‘Long time coming': Energy cop seeks power to grill company bosses

Australia's energy regulator has called for the swift introduction of powers allowing it to grill electricity and gas executives, as well as stiffer penalties for businesses that imperil the grid.

Outgoing Australian Energy
Regulator chair Paula Conboy.

Paula Conboy, who departs this month as chair of the Australian Energy Regulator, said the inability to interrogate individuals and compel them to give evidence in person had impeded investigations of potential breaches of national energy laws.

"We've got a job to do, we have expectations of the job that we can do, so give me the tools so I can do the job that's expected of me," Ms Conboy said. "And one of them is, like any other regulator has, the ability to compel oral evidence."

The need for the powers seemed to have support among Australia's energy ministers, Ms Conboy said, but the legislation was one of a number of proposals facing uncertainty because the federal government has not set a date for the next Council of Australian Governments energy council meeting.

Read the story from The Age by Nick Toscano - “‘Long time coming': Energy cop seeks power to grill company bosses.”

Greta Thunberg, the teen behind climate strikes, hits back at Andrew Bolt column

Greta Thunberg speaks at a "Fridays for
 Future" protest in Berlin on July 19.

Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg has hit back after being called the "deeply disturbed messiah of the global warming movement" in an Australian newspaper column.

The 16-year-old says what disturbs her is children being attacked for acting on the science of climate change.

Here's the background of how Ms Thunberg came to prominence and why some haven't welcomed her message.

Read the story from the ABC News by Michael Collett - “Greta Thunberg, the teen behind climate strikes, hits back at Andrew Bolt column.”

Labor’s climate change policy explained: here's what we know

Just days before the federal election is called, Labor has released the final component of its climate change policy. 

Bill Shorten charges an electric car after launching
Labor’s climate change policy in Canberra on Monday. 

Scott Morrison has promptly declared it is carbon tax 2.0 and the regulations will impose massive costs on Australians. Given this partisan debate, which has paralysed Australian politics for a decade, has been characterised by hyperbole and misinformation, let’s work through this latest policy instalment, sector by sector, and then consider the implications.

Read the story from The Guardian by Katharine Murphy - “Labor’s climate change policy explained: here's what we know.”

‘Whoever You Are, Wherever You Are, We Need You': 15-Year-Old Greta Thunberg Calls for Global Climate Strike

Greta Thunberg, the 15-year-old Swedish activist, on Wednesday called for a global climate strike. The day of action is set for Friday at "your school" or "anywhere you feel called.”

Greta Thunberg calls for a global climate strike.

Thunberg, who's made headlines for her now-weekly school strikes to urge her home country to take bold climate action, made the call from Katowice, Poland, where she's attending the COP24 climate talks, now in their second week.

Unfortunately, she said in her video announcing the strike, "as of now, there are no signs of commitment to climate action."

Read the story from Common Dreams by Andrea Germanos -“‘Whoever You Are, Wherever You Are, We Need You': 15-Year-Old Greta Thunberg Calls for Global Climate Strike.”

Barnaby backs coal unless Australians want nuclear power supply

Barnaby Joyce has called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) recommendation to phase out coal by 2050 as “wrong and ridiculous”, while once again suggesting Australians need to look at nuclear power.

 Grasp the mettle: Barnaby Joyce said that if Australia
wants zero admission then nuclear power is the obvious
solution following the IPCC report.

Last weekend the IPCC, the world’s foremost panel on climate change, issued a report stating global greenhouse gas emissions must reach zero by 2050 in order to stop global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The authors warned that if warming was allowed to reach 2C, the world would risk hitting "tipping points", setting a course towards uncontrollable temperatures, as well as the complete destruction of the Great Barrier Reef, and devastating rises in sea levels.

Read the story by Chris Bath from The Northern Daily Leader - “Barnaby backs coal unless Australians want nuclear power supply.”

(Challenged over the safety and legitimacy of Roundup (and its active ingredient glyphosate) the coalition government rushed to the shelter of science, but now when that same science tells them that unless they make significant changes to nearly all of society’s behaviours to avoid catastrophic climate change, that it is “wrong and ridiculous”. It’s Barnaby Joyce who is wrong and ridiculous - Robert McLean)

AGL’s plan to replace Liddell is cheaper and cleaner than keeping it open

The Commonwealth government called last week for AGL Energy to consider selling its Liddell power station to rival Alinta.

AGL has promised to replace the power generated
 by Liddell with a mix of other sources.

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has raised concerns that the scheduled 2022 shutdown of Liddell will affect New South Wales’ energy reliability. It’s suggested the sale would provide a way to keep the ageing power station open past the end of its normal 50-year operating life.

However, AGL responded to government concerns in December 2017 by releasing a replacement plan. Liddell’s theoretical maximum output is 1,800 megawatts (MW), but the firm capacity – the power that can be relied upon at peak time – is 1,000 MW. AGL is confident this can be replaced by a mix of improved efficiency, renewables and demand response.

Read the piece on The Conversation by a Senior Research Consultant from Sydney’s University of Technology, Kriti Nagrath -  “AGL’s plan to replace Liddell is cheaper and cleaner than keeping it open.”

Heat off solar farms

Victoria’s Planning Minister has called in a number of solar farm applications proving problematic for Greater Shepparton City councillors to decide on, days before they were set to go to a council meeting.

Peter Harriott.

Council chief executive Peter Harriott said the council was yesterday informed by the state planning department that pending applications would be ‘‘called in’’ and will now be considered by Planning Minister Richard Wynne.

The agenda to Tuesday’s council meeting, published yesterday, had recommended that councillors vote to grant planning permits to four solar farm applications for sites in Tatura East, Tallygaroopna, Congupna and Lemnos, subject to a raft of conditions.

But the minister’s intervention will mean the council will no longer need to determine these, the News understands.

Mr Harriott suggested an alternate motion will be put at the meeting.

He said it would be highlighted that correspondence had been received, that the minister would now call in the four applications and that the council cannot therefore determine them.

Mr Harriott said the outcome was sensible.

‘‘It’s what the council requested via a previous resolution.’’

‘‘It’s a sensible move, it provides consistency and the opportunity for the state to use this process to develop state guidelines for large-scale solar farms,’’ Mr Harriott said.

The applications constitute hundreds of millions of dollars in development costs and are estimated to produce hundreds of megawatts of power.

Estimations have the proposals creating an estimated 150 to 200 jobs during construction, and 15 ongoing jobs once complete, if approved.

The council had in November voted for its chief executive to request the minister to decide on the solar farm planning applications in Greater Shepparton and establish a process providing an opportunity for affected stakeholders to be heard.

The council’s main concern with the applications is ‘‘whether the loss of productive agricultural land . . . for a solar farm produces acceptable planning outcomes.’’

The News understands the planning minister can approve, reject or green light the permits with conditions that factor in community concerns.

The minister will convene an independent planning panel to consider the merits of the proposals, and then provide advice for him to consider, the News understands.

The panel will also be providing advice to the energy minister about how future solar farm applications will be assessed in Victoria, the News understands.

Mr Wynne said renewable energy projects created jobs, drive down power prices and boost regional communities, ‘‘but that doesn’t mean they deserve a rubber stamp’’.

‘‘We’ll ensure all objectors have their say and their concerns are addressed where appropriate.’’

Thomas Moir’s story from today’s Shepparton News - “Heat off solar farms.”