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The most powerful battery in Australia, and biggest single power unit ever to be connected to the country's main grid, has completed the first stage of its connection and commissioning process.

The post Australia’s most powerful battery ready for commissioning after achieving grid’s biggest connection appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The share of coal power falls below 50 per cent average for whole week, for the first time in what industry observers are hailing as a "turning point."

The post “Turning point:” Share of coal in Australia’s main grid falls below 50 pct for for first time appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The upcoming New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction is unlikely to clear, or if it does, only partially, as participants had mixed views on how this would affect market sentiment.

As Australia’s south-east states reel from intense winds, many of us wonder if the trees near us are safe. Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The new government must use its landslide majority to mend the damage to jobs and fish populations caused by neglect

It is a lonely and unglamorous job, being His Majesty’s official opposition, as Labour knows only too well. There were moments when, out of the spotlight, the party’s spokespeople in parliament heroically defended the public interest on some of the most important issues of the day. One example was during the post-Brexit Fisheries Act, where Labour made a formidable case that history has proved right. The question now is whether Labour will use its landslide majority to fix the extraordinary neglect of our marine environment that it previously lacked the votes for.

Back in 2020, when the fisheries bill was making its way through parliament, Labour’s fisheries spokesperson, Luke Pollard, made the case that the prime objective of the bill should be sustainability: there should be a duty on ministers to take the advice of scientists when allocating fishing opportunities so as to avoid overfishing. He also argued that as the right to fish was a public asset, which ministers conceded during the course of the bill, preference should be given to the part of the fleet which had the highest levels of employment and the lowest environmental impact: the smaller boats, whose activities are limited naturally by the weather.

Charles Clover is the co-founder of the Blue Marine Foundation

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Zero Emissions Noosa is the only non-industry group in Queensland to receive a federal grant for a community battery.
Co-convenor Vivien Griffin discusses why they are so important.

The post SwitchedOn podcast: How community batteries can help the energy transition appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Mingyang Smart Energy completes installation of a 20MW offshore wind turbine, the world's largest.

The post World-first 20MW offshore wind turbine installed in China appeared first on RenewEconomy.

One spring does not make a year, let alone a decade, but spring clearly shows that more low variable cost supply will lower prices.

The post The NEM in Spring – average spot prices negative over the week in Victoria and South Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Bowen says changes to W.A. offshore wind zone means that local will not be able to see the turbines from shore, even on a clear day.

The post New offshore wind zone cut in half and pushed further off coast appeared first on RenewEconomy.

In an interview from jail in Greenland with the AFP news agency, the anti-whaling activist said Tokyo has a vendetta against him

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson has said that authorities in Tokyo are seeking to make an example of him, as he awaits a possible extradition to Japan, while in detention in a Greenland prison.

Speaking to the AFP news agency, the 73-year-old US-Canadian campaigner said his time behind bars has not prevented him from continuing his fight to save whales.

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Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator has announced it is lowering audit requirements for low-risk, small scale plantation forestry projects.

ARENA kicks off first funding rounds for Solar Sunshot, the program aiming to get Australian companies to play a key role in pursuit of ultra low cost solar.

The post Solar Sunshot: ARENA opens up $550 million funding in search for ultra low cost solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A US direct air capture (DAC) firm has announced that it will pause its planned Wyoming facility and move its focus to another state in light of increased competition for renewable energy.

First CIS auction for battery storage in Western Australia more than six times over-subscribed.

The post Latest battery storage tender swamped by offers and six times over subscribed appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A new expedition finds that a large part of the railing at the ship's front has fallen away.

A British-based investment firm has teamed up with a climate tech startup to secure a grant from the UK Space Agency (UKSA) to fund a project that incorporates satellite data into natural capital investment decisions.

Earth’s climate has become dangerously unstable, and it’s only a matter of time before somewhere in Australia erupts in uncontrollable fire. David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

On the heels of passing its 2023 carbon markets bill, the government of Paraguay has held participatory stakeholder workshops to translate the law into a practicable framework and to receive feedback on draft regulation.

Advocates against nets say sharks can easily swim underneath and drone surveillance is more effective

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Experts, marine conservation groups and an MP are all urging the New South Wales government to ban anti-shark nets, which kill large numbers of turtles and dolphins, after 51 nets were installed along the state’s coastline.

Last summer more than 90% of marine animals caught in shark nets were not sharks, while more than half of the 208 non-target species caught – such as turtles, dolphins and smaller sharks – were killed, data showed.

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I’ve discovered the perfect way to avoid the stress of travel, the mosquito bites and the overtourism. Plus, I can stay at home and tend my tomatoes while knowing I’m saving the planet

I haven’t been on holiday this summer, but don’t start tuning the tiny violins. I derive an unusual satisfaction from working when others aren’t (burning martyr is my preferred summer fragrance) and I don’t like change, or strange pillows. Plus, what would Susan, the pigeon who lives on our roof, and my bounteous crop of five unripe tomatoes do without me?

A summer holiday just doesn’t appeal. Is that weird? It feels as if the climate crisis is killing the notion of summer as something to look forward to and holiday hotspots (literally) are losing their lustre, with Greek islands reaching fatal temperatures and Sicily stricken with catastrophic drought.

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