaching their respective net-zero emissions climate targets.

Under a gas ban, the use of zero-carbon energy sources in buildings would increase, similar to San Francisco. This has been recognised by Environment Victoria, which notes

A simple first step […] to start reducing Victoria's dependence on gas is banning gas connections for new homes.

Creating incentives for alternatives to gas may be another approach, such as offering rebates for homes that switch to electrical appliances. The ACT is actively encouraging consumers to transition from gas.

Banning gas in buildings could be an economically sensible move. As the Grattan Report found, "households that move into a new all-electric house with efficient appliances will save money compared to an equivalent dual-fuel house".

Meanwhile, ARENA confirmed electricity from solar and wind provide the lowest levelised cost of electricity, due to the increasing cost of east coast gas in Australia.

Future-proofing new buildings will require extensive work, let alone replacing exiting gas inputs and fixtures in existing buildings. Yet efficient electric appliances can save the average NSW homeowner around $400 a year.

Learning to live sustainability, and becoming resilient in the face of climate change, is well worth the cost and effort.

Should we be cooking with gas?

Recently, a suite of our major gas importers — China, South Korea and Japan — all pledged to reach net-zero emissions by either 2050 or 2060. This will leave our export-focused gas industry possibly turning to the domestic market for new gas hookups.

But continuing Australia's gas production will increase greenhouse gas emissions, and few Australians support an economic recovery pinned on gas.

The window to address dangerous climate change is fast closing.

We must urgently seek alternatives to burning fossil fuels, and there's no better place to start that change than in our own homes.

Madeline Taylor is a lecturer at Sydney University. Susan M Park is a professor of global governance at the University of Sydney. This article originally appeared on The Conversation.

2020 - Nov 18th - Solar is now regularly hitting 50% share in Western Australia

 Renewable energy records continue to tumble across the country, with the latest notable milestone being reached in Western Australia, where solar power is now regularly reaching  50 per cent of supply in the middle of the day.

Our attention was brought to one such event this past Sunday, when the combination of rooftop solar (947MW, or 45.6 per cent of demand) and utility scale solar (100MW, or 4.8 per cent of demand) reached more than 50 per cent – a level it maintained for around four hours.

Such levels have become a common feature in Australia’s main grid, particularly in South Australia, where solar has even provided more than 100 per cent of local demand, but the milestones are notable in W.A. because that grid is isolated, and has no network links to another state.

We asked the Australian Energy Market Operator whether this was a first for Western Australia and was told that no, the 50 per cent milestone had been reached on preceding weekends and on several occasions in September.

The event is likely to be more common in the future. While grid-scale solar is limited to just a few installations – most notably the recently complete 100MW Merredin solar farm and the newly expanded 40MW Greenough River solar farm – it is rooftop solar (currently at more than 1.5GW) that is growing rapidly at a rate of more than 300MW in 2020

2020 - Nov 18th - Gas will be backstop at best, despite Morrison’s “wishful thinking”, Grattan says

https://reneweconomy.com.au/gas-will-be-backstop-at-best-despite-morrisons-wishful-thinking-grattan-says-75984/?fbclid=IwAR3LQEtaYoa3PVPvopfElR_yNSkR7blMoexKQutYGJWp-xvUZLyqMWyg2PE 

Gas will only ever play a supporting role in Australia’s transitioning electricity system, and Scott Morrison’s threat to build a new gas generator in New South Wales is an unnecessary and ‘heavy-handed’ intervention, according to new research from the Grattan Institute.

Over the year to the end of September, gas generation fell by 16.7 per cent, compared to the year prior. Generation from black coal also fell by 6.8 per cent over the same period. Meanwhile, solar increased a massive 27.0 per cent, and wind generation grew 14.8 per cent.

2020 - 17th Nov - Solar panel rebate boost in next week's Victorian Budget as part of $797 million energy package

 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-17/solar-homes-rebate-boost-in-next-weeks-victorian-budget/12891454

Solar panel rebate boost in next week's Victorian Budget as part of $797 million energy package

The package includes $191 million to extend the solar homes program to provide up to 42,000 additional rebates over a four-year period.

Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said a total of 140,000 households would be able to install solar panels with no upfront cost over the next two years and small businesses were also included.

The Budget package also includes a solar battery rebate for 17,500 Victorian households over the next three years.

The solar panel program has proven popular since its introduction in 2018, with demand in the Victorian community far outstripping the scheme's initial cap of 24,000 households over a nearly 12-month period.

Ms D'Ambrosio said the program was offering 65,000 rebates this financial year and 75,000 in the next financial year.

"There is a massive build-up of demand for this. Our aim is to meet that demand," she said.

