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Fossil fuel lobby on thin ice in RET argument

July 28, 2014 2014-07-28T13:41:58 by 3 Comments
Thin ice sign and a power station

Ever wondered how to lie with statistics? Ask a fossil fuel lobbyist.

As the renewable energy target review commission prepares to bring down its findings, a battle royale rages over how to interpret the economic modelling. Stacked with climate change deniers and fossil fuel-connected industry types, the review committee has been well and truly nobbled. It’s decision is pretty much sealed. For as Basic Governance 101 tells us: you never appoint a review unless you know the outcome. [Continue reading…]

Are They Really Tier 1 Solar Panels? Six Questions You Must Ask.

July 23, 2014 2014-07-23T14:27:40 by 3 Comments
tier 1 solar panel

Some solar companies are claiming that their Tier 3 panels are really Tier 1. How can you identify real Tier 1 Solar panels?

For many years now I’ve been banging on about “Tier 1 Solar Panels”. My recommendation has always been that you should spend a few hundred dollars more for Tier 1 panels, so that you can massively reduce the risk of having crappy solar panels on your roof. [Continue reading…]

Carbon tax goes: now for the historical perspective

July 23, 2014 2014-07-23T09:55:05 by 3 Comments
axe over a power station

Unless you’ve been living under a rock this past week, you’ll have heard that Australia has achieved the dubious distinction of being the first country in history to repeal a carbon tax. With the unholy support of so-called independents, the repeal sailed through the Senate. This to the jubilation of the polluters, energy companies and […]

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The renewable energy debate we had to have

July 14, 2014 2014-07-14T11:39:38 by 4 Comments
solar debate

For me, the words that best summed up a remarkable week for renewable energy came from SolarQuotes Facebook reader Anthony Fogarty. A veteran of the solar industry, Anthony made the point that the current debate raging in the Australian Senate has seen clean energy being discussed in the mainstream like never before. The unexpected (if […]

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Australia’s future vs Abbott lies on renewable energy

July 7, 2014 2014-07-07T10:05:54 by 14 Comments
abbott

There are three schools of thought to explain the Abbott lies on renewable energy. One is that our PM is under the influence of the fossil fuel energy companies and is happy to repeat their propaganda; two is that is he has been ill-advised by dodgy minders and three (to put it politely) he may […]

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Are those cheap solar panels grey imports?

July 3, 2014 2014-07-03T17:22:10 by 3 Comments
solar panels in a box

Recently, a number of people have asked me about parallel or ‘grey’ imports of solar panels. Parallel imports are defined as products (in our case, solar panels) that are imported unofficially by someone other than the manufacturer or their official Australian distributors. Interestingly, in this day and age with so much online and internet based […]

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Clive Palmer: renewable energy hero? Or a publicity-seeking miner/politician?

June 30, 2014 2014-06-30T12:44:36 by 16 Comments
clive palmers head on a green heroes body

So Big Clive Palmer is suddenly a renewable energy hero? And wants to be revered as the saviour of the clean energy sector? According to some press coverage, the Queensland fossil fuel mining superstar has single handedly changed the climate change debate in our country. Not for me. Let’s be very careful before we anoint […]

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Fossil Fuel Subsidies are a Joke

June 24, 2014 2014-06-24T20:28:27 by 3 Comments

I’m getting a lot of comments on Facebook at the moment along the lines of: “Solar needs to stand on its own two feet without subsidies of any kind”. What these commenters (and our government) seem to miss is that fossil fuels in Australia – and around the world – are massively more subsidised than […]

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A common sense way to combine photovoltaics and biofuel crops

June 23, 2014 2014-06-23T14:11:56 by 2 Comments

Every now and then we like to take a look at what’s happening in solar energy research, weigh the pros and cons and see how it will play out in our wide, brown land. This week we’ve got a beauty. We’ll look at a novel way to combine (the word is co-locate) two forms of […]

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How the IPA poisons renewable energy policy in Australia

June 16, 2014 2014-06-16T16:10:01 by 8 Comments
The hardcore right-wing IPA hates renewables.

Ever wondered why our government is so quick to destroy clean energy initiatives? Why the great work of agencies such as ARENA is ignored? How the green sector rarely gets a look in when it comes to energy policy? One clue as to the source of this ‘slash-and-burn’ mentality may lie in the influence of a […]

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