Hillhater said:
WE ARE SAVED !!!
..or so our PM says..
Australian Federal government has announced a big about face on energy ( Electricity generation) policy.
Basically , they will abandon the CET ( Clean Energy Target), stop all subsidies and tax concessions to RE generators,.AND insist that energy retailers must guarantee continuity of supply including base load.(.for night times and bad weather), called the NEG ( National Energy Guarantee)
All to be overseen by the ESB.. ( Energy Security Board ) ..Dont you love all these TLA s ! :lol:
This they claim will reduce the cost of electricity bills to the average consumer by up to Au$115 pa..by 2030 ! :lol:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-17/coalition-signs-off-on-new-energy-plan-to-replace-cet-proposal/9057026
Sounds good, but....of course this is only a Fed Gov bill that will need approval of all states to proceed...which will need some good fortune to happen !
Obviously this is no more than a political gesture to win a few minds and gain a breathing space , in response to the National outcry over the huge rise in Electricity prices.
If its blocked by interstate politics ( as is likely) our slimy PM will simply say he tried, but the opposition prevented him reducing prices.
But, at least it might just raise the reality of our energy issues to a national discussion level ! :wink:
Yeah its a good start, but as far as I know they are still keeping existing commitments like RET which dies out in 2020, but apparently its mostly done with the target of generation of 33,000 GWh in 2020, it was probably originally meant to then start a new generation goal but thats now off the table considering how the rest of the world's emission targets are completely failing.
Also, the subsidies for renewables continue into 2020 as well, as far as I understand it. It's complicated and not all officially signed in yet so we have to wait and see, I think the government is really just putting their toe in the water to see the public reaction of going more in line of what the rest of the world is doing, but its mostly up to the ABC to make up the minds of what most Australians will choose to think.
I like this line from that ABC article
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill denounced the plan as a "complete victory for the coal industry".
What should be done is have South Australia severed from the interestate grid where it gets so much of its real electricty from Victorian coal, what a parasite mindset of a state government. I think if South Australia was cut off from Victorian coal they would change their mind.
I couldn't believe what numbskulls were saying on Facebook/Twitter about NEG. It was this constant line of "
Oh so Australia is going to ditch its clean energy commitments while the rest of the world continues with their commitments? OMG, Australians are so backwards, blah blah.
And I could help but just wonder what cave do they live in? Well I assume its a cave secluded from the rest of the world but with airconditioning and a constant feed of baloney from ABC news, as ABC always pound Australians about its Paris accord commitments while quite literally the rest of the world ignores them as well reported in this respected Nature.com article.
Article Quote
"Beyond US President Donald Trump's decision in June to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris climate agreement, a more profound challenge to the global climate pact is emerging. No major advanced industrialized country is on track to meet its pledges to control the greenhouse-gas emissions that cause climate change.
Wishful thinking and bravado are eclipsing reality. "
https://www.nature.com/news/prove-paris-was-more-than-paper-promises-1.22378
All major industrialized countries are failing to meet the pledges they made to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, but at least the USA has been upfront about it.
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/6/30/1435672227993/5affb3cc-50e4-48e2-8e50-6c93201ebf76-620x519.png?w=300&q=20&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e71ea13b2a77dcf179854877cf1a0e63
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40669449
Australia is just as aligned to its o2 emission targets than any other major country except maybe countries like Denmark where its biggest export is windturbines etc.
This article out today from TheAustralian url below. So far its probably dug as deep as we can get on National Energy Guarantee (NEG), its a chunky article so I copy and pasted some of the more interesting bits.
Basically it points out the madness of covering up large amounts of land that can sustain forests with solar farms when it should really just be instead used for co2 sequestration and the NEG aims to help rectify this because so far most of the planned solar farms are being built on top of farms and where forests could exist due to the convenience of nearby transmission towers like the Gympie solar farm which could be perfect forest but instead is going to be covered in solar panels. This new solar farm is going to quite
literally sit in between two state forests.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-19/mega-solar-farm-planned-for-gympie-qld/8451774
https://goo.gl/maps/mhaHUigfhNP2 https://goo.gl/maps/LfA8jW97LkC2 https://goo.gl/maps/aBbgdbJwgVx
It's continued proof that they don't give a stuff about the environment and just want to make money out of it.
All the major science sites are all over this
new study for reforestation as a major part of the co2 solution, and it makes perfect sense.
https://phys.org/news/2017-10-nature-vital-climate.html
Better stewardship of the land could have a bigger role in fighting climate change than previously thought, according to the most comprehensive assessment to date of how greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced and stored in forests, farmland, grasslands and wetlands using natural climate solutions.
https://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/pressreleases/new-study-finds-nature-is-vital-to-beating-climate-change.xml
Article Quote "
Nature could cost-effectively deliver over a third of greenhouse gas emissions reductions required to prevent dangerous levels of global warming. This is equivalent to a complete stop to the burning of oil worldwide."
So many solar farms I see in Europe sit on the greenest lush grass I have ever seen, to me it's just silly. This means of course that its an area ideal for
trees for proper co2 sequestration.
The latest CO2 mapping satellites from NASA like NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) are showing just how much co2 is being sequestered by photosynthesis during the northern hemisphere summers.
https://youtu.be/dm8AR_D3bNM
[youtube]dm8AR_D3bNM[/youtube]
https://phys.org/news/2017-10-spikes-carbon-emissions-nasa-satellite.html
TheAustralian on the National Energy Guarantee (NEG)
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/natural-methods-of-storing-carbon-gain-new-emphasis-under-energy-scheme/news-story/6b3251ca8f85f892fc3c6c9dad096a51
Natural methods of storing carbon gain new emphasis under energy scheme
..
