Imagine a wind turbine, but underwater, not fixed to the seabed, and able to work 24/7.
To no one’s surprise, a US study found that solar panel cells produce infrasound and low frequency noise which is way below audibility.
AAP/Dean Lewins
Internoise is the world’s premier research conference for acousticians. The 2015 meeting is being held right now in San Francisco. Buried among the hundreds of papers is one that you could easily take…
Labor wants 50% of Australia’s electricity to come from renewables by 2030 - but what about other climate policies?
Lawrence Murray/Flickr
Can the government tell its clean energy finance body what to invest in? Recent news that the Clean Energy Finance Corporation will be banned from investing in wind farms and small-scale solar suggest that the government is trying to do just that.
Badly sited wind farms may pose a threat to Bearded Vultures in southern Africa.
Shane Elliott
Wind energy is already competitive with fossil fuels, will reduce electricity prices for consumers, and will play a large role in reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Could offshore wind be a solution to onshore wind’s problems?
Statkraft/Flickr
Nicky Ison, University of Technology Sydney et Ed Langham, University of Technology Sydney
Australia, like much of the rest of the world, is in the midst of an energy transition, driven by falling demand and uptake of renewables. Community energy is one way we can mange this transition to the benefit of all Australians.
Wind turbines do produce infrasound - but the link to ill-health is far from clear.
Danielle Martineau/Flickr
People are complaining of a range of health related problems and are attributing them to wind turbines. The question is: what is the cause of these health problems?
Wind farms in the pipeline could fill out Australia’s renewable energy target, leaving no room for other sources.
Lawrence Murray/Flickr
While Australia has reached a deal on the Renewable Energy Target, there’s no long-term certainty for the sector yet.
Countries should make pledges to fund low-carbon research - such as developing solar technology - and development as part of global climate talks.
University of Salford Press Office/Flickr
Countries will take emissions reduction pledges to international climate talks in Paris at the end of this year. Those pledges should also include funds for low-carbon R&D.
One problem with wind power: the wind doesn’t always blow.
Wind turbine via www.shutterstock.com
Consumers of wind power pay twice: first via their monthly electricity bill and a second time as taxpayers to finance billions of dollars in subsidies.
Wind energy will be an important part of the world’s energy future - but it won’t be enough to feed growing demand.
David Clarke/Flickr
There is no direct evidence that wind turbines affect physical or mental health, according to a review of the evidence by the National Health and Medicine Research Council (NHMRC). The review found no…
Increasing Chinese investment in renewables is driving costs down.
The Danish Wind Industry Association / Vindmølleindustrien/Flickr
Mining is the fourth-largest energy consumer in Australia, using roughly 10% of Australia’s total. Some of this comes from the electricity grid — but much is supplied offgrid in the form of diesel and…
Wind farms like this one probably wouldn’t exist if the government didn’t provide a hefty subsidy.
Shutterstock
Congress passed the wind production tax credit (PTC) more than two decades ago to spur development in an industry still in its infancy. The wind sector has since matured into adulthood, prompting thousands…
If Australia’s to have nuclear power, there’ll have to be policies to support it.
flokru/Flickr
No sooner had foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop announced that Australia should take a fresh look at nuclear power than Prime Minister Tony Abbott responded that nuclear power would only be supported…
Roof-top solar panels are just one part of the micropower revolution.
Presidency Maldives
There is no shortage of shouting and dire warnings about the state of the climate and our need to phase out fossil fuels. But there is a more silent revolution happening too — in micropower. Small-scale…
One of the hottest topics for the upcoming election is a new forest national park to protect the critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possum, Victoria’s faunal emblem.
Greens MPs/Flickr
Less than a week out from Victoria’s state election, both major parties have been largely silent on environmental policy. Neither the Coalition nor Labor has released comprehensive documents. It also seems…