Around The Web

NSW govt set to roll out solar across its buildings and infrastructure after selection of five “prequalified, carefully vetted” solar PPA suppliers.

NSW shire of Parkes to explore feasibility of building its own “virtual solar network,” based on existing PV investments and future solar and storage installs.

Beon Energy Solutions tapped to build BayWa's 112MW Karadoc Solar Farm in Victoria's north-west.

Satellite images suggest Tesla has begun installing a proposed 70MW rooftop PV array on its Nevada Gigafactory.

Cut off date for old commercial lighting rules; market waits for direction from Victorian Opposition ahead of state poll.

Europe's changing energy profile as wind and solar take hold; lithium prices down on fears of over-supply; AGL weighed down by emissions profile.

Study confirms U.S. could have a carbon-free grid in coming decades.

Central Victoria town achieves a breakthrough deal on network tariffs that could pave the way for a community solar farm and 100 per cent renewable energy within a few years.

Renew Estate proposes 300MW solar farm for Gladstone, Queensland, to help wean the regional centre off coal, and power industrial growth.

Since the beginning of the year, Nigeria has been gripped by an outbreak of the deadly Lassa fever.

The so-called “revolving door” between the political and corporate realms is more like a "golden escalator", such are the financial rewards. It begs the question of who is setting policy in Australia.

APA completes largest solar farm in West Australia, and first in that state to be co-located with a wind farm.

More than 180 individuals have moved between senior public service roles and the fossil fuel industry in Australia over the past decade - providing a golden escalator for former senior politicians. Adam Lucas, Senior Lecturer, Science and Technology Studies Program, University of Wollongong Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Some spiders produce silk than can actually be stronger than steel and 50 times as light. Andrew Walker, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Fiona Howie, Tom Greeves, Andrew Gilruth and Amanda Anderson respond to George Monbiot’s article on reclaiming our national parks

George Monbiot raises some legitimate concerns about the management of parts of our national parks (Here’s a novel idea: protecting wildlife in our national parks, 28 February) but to write off all 15 of them entirely is nonsense.

Monbiot says: “Much of the land in our national parks is systematically burned.” But they are more than just moorlands; they contain one-third of England’s public forest estate. Northumberland contains some of the cleanest rivers in England; the New Forest includes a special area of conservation, an EU designation, that encompasses almost 30,000 hectares; and the Pembrokeshire coast some of the most biodiverse coastal habitats.

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Cat Burton, Steve Emsley and Geoff Williams on using the car batteries to turn up the heat in their electric vehicles when needed

I had to laugh at John Richards’s worry about people freezing in stuck electric vehicles because their batteries would run down in “no time” while those in a petrol car could run their heater (Letters, 3 March). Running the heated seats and climate control for about seven hours costs about three miles of range for my Tesla and it’s probably something similar for a petrol or diesel car. The big difference is, the electric vehicle won’t be killing the occupants with carbon monoxide poisoning. Indeed, the advice has always been not to run the engine if stuck.

Teslas have a 12v battery for “domestic” uses and a 400v battery for motive power. The 400v kicks in to recharge the 12v when needed. Think of the 400v battery as the equivalent of running the engine to top up the battery.
Cat Burton
Barry, Vale of Glamorgan

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Reversal came after political intervention by the Queensland government

Attempts by the federal government to stop potentially unlawful clearing in Queensland were reversed after political intervention, with a highly unusual apology letter sent to every landholder suspected of planning unlawful clearing at the direct request of the minister, documents obtained by the Guardian under FOI laws reveal.

In December 2015 and January 2016, the federal department of environment took the exceptional step of asking 51 landholders with approval from the Queensland government to clear their land, to explain why the clearing wasn’t unlawful under federal environmental law.

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Threatened species, pressure on Great Barrier Reef and climate change all worsened by full-blown land-clearing crisis

Australia is in the midst of a full-blown land-clearing crisis. Projections suggest that in the two decades to 2030, 3 million hectares of untouched forest will have been bulldozed in eastern Australia.

The crisis is driven primarily by a booming livestock industry but is ushered in by governments that fail to introduce restrictions and refuse to apply existing restrictions.

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Demand from Chinese workers raises demand for skin and body parts of endangered species

Conservationists who have uncovered a growing illegal trade in jaguar fangs in South America are linking it to Chinese construction projects that could be threatening wildlife globally.

Experts say major Chinese power plant, road and rail works in developing nations are key stimulants of illicit trade in the skins, bones and horns of endangered animals.

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