New York’s solar governor announces run for Oz PM (dream on!)

January 13, 2014 2017-10-25T10:08:03 by 3 Comments

Tsun behind the statue of libertyhe need to save the world from environmental degradation and climate change appears to have sunk in to the halls of power in the United States. Renewable energy sources such as solar power are now not just “flavour of the month” but perhaps “flavour of the year/decade”. Well, in some parts of the land of the free and brave anyway.

While the sheer financial and political clout exercised by fossil fuel advocates such as the infamous Koch Brothers cannot be discounted, there are influential progressive, pro-renewable energy elements hard at work. They are, it seems, swinging the nation’s attention back to the benefits of renewable energy sources such as solar power. [Read more…]

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Any positives for solar power under the new Coalition government?

September 9, 2013 2017-10-25T10:12:07 by 9 Comments
How will solar fare under Abbott and the Coalition?

How will solar fare under Abbott and the Coalition?

Here at SQHQ — as with all of those supporting alternative energy — we’re surveying the damage after the Coalition’s expected yet stunning landslide win on Saturday night. Both the Liberals and Nationals took a slash and burn approach to solar power in Australia and the whole renewable energy sector during the campaign. This approach included policy announcements such as the gutting of ARENA and the end of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and “Sloppy” Joe and his finance mates have given no inkling of changing their minds on this all important issue. See last week’s article for more details. [Read more…]

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Taking the politics out of solar power policy

September 2, 2013 2017-10-25T10:12:17 by 4 Comments
Renewable energy is too important to be trusted to pollies.

Renewable energy is too important to be trusted to pollies.

At the end of a depressing week for renewables, talk over the SQHQ water cooler has been centred along the lines of: is it time to keep pollies out of solar power policy?

First we had the shrill and frankly rather desperate tactic of Kevin “The Queensland Kid” Rudd bucketing on the carbon tax introduced by his predecessor Julia “Who?” Gillard. The Kid seemed to aiming to appease the fossil fuel lobby (or was it Murdoch?) when he said his previous government had “got it wrong” on the carbon tax. [Read more…]

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Is solar advocacy about to enter a brand new phase?

July 18, 2013 2017-10-25T10:13:40 by 1 Comment

 

i love solar t-shirt

You’ll never believe who is embracing solar…

This week we take a detour from our usual rants to look at an interesting emerging overseas trend. The changing face of solar advocacy.

Australia tends to follow most trends that start in the United States — some would say slavishly — so this recent article in the superb Grist magazine made me think that the very way solar is positioned may indeed be changing. Support for solar power has long moved from the fringes to being accepted by the mainstream.

But solar advocacy is now being embraced by ultra conservatives as a symbol of free enterprise!

Let me explain. [Read more…]

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What does the Rudd return mean for solar power?

July 1, 2013 2017-10-25T10:14:08 by Leave a Comment

The big news in Australian politics during the week was of course the return of the Queensland kid, aka The Ruddster, The Nerdy One etc. The Machiavellian machinations of the Australian Labor Party which allowed the regurgitation of Kevin Rudd has done wonders to kick start a moribund election campaign, but what effect will this have on the party’s solar power policy?

At the time of writing Heavy Kevvy had just announced his new front bench. [Read more…]

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Retro solar tax: it couldn’t happen here…could it?

April 22, 2013 2017-10-25T10:16:18 by 2 Comments

 

a tax sign and 2 solar panels

Belgians living in Flanders are now taxed for owning solar power!

Know how you wake up in a cold sweat after a particularly bad nightmare readers? And I mean really bad dream (no not the one about NSW premier big, bad Barry “Bumper” O’Farrell and the three feed-in tariffs — that’s another story). Sitting bolt upright as your eyes slam awake you look around and calm yourself by saying “Thank [insert deity], it was all a dream”. Well your correspondent had the same visceral reaction when a particularly piece of nasty news reached his inbox this week.

Though, regrettably, the “it was only a dream” part may be questionable. [Read more…]

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Will Fergie’s inglorious exit herald a new era for solar power?

March 25, 2013 2017-10-25T10:17:06 by 1 Comment
martin ferguson's office

Martin “Fossil Fuel” Ferguson has finally switched himself off.

Well the dust has settled on the federal Labor leadership challenge that wasn’t with Julia “The Ranga” Gillard announced the winner after Kevin “The Piker” Rudd refused to show up for battle.

Actually it was less a leadership struggle than a complete shemozzle and the ructions within the Labor Party following the events will be felt for years, if not decades, to come. The immediate result is a host of ministers felt the need to resign their commissions due to their support for the The Nerdy One. You really couldn’t make this up if you tried, though the soap opera holds promise. Matthew Newton as Kevin Rudd? [Read more…]

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WA Labor on solar power: trick or treat?

March 4, 2013 2017-10-25T10:17:54 by Leave a Comment
perth at dusk

Is WA Labor’s idea to let Joe Public buy solar on government roofs a goer?

How serious is the West Australian Labor Party’s offer to open up the state’s renewable energy market should it win power in this month’s election? Superb, groundbreaking idea to include all in the solar power revolution? Or as one of our Facebook Page readers succinctly put it; is it a case of “promises, promises”? [Read more…]

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Does the ACT lead the solar revolution in Australia?

January 30, 2013 2017-10-25T10:18:44 by 1 Comment
Solar Panels in Canberra

Image: Parliament of Australia website

If you think this column exists solely to bash the often non-existent solar energy policies of certain state governments and Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition you’re mostly correct. We’ve often been critical of the myopic policies taken towards solar in both federal and state capitals, a “scorched earth” policy directed by many pollies towards solar energy in particular.

This lack of consistency for big solar investors as well as those wishing to install domestic solar systems is a major cause of the highly damaging “boom and bust” syndrome that has characterised the Australian solar energy sector. [Read more…]

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Can Queensland be a solar energy powerhouse under the Newman government?

September 30, 2012 2017-10-25T10:22:16 by 2 Comments
tim flannery speaking

Tim Flannery reckons Campbell Newman may be a closet solar fan. Unlikely?

The Climate Commission’s recent report pointing to Queensland as a potential solar energy powerhouse has caused a bit of a traditional brouhaha in the opinion pages of the press and online journals.

 

Nothing like a bit of biffo as we say here at SQ headquarters (particularly in the wake of a grand final weekend) so we thought we’d examine the argument, squeeze out more on a favourite theme  (government inaction on renewables) and have a bit of a rant ourselves. [Read more…]

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