The recent review of the Australian Renewable Energy Target has once again raised the issue of the “unreliability” of some renewable power sources such as wind and solar power. Their variability, which…
Australia does have the capacity to produce more electricity than it needs - but that’s not a reason to scale back the Renewable Energy Target.
Indigo Skies Photography/Flickr
We have 9,000 megawatts (nine big power stations equivalent) of excess capacity in electricity generation … We have more than 15% overcapacity in generation in Australia - Industry minister Ian Macfarlane…
This wouldn’t be a problem if propane was renewable.
tomsaint
Converting renewable energy into electricity is one thing; converting it into fuel is quite another. The vast majority of global energy demand is for fuel, and a renewable source could help us heat our…
Tony Abbott may have planted a few trees, but he’s also sought to bury many of Australia’s environmental safeguards.
Britta Campion/AAPImage
Before the 2013 election, Tony Abbott gave us fair warning that he would turn the clock back on the environment. As promised, his government has devoted itself to short-term economics and the sort of hardline…
The Renewable Energy Target adds just over a dollar a week to your power bills.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
The long-awaited review of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target has been released and, as widely predicted, has recommended winding back or even scrapping the various parts of the scheme. We asked Conversation…
Is the ABC biased against fossil fuels? The IPA thinks so, but it’s not really the most constructive question to ask.
AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy
It’s tempting to view The Australian’s latest broadside at the ABC as just another salvo fired between our nation’s two biggest media organisations. But the coverage, based on an Institute of Public Affairs…
Perovskite, the latest magical substance.
Rob Lavinsky/iRocks.com
Whenever I tell people I work with solar cells I am asked the same two questions: are they ever going to be really cheap? And can you get me some? While the answer to the second question is no, the answer…
Should we pick and choose our climate strategies based on how water-wise they are? As our new research published in Climatic Change shows, some activities aimed at tackling greenhouse emissions can also…
Clouding the issue: the latest analysis of the impact of the Renewable Energy Target contradicts previous reports.
Bo-deh/Wikimedia Commons
The review of the Renewable Energy Target is due to be handed to the federal government any day now, yet amazingly there are still conflicts over whether the policy makes electricity more or less expensive…
Layers of cool: a thin layer of glass added to solar cells could help them work better for longer.
Minoru Karamatsu/Flickr
Self-cooling, longer lasting and more efficient solar cells are within reach simply by adding a thin layer of glass. A paper published today in the online journal Optica outlines a possible solution for…
Battery costs can make up a quarter of the cost of an electric car such as this Tesla Model S.
Shal Farley/Flickr
At the heart of the current debate around energy is the question of storage. In cars, how to build batteries that run for hundreds of kilometres; in electricity, storing energy from solar panels for when…
Even when the wind doesn’t blow, it is technically possible for Australia to get all its electricity needs from renewable sources.
David Clarke/Flickr
In a recent article on The Conversation, University of Melbourne Professor Emeritus Frank Larkins wrote that Australia’s targets to increase renewable energy will make electricity more expensive, thanks…
The carbon price is finally set to go this week (14th July) with both the Coalition and PUP committed to deliver on their election promises. After all, a promise is a promise. And you can’t go back on…
New modelling shows an increase in the renewable energy target could cut power costs.
Dave Hunt/AAP
It’s hard to predict which of Australia’s climate policies will survive, or perhaps even thrive, in the current parliament. But our research suggests that if the Abbott government wants to cut long-term…
Wind farms: great, unless it’s not windy.
mattinbgn/Wikimedia Commons
Australia has some fairly ambitious goals for green energy: a renewable energy target (currently under review) of 20% of electricity from renewables by 2020, and a forecast to get 51% of electricity from…
Water storage is used to smooth the output from hydroelectric power - but it can be used with other renewables too.
Martin Kraft/Wikimedia Commons
More and more renewable energy sources are being plugged into Australia’s electricity grids. South Australia, for example, will get 40% of its electricity from wind and solar once the Snowtown wind farm…
Plymouth, Montserrat’s abandoned capital, buried under ash and mud.
mikeschinkel
The eastern Caribbean island of Montserrat has suffered more than its fair share of natural disaster. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo struck the island, causing massive destruction with more than 90% of the island’s…
You spin me right round, and power the lights too.
Simon Syon
For all the huge, hulking buildings of concrete and steel that house coal, gas or nuclear power stations, or towering 100-metre-tall wind turbines, generating electricity is in fact a very precise and…
Clive Palmer announced his climate policy at a press conference with former US vice president Al Gore last night.
AAPImage/Alan Porritt
In a surprising announcement last night Clive Palmer promised to abolish Australia’s current carbon price, and block the coalition’s Direct Action policy. But Palmer has said he will vote to retain the…