Around The Web

A legal stoush that has been unfolding in Europe and the US between some of the world’s biggest solar PV manufacturers has reached Australian shores.

The post Solar patent battle spreads to Australia, as Hanwha files complaint in Federal Court appeared first on RenewEconomy.

NSW commission approves 165MW solar farm to be built near Gunnedah.

The post NSW approves new 165MW solar farm
 near Gunnedah appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Hydro Tasmania has revealed the three sites selected for further investigation into their pumped hydro potential.

The post Pumped to announce three most promising sites appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Despite gruesome lyrics, death metal does not desensitise fans to images of violence, a study shows.

A $450m wind project by UK-based developer RES Group has won Queensland state planning approval and may add solar.

The post Queensland approves new 240MW wind farm for Western Downs region appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Trevor St Baker says deputy governor’s speech warning of risks to Australia’s economy is ‘totally inappropriate’

The coal baron and Liberal National party donor Trevor St Baker has blasted the Reserve Bank deputy governor, Guy Debelle, for sounding the alarm on climate change, branding a significant speech on Tuesday warning of risks to Australia’s financial stability “totally inappropriate”.

The politically connected founder of the business electricity retailer ERM Power, who has approached the Morrison government to underwrite new coal developments in Victoria and New South Wales, including a high-efficiency plant on the site of the AGL-owned Liddell power station, told the ABC on Wednesday Debelle’s intervention was out of order.

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RBA deputy governor uses "My Country" - a favourite poem of climate deniers - to highlight climate threat to Australia's financial stability, and opportunities in wind, solar, battery technologies.

The post RBA turns Dorothea McKellar’s “My Country” right back on climate deniers appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The 50th Formula E electric car race took place in Hong Kong this weekend, challenging traditional motor sport paradigms and pushing the boundaries of electric mobility.

The post Formula E: More than a motor sport – it’s the future appeared first on RenewEconomy.

After announcing plans to move all EV sales online, Tesla decides to keep “significantly more” retail outlets open, and to raise prices by 3% worldwide.

The post Tesla backflips on retail store closures, flags raise in EV prices appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Nissan's Leaf becomes world's first EV to notch up cumulative sales of 400,000. But who will hit 500,000 first?

The post Nissan Leaf passes 400,000 mark for global, cumulative sales appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

Chile could allow the unlimited use of domestic offsets as a compliance option under its expanded $5/tonne carbon charge, though industry is lobbying to include RECs as well, according to an industry expert.

Pennsylvania lawmakers on Monday introduced legislation to add a nuclear carve-out to the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS), leading some opponents to label the move as a bailout for the industry and others to argue it would not do enough to promote clean energy.

A Luxembourg court has confirmed an EU ruling that its government can reclaim without compensation carbon allowances given to steelmaker ArcelorMittal to cover emissions at a shuttered plant.

The US EPA on Tuesday released a long-awaited proposal to allow year-round sales of 15% ethanol blends (E15) and limit trade in biofuel credits under the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), with several stakeholders panning the latter measure.

Scientists map out threats faced by thousands of species of birds, mammals and amphibians

More than 1,200 species globally face threats to their survival in more than 90% of their habitat and “will almost certainly face extinction” without conservation intervention, according to new research.

Scientists working with Australia’s University of Queensland and the Wildlife Conservation Society have mapped threats faced by 5,457 species of birds, mammals and amphibians to determine which parts of a species’ habitat range are most affected by known drivers of biodiversity loss.

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The Coalition continues to tear itself apart over climate and energy policy, but behind the scenes, financial and business leaders are already taking action.

A Washington state proposal to implement a WCI-modelled cap-and-trade programme will not be subject to Wednesday’s cut-off in the legislature and will likely have a public hearing in the coming weeks, a government spokesperson told Carbon Pulse.

New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) is waiting for certainty on New Jersey and Virginia’s pending linkages to the northeast US RGGI market before advancing amendments to adopt the programme's post-2020 Model Rule, an agency official confirmed to Carbon Pulse.

New research looked at human impacts on more than 5,000 threatened species and found that a quarter of them have almost nowhere left to go to escape from the threats posed by human development. James Allan, Postdoctoral research fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Christopher O'Bryan, PhD Candidate, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland James Watson, Professor, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.