Search Results for: coal ash

Solar Owners Secure As Electricity Prices & Solar Feed-In Tariffs Rise

solar owner

If you own a good-sized solar power system, rising electricity prices are not a worry, in fact some solar owners will see their bills decrease thanks to rising feed-in-tariffs.

Australians don’t pay the highest electricity prices in the world, but we’re working on it.  [Read more…]

Buffett’s Big Appetite For Solar Power

Warren Buffet - Solar Power

Warren Buffet’s Hungry For Solar – Coal, Not So Much | Image : Public Domain

Multi-billionaire Warren Buffett is looking to splash more cash on wind energy and solar power projects – billions of dollars he says. As for coal, he’s less than bullish.

[Read more…]

The ‘SA Energy Crisis’ Is A Myth Peddled By Liars

protesting crowd

If you repeat a message long and loud enough many people will accept it as true.

At the start of the month I wrote that South Australia’s grid was in disarray.  I warned that more blackouts were inevitable as soon as summer rolled around again or adverse weather struck.

With my warning I wanted to give people a sense of perilous urgency on the need to do something about the dilapidated state of the grid that we depend upon for our jobs, our well being, and civilization itself.

But that was on April Fools Day.

I wasn’t serious. [Read more…]

Australia’s Already Expensive Gas To Become Even More So

gas exports australia

LNG/Cash Carrier – Image: Pline, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

A new report to be released today will state gas prices in Australia are set continue to increase for the foreseeable future.

The Climate Council’s “Pollution and Price: The Cost of Investing in Gas” will say a mad dash for cash in exporting Australia’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) has pushed up the price of gas power at the expense of Australian households and business. This is a result of gas prices within the country now being linked to world market prices.

[Read more…]

What Everybody Ought to Know About Solar Panels And The Environment

I think fossil fuels are great. [Read more…]

SVTC Solar Scorecard: A Great Idea Badly Executed

svtc logo and pollution

The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition should be a really useful tool for solar buyers. Unfortunately it isn’t.

The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, or SVTC to its friends, is an organisation that has been working hard for over 32 years to protect this life encrusted blob of nickel and iron spinning in space that we call Earth.

SVTC campaigns to promote both safe environmental practices and ethical behavior in high tech industries.  Each year since 2009 they have released a report called the SVTC Solar Scorecard that ranks solar panel manufacturers on both their environmental sustainability and ethical behavior. [Read more…]

2016 The Good News: CO2 Emissions Level Off, Cost Of Solar Falls

solar worker waving goodbye to 2016

It has become fashionable to refer to 2016 as a horrible year. An annus horribilis.

If your personal annus has been horribilis, then you have my condolences. But I think, for most of the world’s population, it has actually been a pretty good year. An annus prettigoodis if you will. [Read more…]

Energex Tries To Stop Tide Of Batteries With Bonkers Tariff 31 and 33 Rule

king energex on a throne

Cnut from Energex1 tries to stop batteries.

Energex is the state government owned network operator for all of Queensland.  They receive electricity from the high voltage transmission lines that Powerlink manages and distribute it to the state’s homes and businesses. They also kindly distribute it things that aren’t homes or business, including my cousin’s non-profit Fight Club Community Center2. [Read more…]

Will Trump Take A Dump On Solar?

usa flag in solar cells

Will Trump destroy the US clean energy industry?

Donald Trump has won the US Presidential election.  The people of the United States of America have spoken.  They haven’t spoken very well, but they have done it.  And since they will have a guy in charge who never shuts up, they’re not likely to stop now.

[Read more…]

Does Battery Storage Help Or Hurt The Environment?

an eco-warrior dreaming about a powerwall

If you want to save the environment and have limited funds, then buying batteries should not be a priority.

Millions of Australians have installed rooftop solar to help the environment and save money.

Many are hoping home battery storage will soon let them do the same.

The cost of home energy storage is falling rapidly and it may not be long before it pays for itself.  But at its current price it will not save money, even under favourable circumstances, when used on-grid.  Despite this, there have been hundreds, or possibly thousands, of people who have installed home battery systems because they want to help the environment.

Have these people  made a horrible mistake? [Read more…]

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