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Solar output first beat coal in winter just over a year ago, but it is now happening more often, and by a greater margin.

The post Solar’s growing daytime dominance caps a miserable winter for ageing coal plants appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Petrol refiner and retailer reveals further details of its plan to take on the Australian retail energy market, starting with a pilot fuel plus electricity offer.

The post Ampol prepares retail electricity pilot, as it shifts from the forecourt into homes appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The James Webb Space Telescope shows the planet's auroras and storms in an unprecedented detail.

South32 says expected financial returns on project do not justify investment as green groups welcome decision

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Australian mining company South32 has abandoned plans to expand its Dendrobium metallurgical coalmine in the New South Wales Illawarra region.

In an announcement to the ASX, the mining company said the expected financial returns were not enough to justify the $1bn investment the extension would require.

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Latest regulatory report shows how multiple coal plant outages left electricity market at mercy of ... other coal plants to rebid small amounts of capacity to guarantee price spikes.

The post Coal plant outages and rebidding: Why electricity prices surged towards market cap appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AEMO is bulking up with a vastly increased budget to manage the engineering challenges of a rapidly accelerating switch to renewables and storage.

The post “Start of a new era:” Market operator bulks up to manage accelerating switch to renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Target of 300,000 new homes a year not sustainable, finds researchers, with negative biodiversity and climate impacts

England would use up the entirety of its 1.5C carbon budget on housing alone if the government sticks to its pledge to build 300,000 homes a year, according to a new study.

The building of new homes under a business as usual scenario, coupled with current trends on making existing homes more efficient, would mean the housing system would use up 104% of the country’s cumulative carbon budget by 2050.

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

California’s plans to shore up its power grid maybe coming to a fork in the road, with Democratic lawmakers seeking to go all in on renewables and rebuke Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D) proposal to extend the life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear facility, a media outlet reported Monday.

Record-low California Carbon Offset (CCO) issuances are running up against strong demand ahead of the state’s first interim cap-and-trade deadline in the post-2020 era, while credits that provide direct environmental benefits to the state (DEBs) are continuing to trend upward in price, according to developers and market participants.

Gasoline sales in California in May rose to their highest levels so far this year but stayed beneath 2021 totals, while diesel consumption continued to decline from records posted in March, according to state data released Friday.

We are recruiting a Technical Director to support the work of this new entity. The candidate will report to the Executive Director and will be responsible for implementing the IT and technical aspects of the Climate Warehouse work programme.

Untreated human waste dumped in waters containing shellfish 29,000 times last year, Environment Agency data shows

English shellfish could be contaminated with sewage as untreated human waste was dumped 29,000 times by water companies last year in the water where they are cultivated.

The new statistics found sewage was dumped into waters containing shellfish for 207,013 hours in one year. The worst offenders were South West, Southern Water and Anglian Water. There are fears that this could be happening again this year.

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A senior carbon analyst has started work for a Swiss-based company investing in carbon offset projects that is also planning to move into compliance markets, Carbon Pulse learned on Monday.

A Dutch carbon offset firm has agreed to sell voluntary carbon offsets from a Paraguayan REDD forest protection project in a deal designed to ensure the scheme’s long-term viability.

Verra is creating the new role of Senior Program Officer, Energy Innovation to support the development of new methodologies for the global energy transition and other technological greenhouse gas (GHG) innovation opportunities. The selected candidate will be at the forefront of the voluntary carbon market and innovative approaches to emissions reduction and removal.   

The recovery in voluntary carbon market prices accelerated over the past week in the tailwind of the US Inflation Reduction Act that will shower £430 billion on an assortment of climate change measures, healthcare policies, and tax credits on the world’s largest economy.

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Population then exploded in what researches say was ‘the fastest colonisation rate for an introduced mammal ever recorded’

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The Australia-wide rabbit invasion resulted from a single introduction of just 24 animals in 1859, new research has confirmed.

Using historical and genetic data, scientists have pinpointed the origins of what they call “the fastest colonisation rate for an introduced mammal ever recorded”.

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Unusually the violet helleborine is only pollinated by wasps and is thriving thanks to nectar that is irresistible to the insects

A rare orchid that reproduces by getting wasps drunk is thriving in the gardens of Charles Darwin’s house after a two-year restoration programme.

The violet helleborine is entirely pollinated by wasps, which are usually not perceived to be the best pollinators. They’re regimented and meticulously clean themselves, scientists say, which makes the process of pollination a fairly futile prospect – there’s nothing for the pollen to cling to.

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