Feed aggregator

The first big battery in Queensland has obtained its registration and will begin delivering services to the grid in next few weeks.

The post Queensland’s first big battery gets registration, to begin charging soon appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Queensland government fast tracks new "state of the art" renewable energy training facility, complete with onsite wind turbine and solar farm.

The post Queensland greenlights $23m renewable energy skills centre appeared first on RenewEconomy.

This heavily exploited insect is the larva of the yellow mealworm beetle, whose numbers are declining in the wild

Mealworms seen in pet shops everywhere are the larva of a species of darkling beetle, the yellow mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor. They are heavily exploited and easy to breed – sold live for feeding fish, reptiles, and as bait, and dried for wild bird food. People also eat them in restaurants, baked, toasted or fried.

In the wild, however, the adult beetles – pale brown to black and shiny – are in short supply. Like so many other insects, numbers are declining. The beetles are 12-18 mm long and can be found between May and September occurring over most of the northern hemisphere, although in pockets. For example, in the UK they can be found in the Midlands, East Anglia and the south-east and only occasionally elsewhere. They are attracted to light and fly so may be found in houses before disappearing into dark corners.

Continue reading...

Two big solar and battery storage projects will replace a 522MW coal generator due to retire soon in Nevada.

The post Solar plus storage in Nevada to “fill the gap” left by retiring coal appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Vattenfall to trial a solar farm that will be combined with Dutch strip farming practices for organic crops.

The post Can solar and farming co-exist? Dutch trial hopes to prove a perfect match appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Head of solar developer sues against the construction of an offshore wind farm, apparently because he is worried about the view.

The post Solar developer sues to stop offshore wind farm to protect his views appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Responsible governments should be demanding an explanation of why supposed customer and welfare advocacy has gone so badly off the rails.

The post Solar tax debate needs government intervention, not a push-poll appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Spark Infrastructure to open its books to suitors after KKR consortium lifted its bid for the network and renewables investor to $5.2 billion.

The post Spark opens its books after suitors lift bid to more than $5 billion appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

But with new commitments getting made by governments all over the world, we hope to see this progress improve soon. Thomas Newsome, Academic Fellow, University of Sydney Christopher Wolf, Postdoctoral Scholar, Oregon State University William Ripple, Distinguished Professor and Director, Trophic Cascades Program, Oregon State University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Consumers should not have to pay excessive prices to use public car charging, MPs say.

Karl Brown from Instyle Solar on the myriad of challenges to overcome.

The post Great Solar Business Podcast: The secrets to scaling up your solar business appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Carbon emissions, ocean acidification, Amazon clearing all hurtling toward new records

A new study tracking the planet’s vital signs has found that many of the key indicators of the global climate crisis are getting worse and either approaching, or exceeding, key tipping points as the earth heats up.

Overall, the study found some 16 out of 31 tracked planetary vital signs, including greenhouse gas concentrations, ocean heat content and ice mass, set worrying new records.

Continue reading...

Scientists call for three-pronged action on emissions after new research finds Covid-19 did little to slow climate emergency.

The post Scientists demand urgent action after Covid-19 did little to slow climate emergency appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The EU’s power sector CO2 emissions rose 11% year-on-year in H1 but remain well below pre-pandemic levels despite a near-full recovery in electricity demand as cleaner forms of generation prevail, according to a report published on Wednesday.

The UK’s current carbon pricing measures are “inconsistent, regressive, unclear, and cannot put the country on the path to reach net zero emissions by 2050”, a think-tank said Wednesday, urging wide-ranging reforms to the system.

An octogenarian Oxford alumnus has been handed a longer prison sentence for not complying with a confiscation order to repay ill-gotten gains from an investment fraud related to the reforestation carbon market.

New research reviewed more than 200 studies, and found the science underpinning artificial refuges — think nest boxes and artificial burrows — must be improved. Darcy Watchorn, PhD Candidate, Deakin University Dale Nimmo, Associate Professor in Ecology, Charles Sturt University Mitchell Cowan, PhD Candidate, Charles Sturt University Tim Doherty, ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Eight of the ten top-selling passenger vehicles in New Zealand are now utes or SUVs. With carbon emissions reduction an urgent priority, that’s not a sustainable trend. Kirsty Wild, Senior Research Fellow, Public Health, University of Auckland Alistair Woodward, Professor, School of Population Health, University of Auckland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The EU has committed €118 million to 32 small-scale carbon-cutting projects across 14 nations under its ETS-funded Innovation Fund, the bloc’s executive said on Tuesday as it announced the financing vehicle's first awards.