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Angus Taylor might be viewed as the federal government's most "anti-renewables" energy minister yet. But can he really stop the energy revolution as his supporters wish?

The post Can Angus Taylor stop the renewables and storage revolution? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

So what does the new energy minister think about renewables and fossil fuels? Our readers, and his fellow MPs, provide some clues.

The post A conversation about wind and coal with Australia’s new energy minister appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Its second investment in Mexican solar – remaining 10% interest in portfolio to be held by Eosol Invest Mexico, an experienced local renewables developer and operator.

The post Macquarie buys 90% stake In 322MW Mexican solar portfolio appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Statewide assessment, which comes amid summer of extreme wildfires, warns of deadly cost if climate change is not stopped

California’s summer of deadly wildfires and dangerous heatwaves will soon be the new normal if nothing is done to stop climate change, a report released on Monday warns.

City heatwaves could lead to two to three times as many deaths by 2050, the report says. By 2100, without a reduction in emissions, the state could see a 77% increase in the average area burned by wildfires. The report also warns of erosion of up to 67% of its famous coastline, up to an 8.8F rise in average maximum temperatures, and billions of dollars in damages.

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Mainstream media reporting about risks of blackouts is misleading and irresponsible, and could lead to costly "gold plating" of the generation sector.

The post Amid blackout scare stories, remember that a grid without power cuts is impossible… and expensive appeared first on RenewEconomy.

South Africa turns to wind, solar and gas to replace coal, dumping plans for an expensive foray into nuclear.

The post South Africa drops nuclear push in favour of renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

Climate Bonds Initiative launches the Green Infrastructure Investment Opportunities Australia & New Zealand (GIIO) report in Sydney today outlining a pipeline of infrastructure investments that can be funded via green finance.

The post New report identifies large scale green finance opportunities – potential for green growth appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) should alter its planned treatment of external transactions under the entity’s proposed CO2 price to avoid higher emitting resources coming into the state’s grid as well as possible legal issues, stakeholders said during a workshop on Monday.

Cases are slashed thanks to a new system that predicts where outbreaks will occur.

Impact of high levels of toxic air ‘is equivalent to having lost a year of education’

Air pollution causes a “huge” reduction in intelligence, according to new research, indicating that the damage to society of toxic air is far deeper than the well-known impacts on physical health.

The research was conducted in China but is relevant across the world, with 95% of the global population breathing unsafe air. It found that high pollution levels led to significant drops in test scores in language and arithmetic, with the average impact equivalent to having lost a year of the person’s education.

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Ex-president of the National Farmers’ Federation says politicians have failed ‘to do grunt work’ needed by members

The former president of the National Farmers’ Federation, Brent Finlay, has accused politicians of “jumping in front of the cameras” while shirking effective policy work on drought and climate change.

As Scott Morrison and his special drought envoy, Barnaby Joyce, toured south-west Queensland on Tuesday, Finlay described the former deputy prime minister and agriculture minister as the last in a long line of ministers who had “no real appetite” for national drought policy in a changing climate.

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European carbon prices stormed to a new 10-year high near €22 on Monday, rising more than €1 or over 5% at one point as the lack of an auction and a UK holiday squeezed supply.

Windfarms fall short in heatwave, but 2018 was still UK’s second greenest summer

Britain’s long heatwave threw the country’s green energy revolution into reverse and pushed up carbon emissions this summer, leading experts to stress the need for a diverse energy mix.

The summer of 2017 was lauded as the “greenest ever” for electricity generation, thanks to a growing number of windfarms and solar installations edging out coal and gas power stations.

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Australia has launched a review into its project methodology for allowing airliners to earn carbon credits, after seeing more than three years go by without issuing a single offset to the aviation industry.

Some of the reporting of the climate impacts of the Dirty Power Plan has been inaccurate

Last October, then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the agency would repeal the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. But because the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that carbon dioxide is an air pollutant and the Obama EPA correctly concluded that it poses a threat to public welfare via climate change, the EPA is legally obligated to do something to address that threat. That meant they needed a replacement plan.

Last week, the Trump EPA unveiled that plan and inaccurately named it the ‘Affordable Clean Energy Rule.’ The rule basically just extends the life of some dirty coal power plants and encourages them to run a bit more efficiently. The rule’s costs in worsening public health far exceed its monetary benefits. It would more accurately be named the ‘Expensive Dirty Power Plan.’

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Australia appears set to extend its policy inertia on climate change issues after new prime minister Scott Morrison over the weekend emphasised his focus would be on bringing down electricity prices, while appointing a renewable energy opponent as his new energy minister.

Tensions between the US and Mexico loom as water dries up in the Rio Grande Valley.

Australia has some of the best drinking water available for free so why do we keep buying it in plastic?

The government has already announced $1.8 billion in drought relief spending, and more measures are thought to be on the way.