http://www.windaction.org/ facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts en-us Windaction hourly 1 http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.windaction.org/articles/22834 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:17:04 GMT It might be tempting to imagine some sort of collegiate atmosphere among the developers of renewable technologies as they lead the charge towards a low carbon economy. But don't bank on it. Professional jealousies and business rivalries simmer below the surface and are often not contained. ...But the biggest schism highlighted in the past week is between "the intermittents" (the wind industry) and the "baseload" renewables (most of the rest). http://www.windaction.org/articles/22834 http://www.windaction.org/articles/22754 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:12:12 GMT An almost two-year fee-free period for wind farm development will not be long enough for NSW to catch up to other states, the Greens say. Premier Nathan Rees has announced incentives to boost investment in clean energy generation, including moves to fast track planning decisions relating to wind farms. The development fees that are associated with such projects will also be waived until June 30, 2011. http://www.windaction.org/articles/22754 http://www.windaction.org/articles/18678 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:07:22 GMT The group behind what is said to be Australia's first community-owned wind farm says the global financial crisis has affected fundraising for the project. Hepburn Wind wants to build two turbines at Leonard's Hill near Daylesford. It has spent the past three months trying to raise $5 million from investors, but it has only received share applications worth $2 million. http://www.windaction.org/articles/18678 http://www.windaction.org/articles/12232 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 03:03:30 GMT West Wind at Makara is seen as one of the best sites in the world, with turbines expected to run 50 per cent of the time. In comparison, Contact's Waikato project is seen as "a very good class 2 site, verging on class 1", Contact said. However, other power industry sources question the economics of Contact's Waikato wind farm project, saying others had considered and rejected the same area in the past. "It is questionable whether it is a good site," a source said. It was seen as a "marginal" site and worse than others in the area. "Who knows if they will ever build it?" the source said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/12232 http://www.windaction.org/articles/11914 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 05:09:02 GMT Australia's prime minister, facing a tough re-election fight and under pressure over his climate credentials, has pledged new "clean energy" targets in a move environment groups said would not sway green-leaning voters. By 2020, John Howard said, 15 percent of Australia's energy would come from "clean" sources including solar, wind, nuclear or clean coal, reversing his coalition government's previous reluctance to lift its renewable energy target from 2 percent. The promise also dropped "renewable" from the government's agenda, paving the way for a controversial switch to nuclear energy, backed by Howard as a greenhouse-friendly alternative. http://www.windaction.org/articles/11914 http://www.windaction.org/articles/11903 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 21:33:29 GMT Windfall profits are on the way for power companies already flush with cash, experts say, as consumers bear the brunt of higher power prices from plans to penalise carbon emissions. The perverse outcome is a result of the electricity market delivering consumers the most expensive power available to meet demand, not the cheapest. ...Business NZ chief executive Phil O'Reilly said he was concerned Meridian was now saying its Makara windfarm project was only marginally viable. "You get the impression they are calculating how much they are going to try to get out of the system to make the project pay for itself," he said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/11903 http://www.windaction.org/articles/11707 Sun, 09 Sep 2007 16:48:58 GMT THE nation's carbon offset industry is booming. ... Total Environment Centre spokeswoman Jane Castle said a stricter accreditation system was required to regulate the burgeoning sector. Tree planting was regarded as one of the least reliable methods, she said. "A lot [of companies] are selling trees without accreditation. Their claims of carbon neutrality are not accredited or monitored," she said. "It's very anarchic at the moment. There are many companies making a lot of money. Purchasing offsets should be the last resort if people and companies want to reduce emissions." Australian Consumers' Association spokeswoman Ria Voorhaar said the carbon offsetting industry must be better regulated. http://www.windaction.org/articles/11707 http://www.windaction.org/articles/9907 Sun, 03 Jun 2007 10:39:07 GMT Queensland Premier Peter Beattie today launched a $414 million climate change strategy to address what he called one of the "greatest challenges" facing the state. The new funding brings the total contribution to climate change initiatives to $1.3 billion, and proposes a number of key initiatives for business, industry and community through the ClimateSmart 2050 plan. One of the key components is the plan to increase the percentage of gas energy generation from the current 13 per cent to 18 per cent by 2020. He said using natural gas to generate power produces 50 per cent fewer emissions than coal. http://www.windaction.org/articles/9907 http://www.windaction.org/articles/8657 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 22:37:58 GMT "Prime Minister, when will the government seriously examine renewable energy and substantially increase the mandatory renewable energy target?" Mr Danby asked. But Mr Howard said he understood the eight Labor state and territory governments were planning to scrap MRET altogether. "I have been told in briefing sessions from officials representing the eight Labor state and territory jurisdictions of Australia that, in advocating the national emissions trading scheme which the eight Labor states and territories want, part of the package is a phase-out of mandatory renewable energy targets because they are incompatible with the notion of a national emissions trading scheme," Mr Howard told parliament. Later, he read from photocopies of a slide presentation of a March 21 briefing from state officials given to his task group on emissions trading. http://www.windaction.org/articles/8657 http://www.windaction.org/articles/8607 Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:04:21 GMT Waikato investors in wind-turbine projects say they are waiting on a proposed carbon credit scheme to make renewable energy affordable in the region. Wel Network chief executive Kevin Palmer said without carbon credits, the company's $200 million 84MW wind farm at Te Uku, near Raglan, was "less likely to go ahead". Mr Palmer said the Government's national energy strategy, which is open for public consultation until Friday, would determine the short-term future of wind energy in the Waikato. http://www.windaction.org/articles/8607 http://www.windaction.org/articles/8239 Sun, 04 Mar 2007 12:25:36 GMT
March 12, 2007 issue - Global warming isn't the only debate that may be over. Governments and policymakers around the world also seem to have settled on a solution. "A responsible approach to solving this crisis," Al Gore said recently at New York University's Law School, would be "to authorize the trading of emissions ... globally." Emissions trading, also called carbon trading, is being expanded in the European Union and Japan. And in many places where it's yet to take hold, like Sacramento, Sydney and Beijing, politicians are embracing it. Nicholas Stern, former chief economist of the World Bank and Europe's foremost political expert on global warming, predicts that the value of carbon credits in circulation, now about $28 billion, will climb to $40 billion by 2010.

