Around The Web

Around the world, energy auctions have tracked the stunning falls in the cost of solar. But in Australia, auction results are not released, typical of a market that trades in ignorance and scarcity, for the benefit of the incumbents rather than the consumer.

Decmil Group signs MOU with Maoneng for development of 250MW Sunraysia solar farm, one of the biggest in NSW development pipeline.

Modelling presented by Energy Security Board in favour of the NEG looks, kindly put, implausible. The old aphorism is that if it looks long it probably is. So why are we building policy around it?

Renew Power Group to build 4.9MW solar farm in South Australia, which will be biggest in the state till bigger projects are completed.

Solar panel system owners are becoming more and more ambitious about what they want from their PV systems, and are now installing 10kW + PV arrays and over-sizing their inverters.

India is powering the growth of solar with its ambitious targets for clean energy and is expected to be ranked as the world’s third largest solar market in 2017. Enphase plans to support this rapid growth with the opening of its Bangalore R&D center.

Migratory birds are arriving in the UK earlier each spring and leaving later each autumn, a study shows.

Life in the seas risks irreparable damage from the ever-increasing tide of plastic waste, the UN's head of oceans has warned.

Market uncertainty created by proposed National Energy Guarantee has caused longer term LGC prices to jump, while STC market worried about oversupply.

Many are now watching to see what impact the battery has on the SA electricity market, and whether it could be a game-changer nationally.

You should never try to drive through floodwater, because you never know what's beneath the surface. And new research shows some roads are more treacherous than others. Andrew Gissing, Director Resilience, Macquarie University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Last week in SA the "world's largest" lithium ion battery was launched. Will its storage capacity and versatility be a game-changer for Australia's energy market? Dylan McConnell, Researcher at the Australian German Climate and Energy College, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The president is expected to announce the shrinking of two national monuments on a visit to Utah but native tribes are uniting to oppose a ‘monumental mistake’

On Monday, Donald Trump will visit Salt Lake City. He is expected to formally announce plans to substantially shrink two Utah national monuments: Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears.

Related: 'As close as the US gets to Egypt’s pyramids': how Chaco Canyon is endangered by drilling

Continue reading...

Meeting government walking and cycling targets would save 13,000 lives and almost £10bn, finds Sustrans study

If the UK hits government targets for walking and cycling more than 13,000 lives and almost £10bn would be saved over the next decade, according to a new report.

The study from the transport charity Sustrans has found that meeting government plans in England and Scotland for an increase in walking or cycling would reduce deaths from air pollution by more than 13,000 in the next 10 years. It would also save almost £9.31bn.

Continue reading...

The GOP strategy on taxes and climate: reject evidence and expert opinion, lie, and wage culture wars

The parallels between the Republican Party positions on taxes and climate change are striking. Both are morally appalling and reject the available evidence and expert opinion.

The Initiative on Global Markets’ panel of economic experts was recently asked about the Republican tax plan. Among the experts who took a position either way, there was a 96% consensus that the plan would not substantially grow the economy more than the status quo, and a 100% consensus that it would substantially increase the national debt.

Continue reading...

Goods such as pasta, crisps and rice will be cut to 10p and sold for a further month at East of England Co-op

A major retailer has become the first to start selling food that is past its “best before” date in a drive to reduce food waste.

From this week, the East of England Co-op – the biggest independent retailer in East Anglia – will sell tinned goods and dried food such as pasta, crisps and rice for a nominal 10p once they reach their best-before date. The offer will not apply to fresh and perishable foods, however, which carry a “use by” date indicating when a product is safe to eat.

Continue reading...

Skywatchers have enjoyed spectacular views of the Moon appearing larger and brighter in the sky.

America's most famous rodentologist joins RN Drive to talk rats in metro areas.

Proposals include new fountains and bottle-refill stations across the capital in parks and public squares

London’s mayor Sadiq Khan wants to roll out a new network of water fountains and bottle-refill stations across the capital to help reduce the use of single-use packaging, such as plastic water bottles, the Guardian has learned.

The mayor also wants to experiment with getting businesses to make their tap water available to the public, building on a scheme launched two years ago in Bristol.

Continue reading...

Comins Coch, Ceredigion A collection of old large-scale maps reveals how much the village has changed over the years – and how much remains unchanged

The package leaning against the front door was unexpected, and tightly wrapped against the pervasive drizzle. As the card inside explained, a friend clearing out an office had come across a set of long-unused maps and wondered if I had any use for them.

Tired and frayed at the edges, these were Ordnance Survey maps of the village and the surrounding land at the impressive scale of 1:2500 (25 inches to the mile). The level of detail is astonishing, picking out the shape of gardens, how terraced houses were divided, and the precise location of springs and wells. Even better, the bundle contained two different editions, surveyed in 1885 and 1938, revealing subtle changes as the village slowly developed.

Continue reading...