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Emerging Renewables Announcement |
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The $40 million announced by the Federal Government today for emerging renewable energy technologies is a welcome start to driving innovation in emerging technologies, according to the clean energy industry.
However more investment will be needed if Australian innovators are to harness the suite of world class clean energy assets and become world beaters.
Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Matthew Warren said one of the initiative's strengths was that the money would be allocated in the next year, delivering an immediate kick start for clean tech innovation.
"Today's Emerging Renewables announcement is positive and well targeted," Mr Warren said.
"It is a good start but we will need more to deliver a generation of research and development in the next decade. This initiative on its own is too modest to be the game changer that is needed by innovative companies who are doing it tough," Mr Warren said.
A comprehensive greenhouse strategy must include an effective carbon price, support for emerging technologies, efficient and effective measures to use energy more efficiently as well as large scale deploy of clean energy technologies. "The industry hopes this will be just the beginning of further financial support from the Federal Government to give a leg up to Australian technology on the world stage," said Mr Warren.
"Innovation by its nature carries with it a high degree of risk. Whether it's wave energy, geothermal or solar thermal, we should support private innovation through its early steps and stop the brain drain overseas." Mr Warren said Australia had some of the best clean energy resources in the world and had a real opportunity to be a global leader.
"We need to help all our new sources of renewable clean energy generation to reach maturity so they can make a meaningful contribution to our national 20 per cent renewable energy target (RET) by the end of the decade," he said. |
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S.A. Could Become Renewable Hub |
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The Australian Greens propose an extended electricity grid across Australia to bring renewable energy on line. "This can convert South Australia, an importer in the age of fossil fuels, to a renewable energy exporter," Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said today. Speaking in Adelaide today, Senator Brown said South Australia had huge potential for geothermal, solar and wind power. "However, there should be a full inventory of this potential to ensure investment in the grid is configured to meet future renewable energy production. "South Australia has it all - wind, geothermal and solar - and it should be exporting clean energy to the rest of Australia and the world," said Senator Brown. "Investment in the state's transmission grid would help make renewable energy export a major jobs provider and revenue producer. The Greens South Australian renewable energy plan includes: - Connecting South Australia's electricity grid directly to Queensland's, to allow renewable energy to be exported
- Upgrading power lines from Port Augusta to South Australia's North East to capture solar and geothermal
- Building a transmission grid 'spine' through Eyre Peninsula to capture wind potential
- Phasing out the brown coal-fired Northern and Playford power plants Australian Greens South Australian Senate candidate Penny Wright said there were many renewable energy projects waiting for investment in the grid to get off the ground.
"For example, the Macquarie Capital Green Grids report this year showed four potential wind energy projects on the Eyre Peninsula that with better transmission infrastructure, could more than double South Australia's generation capacity to 7500 Megawatts. "That could provide up to 3000 jobs in the construction phase and 250 ongoing positions. "Estimated electricity sales would add $158 million to the state economy and save 2.75 million tonnes of carbon dioxide across the national grid each year. Source: Wotnews. |
NATIONAL: Australia’s peak clean energy body today launched a guide to help householders make an informed choice when buying solar photovoltaic (PV) panels.
Clean Energy Council Policy Director Russell Marsh said the guide will help consumers find the right system to suit their needs.
“There are now more than 100,000 solar PV systems installed across Australia and the range of solar companies, installers and products is mind-boggling,” he said.
“Although the solar industry has an excellent safety record, being an informed consumer has never been more important.
“The guide is a general introduction to solar PV systems. It includes a list of sensible questions to ask when inquiring about solar power to ensure the installer and type of panel you choose is up to scratch,” Mr Marsh said.
The solar industry has grown very quickly over the last couple of years and the solar energy installed across Australia avoids more than 260,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year – the equivalent of taking around 60,000 cars off the road.
The Clean Energy Council runs an accreditation program for solar PV designers and installers to ensure a high standard of installation quality. To qualify for Federal Government subsidies, solar PV systems must be signed off by an accredited professional who has completed training in the design and installation of solar power systems.
Mr Marsh said there were more than 2000 accredited installers across Australia and the system had helped the industry maintain a high standard over the last decade during a period of remarkable growth.
The new consumer guide to buying solar panels and a list of accredited installers can be found here. |
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VICTORIA: Today’s announcement by the Brumby Government shows the Premier is serious about solar power in Victoria, according to the clean energy industry. Premier John Brumby announced that five per cent of the state’s electricity would come from solar power by 2020, through incentives encouraging industrial solar power stations and medium-sized commercial installations in places such as the roofs of shopping centres. Clean Energy Council chief executive Matthew Warren said the policy should deliver investment and jobs in regional Victoria, develop emerging industries and help reduce the state’s greenhouse emissions. “Mr Brumby is to be congratulated for demonstrating real leadership in developing a world-class renewable energy industry in Victoria,” he said. Victorian households are already able to access support for installing solar power, and it’s important that businesses are encouraged to embrace the technology to reduce their carbon footprint. “Industrial scale solar power stations have real potential to play a major part in Australia’s energy future and measures like this are crucial to realizing that potential,” said Mr Warren. “It should help companies gain the foothold they need in the Australian market to start generating solar energy at the lowest cost. “Initiatives like this will help to make Victoria a preferred destination for clean energy investors and help us to leverage our world-class renewable energy resources,” he said. The largest solar power station in Australia is currently a 1 MW facility at the Adelaide Showgrounds. |
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Enhanced Safety Rules for Solar |
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Companies seeking to install solar photovoltaic (PV) panels under the Government’s Renewable Energy Target will be subject to tougher safety and compliance requirements from today, the Government has announced. Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Senator Penny Wong, said new regulations for the RET – signed by the Governor-General on 15 June 2010 - will commence today. The regulations include: - To be eligible for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), installations must now comply with state and territory regulations for siting panels and building codes, including for panel mountings and connection;
- Installers must be both Clean Energy Council (CEC) accredited and licensed electricians, with the exception of some remote non-grid connections; and
- Requiring installers of solar panels to retain documentation of how they have met the above requirements.
The requirement to be a licensed electrician, which is already part of the CEC accreditation requirements, will now be an explicit requirement for the RET and its compliance regime. If these requirements are not met, installers will face penalties such as fines, injunctions, ineligibility to create RECs or criminal charges. "Solar panels allow householders to play their part in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions," Senator Wong said. "The government takes safety for solar PV very seriously and these additional measures will further strengthen safety arrangements for solar panels supported by the Renewable Energy Target." Senator Wong said the enhanced RET, currently before the Senate, also includes a number of new compliance measures such as civil penalties, tougher financial penalties and more stringent documentation requirements to prove compliance. The RET Bills were introduced on 12 May 2010 and the Government is committed to passage of the legislation before Parliament rises. "The amendments give the Renewable Energy Regulator more power to use against people that do the wrong thing, including breaches of safety requirements," Senator Wong said. The Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator continues to work with the CEC to deliver an enhanced program of compliance and performance checks. These checks would further ensure that the standards which underpin installation safety are met. "These checks will be rolled out as part of an ongoing process of improving compliance and performance in the renewables sector," Senator Wong said. Information for consumers is available at: www.climatechange.gov.au. |
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