Investment in battery storage as 'next stage' in power grid's evolution

There will be 7,500 battery rebates available in the current financial year.

Andrew McCarthy, the CEO of RACV Solar, said the huge take-up of renewables could be attributed to a consistent government approach to supporting renewable energy development.

His company is now expanding, moving into a new facility that is seven times the size of its current factory in Dandenong.

"What it means is when you support renewable energy investment and particularly battery storage — which is the next stage of the evolution of the grid —you see those benefits flow through to all sectors of the economy," he said.

The Government plans to make 17,500 household battery rebates available to Victorians over the next three years.

"It means we can employ more people, put more trucks and more vehicles on the road, more apprentices."

He said there had been days in the last month where had had had more than 60 per cent renewable energy in the grid.

Rebates to replace energy guzzler appliances

Ms D'Ambrosio said with more people spending time at home during the pandemic, energy bills had soared and the package also included a one-off $250 power bill relief payment for eligible concession-card holders.

The program, through the Government's Victorian Energy Compare website, starts in February next year and is expected to provide bill relief to an estimated 950,000 households, she said.

Inefficient gas and electrical heaters can be replaced under the energy scheme.

"Not only are we slashing power bills for families, we're putting money back in the pockets of Victorian families, we're creating … supporting around 4,000 jobs, about 1,500 of which are new jobs," she said.

Low-income earners will be able to replace their old gas, wood or electrical heaters with new energy-efficient appliances under a $33 million program to replace them with energy efficient systems.

The program is expected to save 250,000 households almost $1,000 rebate off a $1,700 reverse cycle heating and air conditioning system.

"They actually are energy guzzlers and the bills people receive by using those inefficient and old systems is something we want to remove," Ms D'Ambrosio said.

The package also provides energy-efficiency upgrades to 35 social housing units across the state, targeting the homes and renters in greatest need.

Opposition calls for more support with bills

Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien said anything that reduced power bills, which he argued had "gone through the roof" under this Government, was welcomed.

He said the $250 power bill relief payment on offer for eligible concession card holders could be more generous.

"We thought having a one-off increase to the concession [holders] to a capped amount of $1,000 for the year is something that would really have helped people in what has been such a difficult year financially," Mr O'Brien said.

He said the solar panel rebate programs had been oversubscribed in the past and limits were placed on who was eligible.

"I hope they can get it right this time," he said.

2020 - Nov 15th -Tasmania’s Liberal government has pledged to transition its car fleet to 100 per cent electric vehicles by 2030,

Tasmania’s Liberal government has pledged to transition its car fleet to 100 per cent electric vehicles by 2030, just weeks after tabling legislation to lock in the island state’s nation-leading renewable energy target of 200 per cent by 2040.

In a 2020-21 budget statement on Friday, the Gutwein government, which already uses a number of EVs in its fleet, said it would kick off the new commitment with the adoption of four hybrid vehicles over the next two years, with the first set to arrive by the end of the year.

The state will also trial zero emissions buses – electric or hydrogen – in both its northern and southern metropolitan areas over the coming two years, with any additional resources required for this to be allocated in next year’s budget.

2020 - Nov 15th - Major gas generator for South Australia with a 250MW big battery

 AGL unveils plans to replace a major gas generator in South Australia with a 250MW big battery.

Contrary Viewpoints:

Michael Lowe: And the reasoning depends on being able to "borrow" power from neighbouring New South Wales! What happens when NSW has no spare power to lend? No mention of the cost, which would be huge compared with alternatives. Nor of the life of this battery, when battery life is notoriously short. The bigger the battery, the longer it will take to recharge it once the emergency has receded. This is a poor decision! A modern fossil-fueled plant would have been a better long-term decision!

Daryl Earl: A number of things we know about batteries, easy to understand, a battery does not have to be flat to be useless, just flattening to the lowest required voltage , then to have a voltage and current greater then the load to start the recharge, the greater the recharger voltage the shorter the recharge time, if the battery can stand such a high current then well and good too great a current then you shorten the life of the battery, one very important point to remember, a battery that requires charging, no matter what % of charge is required, becomes a load to the circuit and that load adds to the load that is draining the battery..., hope this helps with understanding what a battery will do as far as keeping our lights on, I am thankful for the fact that we still have fossil fuel generation for our power, because without it , no wind and no shine, there will be a lot of extra load on our network recharging flat batteries.........

Margaret Graham Industry and States will do the heavy lifting on renewables and then the Feds will smugly sit back and take the credit.

Renewable energy company Neoen will pay for the 300 megawatt Tesla battery to be installed at Moorabool, near Geelong. (equivalent of powering 225,000 homes)