Nonetheless, the National Energy Guarantee may be a good opportunity for the government to turn the focus more towards helping nature store carbon and away from building windmills to cut emissions. International research shows there are still enormous benefits to be won.
As environment minister, Turnbull was one of the first global leaders to accept and highlight the carbon dioxide-saving benefits of forest preservation.
A major international study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says better stewardship of the land can have a bigger role in fighting climate change than earlier thought. The results were from the most comprehensive assessment to date of how greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced and stored in forests, farmland, grasslands and wetlands using natural climate solutions.
..Without cost constraints, natural climate solutions could deliver emissions reductions of 23.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, close to one-third more than previous estimates.
“If we are serious about climate change, then we are going to have to get serious about investing in nature, as well as in clean energy and clean transport,” Nature Conservancy chief Mark Tercek says.
Australia has vast scope to develop a carbon farming economy and it is a key issue being explored in the government’s coming review of how Australia will meet its Paris commitment.
How the federal government handles the review may prove crucial to the success or otherwise of its National Energy Guarantee. Under the government’s new plan, the Prime Minister says household electricity bills will fall by an average of $110 to $115 a year across the 2020 to 2030 period.
The guarantee scheme has two parts that on the surface are contradictory. One part will require energy retailers across the National Electricity Market to deliver reliable and lower emissions generation each year. Energy market regulators will determine a level of immediately available electricity from coal, gas, hydro or storage for each state. The other part of the guarantee will be imposed by another regulator to guarantee carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation will fall to enable Australia to meet its Paris commitments to limit carbon dioxide emissions by 26 per cent to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
The renewable energy target will not be extended past 2020 but projects already in place will continue to receive renewable energy certificates until 2030. With the RET gone, the onus will be on wind, solar and other renewables to prove they can partner with firm supply or storage and compete with fossil fuels subsidy free.
The squeeze on emissions to meet the Paris targets still will give renewables an edge.
RepuTex analyst Hugh Grossman says the NEG, in effect, will establish a de facto price on greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector.
..
To date, the environmental lobby largely has failed to embrace the Emissions Reduction Fund scheme, preferring to concentrate on blocking fossil fuel development and lobbying in support of renewable energy.
The Wilderness Society, in particular, highlights the big contradiction in government buying carbon permits on one hand and allowing widescale land clearing in Queensland on the other. The Wilderness Society estimates that more than one-third of the $1.4 billion worth of abatement purchased in auctions has been lost in Queensland land clearing alone.
“It is a waste of half a billion dollars of Australian taxpayers’ money to fund tree projects when we are not trying to stop deforestation that will create more carbon pollution than the tree projects will deliver,” says the society’s national director, Lyndon Schneiders.
Nonetheless, given the billions of dollars spent subsidising renewable energy, it is reasonable to ask whether money could have been better spent boosting the natural systems to lock away more carbon.
Limiting land clearing is low-hanging fruit in terms of generating carbon permits for a domestic market. The complications are political, particularly with the Liberal National Party in Queensland. But there are plenty of case studies that demonstrate the strong environmental and community co-benefits of investing in nature.
Indigenous ranger programs under way across northern Australia to manage savanna burning is a global example.
In its submission to the review, GreenCollar says it has extensive experience in how carbon farming schemes can achieve a triple bottom line of environmental, economic and social benefits. It works with more than 150 landholders across Australia with an emphasis on reducing emissions or sequestering carbon dioxide from the environment, while focusing on increasing productivity and preserving natural capital.
The company, which has been a major beneficiary of the reverse auction system, wants the government to continue funding two Emissions Reduction Fund auctions a year up to the end of 2019 to build the market for when the private sector will be forced to join. “At the rate of two auctions per annum, this would equate to five more auctions to the end of 2019,” GreenCollar says in its submission. “With an average expenditure of $200 million per auction this would require $1bn to be available under the ERF.”
GreenCollar says there are many untapped sources of potential carbon abatement within the land sector; however, the price of carbon on offer at this time is not sufficient to engage landowners in carbon projects.
“Particularly concerning soil carbon abatement, the monetary incentive is not enough to warrant graziers’ involvement under the ERF due to the high cost of management and implementation versus return,” GreenCollar says.
“However, in these areas, there are non-carbon co-benefits that, if properly and efficiently valued, could be a catalyst for increased carbon abatement from the agricultural sector.”
If the ABC pounded Australians with modern science about how much they could help cut co2 emissions by carbon sequestration/forests instead of covering them with solar panels we might actually get somewhere.
Every time I see clueless Australians parrot rubbish information I continue to dream about the currently very remote idea that the TV spectrum free-to-air sits on gets amalgamated into the NBN or mobile carriers because I am so tired of seeing these ill-informed people. I really see it as freeing them from "The Matrix" instead of the evil grip of baloney information from mainstream-media.
This is the speed I get on Optus via LTE now from the old freed up TV spectrum they managed to buy due to the digital TV spectrum restack. 230mbits/sec and its just a fraction of whats available on the TV spectrum. I think its important for people to think about it now because once 5G hits Australian TV will be completely unprofitable like Channel Ten is now and they need to just get out of the way and stop holding back Australia with their baloney information.
http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/a/3259935402
