Toyota to build world first hydrogen and renewables plant

Toyota will build the first megawatt-scale hydrogen fuel and renewable generation plant, setting a new energy benchmark that experts hope with pave the way for Australia's hydrogen industry.

By 2030, between 10 million and 15 million cars
and half a million trucks will be hydrogen-powered globally.

Toyota North America will build the plant to support its operations at the Port of Long Beach, in the US, using agricultural waste to generate electricity, water and hydrogen.

Dubbed the Tri-Gen facility, the plant will generate around 2.35 megawatts of electricity and close to one tonne of hydrogen per day, providing enough daily power for more than 2300 homes and 1500 hydrogen-powered cars.

It will come online in 2020, and be used as proof of concept for large-scale hydrogen generation and renewable energy plants.

Read Cole Latimer’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Toyota to build world first hydrogen and renewables plant.”

Victoria warned of power shortfall risk after Hazelwood shuts down

Doubts have been cast over
 Victoria's level of energy security. 

Victoria's energy security has been thrown into question, with the state facing an unprecedented 72 days of possible power supply shortfalls over the next two years following the shutdown of the Hazelwood plant next week.

Australia's electricity grid operator has warned that the looming shutdown of the ageing plant, which supplies up to a quarter of the state's power, could lead to breaches of the minimum energy reliability benchmark next summer.

Read Josh Gordon’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - "Victoria warned of power shortfall risk after Hazelwood shuts down.”

(Of course the shift from early energy sources - mostly animal, human, water and wind - to those afforded us by fossil fuels was not without it problems, or complexities, so why should the shift from fossil fuel powered energy to renewable energy be any different? - Robert McLean)

'Extreme year': 2016 declared hottest year on record as climate change builds on big El Nino

The world's major meteorological agencies have declared 2016 to be the hottest year on record - making it three new highs in as many years - as increases in greenhouse gases drove global warming.

NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies said global sea and land temperatures last year were 0.99 degrees warmer than average for the 1951-1980 benchmark period, eclipsing the previous high set only a year earlier by 0.12 degrees.

The World Meteorological Organisation, which uses data from NASA, the UK Met Office Hadley Centre and the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, said temperatures in 2016 were about 1.1 degrees higher than the pre-industrial period, or about 0.83 degrees above the 1961-1990 reference period. That beat the 2015 record by 0.07 degrees. 

"2016 was an extreme year for the global climate and stands out as the hottest year on record," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

Read Peter Hannam’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “'Extreme year': 2016 declared hottest year on record as climate change builds on big El Nino.”

'Climate change policy needs market mechanism' - Age Editorial

The public brawl being played out in the Climate ChangeAuthority is a fresh story, and yet a highly familiar one. It is not surprising people plucked from differing walks of life to advise the government on global warming would have sharply conflicting views.

A majority of board members, most appointed by the Coalition, have recommended the government build on current policy settings to meet existing greenhouse gas reduction targets. They have been challenged by two members, scientist David Karoly and academic and author Clive Hamilton, who believe the majority has failed by not stressing Australia needs to cut emissions much more rapidly if it is to play its part in limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees – a benchmark agreed under the Paris climate deal.

Read the Editorial in today’s Melbourne Age - “Climate change policy needs market mechanism.”

(Friend David Karoly is one of those, the implication suggests, who is “brawling” in the Climate Change Authority – brawling conjures images which do David an absolute disservice and so was a rather sad and poor choice of words. David’s intent, I’m sure, is about the authority honestly and objectively reflecting what the science explains and consequently what our community should be doing in response. Although David may well be uncomfortable about the whole “brawling thing”, I know he will remain faithful to the science and continue to publically advocate for a thoughtful and reasoned response to climate change and not be influenced, as others have, by vested interests – Robert McLean).