This should be great news for the environment, but many experts have their doubts. The notion that emissions trading is going to make a significant dent in global warming is deeply flawed, they say. Current emissions-trading schemes have proved to be little more than a shell game, allowing polluters in the developed world to shift the burden of making cuts onto factories in the developing world. ]]> Policymakers have settled on 'emissions trading' as their favorite global-warming fix. But it isn't working. March 12, 2007 issue - Global warming isn't the only debate that may be over. Governments and policymakers around the world also seem to have settled on a solution. "A responsible approach to solving this crisis," Al Gore said recently at New York University's Law School, would be "to authorize the trading of emissions ... globally." Emissions trading, also called carbon trading, is being expanded in the European Union and Japan. And in many places where it's yet to take hold, like Sacramento, Sydney and Beijing, politicians are embracing it. Nicholas Stern, former chief economist of the World Bank and Europe's foremost political expert on global warming, predicts that the value of carbon credits in circulation, now about $28 billion, will climb to $40 billion by 2010. This should be great news for the environment, but many experts have their doubts. The notion that emissions trading is going to make a significant dent in global warming is deeply flawed, they say. Current emissions-trading schemes have proved to be little more than a shell game, allowing polluters in the developed world to shift the burden of making cuts onto factories in the developing world. http://www.windaction.org/articles/8239 http://www.windaction.org/articles/7836 Thu, 08 Feb 2007 13:56:51 GMT Babcock and Brown Wind Partners says it is poised to further invest in the south-east, but its waiting for a carbon trading scheme. The company says that once the federal or State Government indicate carbon trading will occur, it will find investors. Acting chief executive Miles George says it continues to monitor the south-east and other locations across Australia for future wind farms. But Mr George says a carbon trading system at any level of government is needed. “If the intension is to provide a pricing signal, which is sufficient to allow competitive renewable energy technologies to be developed, then wind is the largest scale and most competitive renewable energy source, so it’s likely that further wind projects could be developed,” he said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/7836 http://www.windaction.org/articles/7642 Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:41:03 GMT The Victorian Government is in secret talks with New South Wales to extend its compulsory clean energy scheme beyond state boundaries. The Government confirmed yesterday it was negotiating with NSW for the two states to buy and sell renewable power to help meet mandatory targets for clean energy use. But it has denied it is in talks with the Tasmanian Government for a similar deal, despite claims from a Tasmanian wind farm proponent that trade talks are under way. http://www.windaction.org/articles/7642 http://www.windaction.org/articles/7624 Sun, 28 Jan 2007 12:19:54 GMT WIND power firm Roaring 40s wants a proposed Tasmanian project to be eligible for a Victorian renewable energy scheme. Roaring 40s, a joint venture between Hydro Tasmania and Hong Kong firm China Light and Power, has held discussions with the Victorian and Tasmanian governments. It wants a windfarm planned for Musselroe Bay, in Tasmania's far North-East, to be eligible for the Victorian Renewable Energy Target scheme (VRET). http://www.windaction.org/articles/7624 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6834 Tue, 12 Dec 2006 13:00:47 GMT Electricity prices would be 10 to 20 per cent higher under the Government’s new environmentally sensitive energy strategy, an energy consultant says. Energy Minister David Parker challenged those figures but acknowledged there would be some increase to electricity consumers longer term as a result of the strategy. He released the draft energy strategy and accompanying papers yesterday saying the Government wanted all new energy generation to be renewable, unless other means were necessary for the security of electricity supply. The most likely renewable energy sources were wind, hydro, geothermal and wave and tidal power. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6834 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6545 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 12:32:32 GMT The Australian Wind Energy Association says it is relieved the Labor Party has remained in government after the weekend’s state election. The association criticised the Liberal Party during the election because of its plans to scrap the Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET). Association chief executive Dominique La Fontaine says the result renews confidence in the industry, and more wind projects can go ahead. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6545 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6395 Fri, 17 Nov 2006 13:57:15 GMT HOUSEHOLDS in Albury and other parts of NSW would only pay another $1 a week by 2020 to help the state reach renewable energy targets, Labor candidate for Albury Chris Ryan said yesterday. Mr Ryan said energy targets that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions would be an issue at the March state election. Premier Morris Iemma last week set new targets which mean that, by law, 10 per cent of electricity consumed in NSW by 2010 must come from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6395 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6359 Thu, 16 Nov 2006 13:48:42 GMT When it comes to addressing global warming and climate change, Liberals in Australia react to pressure from mining industry leaders, and Labor reacts to pressure from the various industries' unions. Ross Gittins reports. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6359 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6354 Wed, 15 Nov 2006 13:25:17 GMT But Mr Davis said his party was unconvinced by the merits of the VRET and saw it as nothing more than a vehicle to raise energy costs to consumers and implement new taxes. He said the VRET largely relied on wind energy, which was unreliable and a poor vehicle for achieving the targets. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6354 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6296 Sun, 12 Nov 2006 12:25:19 GMT Residents fighting a wind farm proposal near Lake George, near Canberra, say the local council has moved ahead with the project, despite strong community objection. They say the development will devalue their land and harm the natural environment. The $220 million project was approved after the New South Wales Government decided to boost its renewable energy targets. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6296