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AEMO chief Daniel Westerman says the old paradigm of baseload power and peaking generation is no longer fit for the Australian grid, as renewables and storage eat away at markets once dominated by coal and gas.

The post Baseload coal and peaking gas paradigm “no longer fit” for modern grid, says AEMO chief appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A groundbreaking community pilot hopes to identify the opportunities and challenges as household electrification is scaled up across the whole country.

The post SwitchedOn Podcast: World-first community pilot to help spark the electrification of everything appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The timeline for the massive Australian Renewable Energy Hub timeline has been pushed out to 2029 for first power and 2030s for green hydrogen and ammonia production.

The post Start date for could be Australia’s biggest renewable energy hub pushed out to end of decade appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Construction underway on 150 megawatt, two-hour big battery in first stage of $2 billion series of solar and storage projects being built in the region by Amp Energy.

The post Construction underway on first 300MWh battery in massive solar and storage hub appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As Australia’s domestic reliance on coal falls, our exports are bigger than ever – and new coal approvals suggest this won’t change soon. John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

European heavy industries like aluminum and steel should embrace the flexibility that comes with electrification, rather than persist in operating continuously and prolonging dependence on fossil fuels, a report warned.

The transition to sustainable heating solutions is stalling across European countries due to collapsing heat pump sales, which are putting 170,000 jobs at risk, researchers have warned.

Bowen boosts size of next CIS tenders to 10 GW of wind, solar and storage as Coalition digs in with plans to dismantle renewable zones and support more fossil fuels.

The post Bowen says next round of CIS tenders will seek 10 gigawatts of wind, solar and battery storage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Simplistic comparisons are misleading. Calculations based on the mix of electric and fossil-fuelled cars actually on our roads show any difference in mass is too small to be significant. Robin Smit, Adjunct Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Ruth Davis named special representative for nature ‘to put climate and nature at the heart of our foreign policy’

The government has appointed the UK’s first envoy for nature, a role that a former campaigner called “the environmentalist’s environmentalist”, who will be charged with forging global agreement on halting the precipitous decline of species.

Ruth Davis, the new special representative for nature, is in Colombia for the start of two weeks of vital talks that will decide the global response to the biodiversity crisis. The UK has played a leading role in such efforts in the past and Davis helped draw up a global pledge on deforestation that was one of the main outcomes of the UN Cop26 climate summit hosted in Glasgow in 2021.

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It has been a nightmare season for farmers, with England said to have had its second-worst harvest on record

Giant orange pumpkins with ghoulish grins have become a Halloween doorstep tradition but this year trick-or-treaters may be greeted with even spookier green-tinged jack-o-lanterns after a nightmare season for growers.

In Asda, pumpkin displays have signs telling shoppers “don’t worry if I’m slightly green, I will ripen at home and turn orange”.

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We need to deal with the climate effects of global capitalism the way we deal with inflation – by applying the brakes

The impact of the climate crisis is evident everywhere. Finance ministers meet in Washington DC this week for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund in the wake of two devastating hurricanes in the US within a month. Parts of the Sahara have been flooded for the first time in half a century.

Scientists attribute the growing number of extreme weather events to a planet that continues to get hotter as the result of rising concentrations of greenhouse gases linked to human activity. Global temperature records are being broken with every year that passes and the idea that this can continue indefinitely is a fantasy.

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Australia's main grid reached 75 per cent renewables for the first time on Sunday, propelled by rooftop solar which also sent coal power and grid demand down to record lows.

The post Rooftop PV propels renewables to 75 pct share for first time, sends coal and grid demand to record lows appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Experts say UN event will be critical for world’s declining wildlife population as host nation pushes for inclusivity

World leaders, environmental activists and prominent researchers have begun to arrive in Cali, Colombia, for a biodiversity summit that experts say will be decisive for the fate of the world’s rapidly declining wildlife populations.

The host nation is also hoping that the summit, which formally opens on Sunday evening, will be the most inclusive in history.

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Rooftop solar smashes its previous peak in Australia's most renewable state, setting a new record share of 112.9 per cent of state demand.

The post Rooftop solar reaches stunning new record of 112.9 per cent of state demand appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Toxic emissions, health risks and leaching pollution – better management of landfill sites is a matter of urgency

Last summer, people living around the perimeter of Pilsworth South landfill in Bury, Greater Manchester, couldn’t open their windows because of the elevated levels of hydrogen sulphide in the air. Referred to as “sewer gas”, its rotten-egg stench can be particularly unbearable at night. Even driving past with the windows closed on the M66, as I do regularly to drop my child at a local play centre, I have gagged at the overpowering smell.

Including Pilsworth, there are 15 odorous landfills across the UK. Hafod landfill in Wrexham is the latest to hit the headlines. Another in Northern Ireland was so noxious before its decommissioning that it was subject to a supreme court ruling and now an appeal. Meanwhile, several others have breached their licences through overtipping, odour issues or poor management, forcing them to undertake engineering solutions to rectify the problems. These remedial works can make things worse in the short term, with smells created when rubbish is disturbed.

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They were closed earlier this week after thousands of mysterious black tar-like balls washed ashore.

World Without End topped bestseller lists but was criticised for embracing nuclear power

In 2019, France’s best known climate expert sat down to work with its most feted graphic novelist. The result? Perhaps the most terrifying comic ever drawn.

Part history, part analysis, part vision for the future, World Without End weaves the story of humanity’s rapacious appetite for fossil fuel energy, how it has made possible the society people take for granted, and its disastrous effects on the climate.

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Financial players cut their holdings across the board of North American carbon in the most recent report from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), while emitters also reduced their exposure to California Carbon Allowances (CCAs) but built net length in RGGI allowances (RGAs) and Washington Carbon Allowances (WCAs).

Washington state's considerations for changes to the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) to facilitate linkage with WCI partners California and Quebec must resolve ambiguity surrounding electricity imports and address varying offset protocols, comments to the draft amendments showed.