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Spending watchdog finds that only three wells have been dug, despite aim to have 20 by 2020

The government’s plan to establish fracking across the UK is years behind schedule and has cost the taxpayer at least £32m so far, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found.

An investigation by the National Audit Office (NAO) said the shale gas industry has launched only three wells in three years, even though the plan was to establish 20 by the middle of next year.

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Malaysia and Indonesia are home to the oldest jungles in the world and produce more than 85% of the world’s palm oil. However, cultivation and production of the oil have caused deforestation, pollution, land degradation and human-wildlife conflict.

Deforestation in Malaysia and Indonesia has endangered the Borneo elephant, which depends on forest connectivity to survive, by isolating it from large foraging grounds. Now, some plantations are working with WWF-Malaysia to create ecological corridors to enable the animals to travel between forest patches

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More than 8m squashes likely to be binned after annual lantern carving, study shows

Britons are expected to generate record levels of food waste over Halloween this year.

More than 8m pumpkins – equivalent to more than 18,000 tonnes of edible pumpkin flesh – will be heading for the bin because the majority of consumers will not eat it.

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Despite voting to remain a member of an Australian coal lobby group, there are growing divisions between fossil fuel extractors and the larger energy industry. Christian Downie, Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Converted Nissan van called the Dynamo licensed to help clean up capital’s ‘filthy air’

The launch of a fully electric black cab for London has been hailed by the mayor for helping clean up the capital’s polluted air.

The Dynamo, a taxi converted from a Nissan electric van in a Coventry factory, is the first 100% electric taxi on the streets of London since 1899. Its predecessor, the Bersey, failed to take off at a time when most cabs were horse-drawn.

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Seabird conservationists perplexed by discoveries on Mullion island work out depressing explanation

There isn’t a lot to Mullion island, a jagged outcrop of volcanic rock that rises out of a crystal-clear sea just off the Cornish coast. Nobody lives on the island and visitors need a permit to land.

So when conservationists who occasionally paddle across on kayaks to carry out seabird surveys began spotting brightly coloured elastic bands – thousands of them – there was a little bit of head-scratching.

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The Fund is aiming for a 5-star NABERS energy rating for up to 15 new hotels it will own, develop and operate across Australia. It is also Australia’s first hospitality real estate fund to integrate energy sustainability in its investment criteria.

The post CEFC and Pro-invest aim to deliver five star green treatment for new hotels appeared first on RenewEconomy.

"A lot of the issues are around fear, and people finding political advantage of that fear. It doesn't really help."

The post Are political leaders afraid of admitting there is a positive solution to climate change? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Nuclear lobby has been making such extraordinary and outrageous claims about wind, solar and batteries it makes you wonder if anything they say about energy can be taken seriously.

The post Why the nuclear lobby makes stuff up about cost of wind and solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Consultation is now open on amendments to the Electricity Retail Code. Submissions on the consultation paper may be made until 6 November 2019.

A particular brand of climate denial among coastal property owners presents a conundrum for councils and governments trying to plan for sea-level rise. Vanessa Bowden, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Newcastle Christopher Wright, Professor of Organisational Studies, University of Sydney Daniel Nyberg, Professor of Management, Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

RedEarth is proud to announce its SunRise Home Battery system has been approved by Australia’s CEC, making it the first Australian made and owned product to be featured on the CEC’s approved list of inverters in the all-in-one BESS category.

The post RedEarth Energy Storage earns Clean Energy Council approval for its Australian made and owned residential battery systems appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The buck for Snowy 2.0 stops with its two Shareholding Ministers, Angus Taylor and Mathias Cormann. It is time for these ministers to take the bull by the horns.

The post Snowy 2.0: Who will be held to account for this giant folly ? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The Integrated System Plan is no more than a scenario guess-timator when it comes to fuel forecasting, but its insights into storage needs is interesting.

The post How much storage do we need for all this wind and solar? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Global PV giant shift Australia focus from residential to utility-scale and large C&I, with an integrated smart solar offering and a "very positive outlook" on the market.

The post Trina shifts focus to Australia’s big solar market, grid delays and all appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Vic minister says AEMC has a "tin ear" to need for energy reforms, and slams Federal Government's control over COAG as "backward".

The post D’Ambrosio slams AEMC and Taylor for slow progress on energy reforms appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A group of 41 large format retailers, including Harvey Norman, IKEA and Bunnings, look to renewables after getting approval for "bulk-buy" tender for electricity needs.

The post Harvey Norman, IKEA lead big retailing buyers group looking for renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

// House Info

Currently under construction, the 10 Star Home was designed to demonstrate the possibilities of sustainable residential design and construction in South Australia. As SA’s first 10 Star home, our hope is that we demonstrate and assess the following:
/ design and construction costs
/ predicted vs actual energy efficiency
/ thermal comfort performance
/ air tightness
/ home automation technologies to support energy efficiency
/ heat recovery ventilation

//Presenter Info

Samuel Jeyaseelan is the Studio Lead of SUHOstudio, the creators of the 10 Star Home project. Since joining the SUHOstudio team at the beginning of 2019, Sam’s role on the 10 Star Home project has been to aid in project delivery and complete the interior design. He has been working closely with the construction team on site to ensure that the atypical construction details required to achieve the 10 Star rating are both buildable and meet the strict requirements of the design.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Canada’s ‘backstop’ output-based pricing system (OBPS) may not have an adequate supply of offsets available before next year’s inaugural compliance deadline, stemming from the slow rollout of federal and provincial protocols, a conference heard Tuesday.