Homebuyers want energy-efficient homes. The challenge is to present the relevant information in a way that taps into the typical house-hunter’s mindset.
Supreme Court ruling allows consumers and businesses to make money by reducing power and other grid services.
wilks_photography/flickr
A year after the demise of the carbon tax, we might expect both coal and greenhouse emissions to have bounced back, at the expense of renewables like hydroelectricity. Sure enough, that’s what happened.
Energy efficiency has driven the recent fall in electricity demand.
Michael Smith/Flickr
In June this year, forecasts revealed residential and business demand has risen for the first time in five years. The trend could be here to stay, according to a report released today from the Australia Institute.
While the higher gas mileage may lead people to drive a green car more often, its other attributes may be less appealing.
Green car via www.shutterstock.com
Some worry that efforts to reduce energy consumption by increasing fuel efficiency cause a so-called rebound effect that eats into the expected savings. We tested the theory.
Conventional forecasts have consistently overestimated energy use, leading to increased investment in energy infrastructure.
Indigo Skies Photography /Flickr
Electricity forecasts just 4 years ago predicted strong, uninterrupted growth in electricity demand. In reality, demand has fallen for the past four years. Why?
Lots of wind blowing – often at night when there’s little demand for power.
ncbob/flickr
Smoothing out variable wind and solar is a growing problem. Instead of storing energy with batteries, utilities can adjust the power of millions of devices in buildings and homes.
Take that extra hour off work. Just don’t spend it burning coal or petrol.
Rawpixel/Shutterstock.com
Being time-poor makes it harder to be green, says a study which shows that people who work long hours are more likely to fall short on taking real action to address their environmental concerns.
Batteries to store excess solar power will be a game-changer. But energy-efficient appliances will mean you can use a smaller battery.
AAP Image/Raoul Wegat,file
The unveiling of Tesla’s Powerwall home battery has been hailed as a huge moment in renewable energy. But don’t forget the other innovations that can help you use that stored power more efficiently.
The long view: Australia is bidding to boost energy productivity by 40% by 2030, but other countries are already doing more.
Mattingbn/Wikimedia Commons
Australia’s federal government wants to boost ‘energy productivity’ by 40% by 2030. A good idea, but the plan needs to cut energy use, not just deliver more economic bang for the energy buck.
Car makers pay close attention to the emissions regulations in the countries they export to.
Everett Kennedy Brown/EPA/AAP
Unlike many countries, Australia does not have mandatory greenhouse emissions standards for cars - meaning that manufacturers are free to sell their least efficient, most polluting vehicles here.
Money spent on helping consumers reduce demand means less money spent on substations and other infrastructure.
Bidgee/Wikimedia Commons
Incentives for cutting peak power demand are cheaper than building ever more infrastructure and sending power bills ever higher. The industry has a chance to embrace this new approach - but will it?