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1.1 GigaWatts of growth comes one household at a time
Over the last 3 years, One Stop Warehouse reported sales of more than 1.1 GW of solar equipment, the equivalent of over 200,000 residential households with a 5kW solar system.
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SAPN flags potential to “ramp down” rooftop solar with new network upgrades
SAPN says new voltage control measures will help provide more stable platform for rooftop solar and help AEMO manage the solar load when needed.
The post SAPN flags potential to “ramp down” rooftop solar with new network upgrades appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Planned AGL gas terminal attracts flood of concerns over environmental impacts
Consultation on a planned gas import terminal in Victoria overwhelmed with submissions, as concerns are raised about pollution from the project.
The post Planned AGL gas terminal attracts flood of concerns over environmental impacts appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Price of single-use plastic bags in England to double to 10p
Exemption for smaller shops to end, and campaigners say ‘bags for life’ are next target
The government is to double the charge for single-use plastic carrier bags in England from 5p to 10p and end the exemption for smaller shops from April 2021, as it steps up efforts to tackle plastic pollution.
Since the introduction of the charge in October 2015, shoppers have used billions fewer thin-gauge plastic shopping bags.
Continue reading...“Licence to harm” for coal plants costs Australians $2.4bn in health costs each year
Toxic coal pollution is costing Australians more than $2.4 billion in health costs while the fossil fuel industry gets a free ride.
The post “Licence to harm” for coal plants costs Australians $2.4bn in health costs each year appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Manager Climate Change & Sustainability, Orica – Melbourne
Renewables and Covid-19 combine to cut Australia’s greenhouse emissions
Covid-19 travel restrictions and continued renewables growth contribute to fall in Australia's emissions, but benefits set to be short lived.
The post Renewables and Covid-19 combine to cut Australia’s greenhouse emissions appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Hilary Swank on Netflix's sci-fi Away and the ultimate work-life dilemma
Mauritius oil spill: 'We want to protect our island'
The search engine boss who wants to help us all plant trees
Sir Isaac Newton's notes among Cambridge web gallery 'treasures'
Australia’s big polluters required to offset just 1.2% of greenhouse gas emissions
Analysis shows state and federal governments not exercising their powers to require companies to increase offsets
Only 1.2% of the greenhouse gas emissions released by Australia’s top 65 emitting companies had to be offset under federal and state laws last financial year, an analysis has found.
The analysis by Footprint, a sustainability news site, examined both regulatory constraints imposed on businesses with emissions greater than 1m tonnes and any voluntary offsetting commitments they made.
Continue reading...Solar tariffs reshaped to favour batteries, EVs, and west-facing panels
Western Australia to manage booming rooftop solar market by refining grid export payments to batteries and electric vehicles, and paying more at peak times.
The post Solar tariffs reshaped to favour batteries, EVs, and west-facing panels appeared first on RenewEconomy.
California is on fire. From across the Pacific, Australians watch on and buckle up
Worth the wait: Yellowstone’s Giantess Geyser erupts for first time in six years
Giantess is one of the biggest geysers in the national park, and typically explodes between twice and six times a year
In these troubled times there comes a point where we all need to let off steam.
For this huge geyser in Yellowstone park, the moment was now and the eruption was spectacular, after a six-year wait.
Continue reading...Yellowstone's Giantess Geyser erupts for first time in six years – video
One of the largest geysers at the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming has erupted for the first time in more than six years. The Giantess Geyser shot a column of steam up to 60m in the air on 25 August as it ‘roared back into life’, the National Park Service said. The six-year gap was the longest since at least the 1980s
Continue reading...Birds are keeping me sane in lockdown. When this is over, we must do more to protect them | Suzy Freeman-Greene
Seeing a wild, swooping kestrel hunt its prey near my Melbourne home was exhilarating. I could taste its freedom
The nankeen kestrel hovered over a patch of saltmarsh, eyes down, wings slowly flapping. After a minute or so, it flew off, displaying gorgeous black and brown plumage, before returning to hover and watch. It dropped suddenly, like a stone flung by a god, then took its prize – a cricket or grasshopper – to a fence post to be eaten in seconds.
The sight of this bird of prey, late in my second week of Melbourne’s hard lockdown, opened something inside me. Like millions of others, I was stuck in the city under curfew, unable to venture more than five kilometres from my home. I yearned for the bush, to be in a place free of cars or houses, where I didn’t have to hear other people’s conversations as we marched up and down the same few paths on our measly hour of daily allotted exercise. That wild, swooping kestrel was exhilarating. I could taste its freedom.
Continue reading...Australian Industry Group urges Coalition to spend 'at least' $3.3bn on renewable energy over coming decade
Peak employer body warns Australia faces ‘costly increase in climate-related impacts and risks’ even in best-case scenario
The Morrison government should spend $3.3bn over 10 years on renewable energy and $500m over two years on capital grants to improve energy efficiency and management, according to the Australian Industry Group.
The peak employer body made the calls in its pre-budget submission, released on Monday, which also proposes it bring forward income tax cuts, cut business tax, extend the coronavirus supplement on jobseeker and make a further round of $750 payments to households.
Continue reading...Australian greenhouse gas emissions fall to lowest level since 1998 under Covid restrictions
Energy minister Angus Taylor says emissions have reduced as expected but restrictions are unsustainable
Coronavirus restrictions have caused Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions to fall to their lowest level since 1998, the latest official data shows.
National emissions in the June quarter 2020 were estimated to be 8% – or about 10m tonnes of carbon dioxide – lower than a year earlier.
Continue reading...If democracy looks doomed, Extinction Rebellion may have an answer | John Harris
At the heart of a new climate emergency bill lies a simple idea to cut through Westminster groupthink: a citizens’ assembly
The timing is impeccable. In the midst of political ferment across the world, and with anxiety about the coming winter hardening into dread, Extinction Rebellion is back. Over the weekend it has made its presence felt in towns and cities around the country; now, in the wake of several of its organisers being arrested, its activists and supporters are preparing to arrive on Tuesday at Parliament Square, outside the Welsh parliament in Cardiff, and in the centre of Manchester.
As usual, those involved will presumably be portrayed as eccentric and dangerous merchants of despair. But whatever the sense of millenarian doom that sometimes hangs over its actions, plenty of the people at the heart of the movement are admirably practical, and focused on overcoming the daunting political challenges that climate change still presents. And in among the protests, there will be an example of what this means in practice: the climate and ecological emergency bill, partly conceived by people with close links to XR, and due to be formally launched on Wednesday.
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