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Why rooftop solar will be dominant feature of grid within 5 years. And we speak to Autonomous Energy over recent buyout.

The post Solar Insiders Podcast: Solar is king, but who gets to control it? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New infrastructure projects are all the rage, post-pandemic. But who benefits from a rising tide of concrete?

Dig for victory: this, repurposed from the second world war, could be the slogan of our times. All over the world, governments are using the pandemic and the environmental crisis to justify a new splurge of infrastructure spending. In the US, Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure framework “will make our economy more sustainable, resilient, and just”. In the UK, Boris Johnson’s build back better programme will “unite and level up the country”, under the banner of “green growth”. China’s belt and road project will bring the world together in hyper-connected harmony and prosperity.

Sure, we need some new infrastructure. If people are to drive less, we need new public transport links and safe cycling routes. We need better water treatment plants and recycling centres, new wind and solar plants, and the power lines required to connect them to the grid. But we can no more build our way out of the environmental crisis than we can consume our way out of it. Why? Because new building is subject to the eight golden rules of infrastructure procurement.

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Plans to establish a renewable hydrogen hub in South Australia’s Whyalla region gain ground with a site locked in for the first of three solar and big battery projects.

The post Amp Energy secures land for massive solar, battery, green hydrogen play appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AEMO says the switch to 5-minute settlement ready to go on October 1, a switch expected to support investment in new technologies, including battery storage.

The post Battery boost: AEMO gives green light to 5-minute settlements from October appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Scholarship to support emerging female leaders in renewables, energy management and carbon abatement established in honour of Chloe Munro.

The post Chloe Munro Scholarship to honour “enormous legacy” of leader in renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Biggest wind farm in NSW reaches financial close, to be built in electorate of federal energy minister Angus Taylor.

The post Biggest wind farm in NSW reaches financial close, to feature Australia’s biggest turbines appeared first on RenewEconomy.

South Korea’s National Assembly has adopted legislation that significantly firms up its 2030 emissions target as the nation steps up efforts to get on track to meeting its mid-century net zero ambition.

Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes debunks Liberal MP's claims about the role of nuclear and gas in the UK grid. The real answer is less coal and more renewables.

The post Cannon-Brookes slam dunks Liberal MP on Twitter over gas and nuclear claims appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

New Zealand carbon permit auction cleared at a record high of NZ$53.85 ($37.97) on Wednesday, with ravenous buyers snapping up all 7 million units for 2021 under the market's new cost containment reserve, along with the 4.75 mln on offer in the sale.

Experts say 17,500 tree species are at risk around the world, including magnolias, oaks and maples.

Both beauty and beast. A Sabethes mosquito is visually stunning but it's also a carrier of disease.

Global study calls for urgent action to prevent ecosystem collapse, with farming the biggest cause of die-off

Between a third and half of the world’s wild tree species are threatened with extinction, posing a risk of wider ecosystem collapse, the most comprehensive global stocktake to date warns.

Forest clearance for farming is by far the biggest cause of the die-off, according to the State of the World’s Trees report, which was released on Wednesday along with a call for urgent action to reverse the decline.

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Wild cockatoos have been observed using three types of tools as 'cutlery' to extract seeds from tropical fruit. Researchers made the discovery while studying Goffin’s cockatoos on the Tanimbar Islands, a remote archipelago in Indonesia.

• Wild cockatoos observed using tools as ‘cutlery’ to extract seeds from tropical fruit
• Cockatoos in Sydney learning from each other to bin-dive for food, study finds
  
• Australian bird of the year 2021: nominate your favourite for the shortlist

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California gasoline usage edged closer to pre-pandemic levels in May, as total consumption rose slightly from the previous month despite some state-level COVID-19 restrictions remaining in place across the Golden State, according to state data released Tuesday.

The last emissions data before COP26 is out, adding to the long list of failures Morrison will be taking to Glasgow's climate meeting in November.

The post Morrison will take catastrophic climate policy failure to COP26 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Infrastructure Australia revises climate guidance in hope of driving greater adoption of risk management by major project developers.

The post Infrastructure fail: None of 30 projects proposed since 2018 adopted climate risk guidelines appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Foundations For Tomorrow study gives insight into young people’s concerns for environment and government response

Young Australians overwhelmingly want to see immediate action on climate change but have little faith their leaders will do anything significant, a new survey suggests.

The survey from Foundations For Tomorrow, an initiative of the World Economic Forum and supported by AwareSuper, received 10,000 responses from Australians aged under 30.

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Adopt, neuter and return, or kill? There’s no easy way to deal with Australia’s stray cat problem, and we compare the main options. Trish Fleming, Professor, Murdoch University Heather M. Crawford, Assistant researcher, Murdoch University Mike Calver, Associate Professor in Biological Sciences, Murdoch University Tida Nou, Project officer, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

We are looking for an analyst to join our Australian energy and carbon market research team. Based in Melbourne, the role will be focused on maintaining and enhancing RepuTex’s existing electricity and environmental price forecasting services, with a particular focus on the analysis of wholesale electricity price dynamics within the National Electricity Market (NEM), and price interactions with large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) and Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).