CANBERRA, Australia (AP) _ Australia's government says its plans to create the world's largest solar power station by turning a wasteland into a glistening field of mirrors is a step toward making the sun-drenched country a world leader in clean energy. But critics say the government, which is riding on the back of an economic boom driven by sales of Australia's main export, coal, and other resources, is moving too slowly on less-polluting alternatives to fossil fuels and is using clean-energy arguments to launch a nuclear power industry.

Australia's prime minister has backed an electricity and gas company study emphasizing nuclear and coal instead of renewable energy and energy efficiency. As Australia attempts to address greenhouse gas emissions and a need for more energy, Prime Minister John Howard said, The answer is a greater emphasis on clean coal and nuclear power.He was responding to a report by the Energy Supply Association of Australia that said hitting a goal for reducing global warming pollution by 2030 would cost $75 billion, and wind, solar and other non-polluting energy sources would not be enough. It recognizes that while renewables such as solar and wind have a role to play, and we have always argued that, they will not provide the fundamental answer, Howard said. The ESAA is a trade group of Australia's electricity and downstream gas industries, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The report said Australia should feed between 15 percent and 20 percent of its energy demand by nuclear reactors and rely on natural gas and coal for much of the rest. It is in the interests of the fossil fuel industry to claim that renewable energy and energy efficiency are no solution to climate change and that we must rely instead on an experimental and costly technology, said Christine Milne, a senator with the Green Party.

The Government’s energy strategy declares a preference for renewable energy and for emissions trading but comes with two major caveats. One is Energy Minister David Parker’s assurance yesterday that security of supply is paramount. Because of the variability from one year to another in how much rain and snow fall in the catchment of the hydro lakes, and because of the intermittent nature of wind power, that suggests a continuing major role - as Parker confirmed - for thermal generators. The other caveat relates to his oft-stated need to relate the stringency of any measures New Zealand adopts in the longer term to the pace of progress elsewhere in the world.

Supporters of Prime Minister John Howard's policy that Australia should introduce nuclear power are outnumbered by opponents, an opinion poll revealed Saturday. Howard on Friday urged state leaders to lift bans on expanding Australia's uranium industry and said the country needs to introduce nuclear power to meet its future energy needs. "Nuclear power is part of the solution both to Australia's energy and climate change challenges," Howard said, releasing a report on the uranium industry's potential. A respected Newspoll published in The Weekend Australian newspaper Saturday found just 35 percent of respondents supported the construction of nuclear power plants in Australia — down from 38 percent when a similar poll was conducted in May. A poll also showed opposition to nuclear power in Australia had edged down from 51 to 50 percent during the same period. The remainder are undecided.

THE future of the $600 million Macarthur Wind Farm project has been threatened by the construction of two small farmstay units on a neighbouring property.

Expansion of the nation’s electricity generation by wind turbines may be eco-friendly, but it’s not winning hearts and minds in local communities, says Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Morgan Williams. Dr William’s report – Wind Power, People and Place – released today, said tensions were being increased by the limited scope for most New Zealanders to be involved in wind power development.

A $3 MILLION wind farm turbine caught fire while dozens shut down at the time South Australia most needed them - when a heatwave left 63,000 South Australian homes without power last month.

All wind-farm proposals could be called in under Environment Minister Nick Smith's justification. And Palmerston North Mayor Jono Naylor says it proves the need for national guidelines.

WHILE a stick-figure army of windmills is set to invade the landscape thanks to the State Government's new renewable energy policy, there is growing evidence that wind power will have little impact on the greenhouse crisis.

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.

Energy Users Association chief executive Roman Domanski said the least costly gas cuts came from energy efficiency rather than emissions reductions achieved through technologies such as wind power. "As more of these wind farms get built you create more problems with local communities, but you also create other problems because the most economic sites get used first and as you build more and more you move more into the sites that are less economic," he said.

Power generation companies yesterday slammed the shelving of the expanded Renewable Energy Target Bill until at least August, just one day after it was introduced to Federal Parliament and 18 months after the legislation was promised. The Bill requires electricity retailers to source 20 per cent of their power from renewable energy sources by 2020.

Rapid growth of wind-generated power in Australia could stall unless there is policy support for clean energy once a target of 20 percent renewable energy is achieved ...coal-fired power stations produce about 85 percent of Australia's electricity at about half the cost of wind power, one of the cheapest forms of renewable energy. Renewables account for about 5 percent of the country's energy supplies. "It is an industry that is supported by government and is reliant on that support," said Durran.

Most Australians say they believe the government needs to do more to address climate change, a new survey indicates.

THE power to decide where wind farms are built looks set to be wrestled from state control in an effort to reduce community opposition.

Sydney (dpa) - Australia could have 25 nuclear power stations meeting a third of electricity demand by 2050, the head of a panel set up by Prime Minister John Howard said Sunday............ He told local television that renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power could not replace the coal that Australia currently relies on for more than 80 per cent of its power generation.

The Planning Minister, Rob Hulls, today gave the green light to building Australia's most powerful wind farm at Mt Gellibrand, near Colac

THE Prime Minister has welcomed a report which estimates it would cost tens of billions of dollars to meet targets on climate change, saying it backs his policy on endorsing a move towards nuclear power. Australia’s energy generation industry commissioned independent research to find the cheapest way to achieve substantial cuts to greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades. The report predicts a 30 per cent cut in emissions by 2030 - the amount necessary to meet scientists’ calls for reductions to combat climate change - would cost $75 billion in new infrastructure and could double the cost of electricity generation. “The answer is a greater emphasis on clean coal and nuclear power,” Mr Howard has said.

LIBERAL leader Ted Baillieu has taken aim at the wind-power industry, saying wind farms divide rural communities and pledging a moratorium on new wind farms in Victoria. Mr Baillieu also announced large tracts of the state would become no-go zones for wind farms under a Liberal government and he wants to give sole planning approval for the turbines to local councils.

Australia's electricity is about to be greened-up big time - but not without a fight first. Laws to ensure that a fifth of energy comes from renewable sources by 2020 have been tabled in federal parliament. ...Power prices will rise to pay for the Renewable Energy Target (RET), which will be a huge boon to wind, solar and geothermal power. But there's a hurdle to be cleared: whether big polluters should be largely exempted from paying for it.