Power plant that turns green waste into energy could solve power reliability in regions

In a farm shed in the West Australian Wheatbelt, a grain farmer and an engineer have invented a waste-fuelled power plant, which they say could be the solution to power generation and reliability problems in regional Australia.

The Wheatbelt pilot plant burns biomass waste and creates energy.

After 11 years of research, the Rainbow Bee Eater (RBE) group has designed and built a power plant that uses biomass to create clean-burning fuel gas or electricity in a single step, and its developers say it does not need government subsidies or grants to be cost-effective.

Read the ABC News story by Joanna Prendergast - “Power plant that turns green waste into energy could solve power reliability in regions.”

‘He will fail farmers': Morrison pressured to tackle climate change as part of drought pledge

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is under pressure to acknowledge that climate change is a major driver of the drought gripping parts of regional Australia following his declaration that the big dry was his government’s number one priority.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says national drought action
 is a top priority, and critics say climate action should be a
 key part of the response.

Hours after his elevation to the top job on Friday, Mr Morrison cited the record-breaking drought as the nation’s “most urgent and pressing need right now”.

He underlined his commitment on Saturday, his first full day as prime minster, by meeting with national drought coordinator Stephen Day and Nationals leader Michael McCormack to discuss a national approach to the problem.

Read the story from The Age by Nicole Hasham - “‘He will fail farmers': Morrison pressured to tackle climate change as part of drought pledge.”

‘We've turned a corner': farmers shift on climate change and want a say on energy

Out in the bush, far from the ritualised political jousting in Canberra, attitudes are changing. Regional Australia has turned the corner when it comes to acknowledging the reality of climate change, says the woman now charged with safeguarding the interests of farmers in Canberra.

 Fiona Simson on climate change: ‘Farmers have
 come quite a long way in their attitude.’

Fiona Simson, a mixed farmer and grazier from the Liverpool plains in northern New South Wales, and the president of the National Farmers’ Federation, says people on the land can’t and won’t ignore what is right before their eyes. “We have been experiencing some wild climate variability,” Simson tells Guardian Australia’s politics podcast. “It’s in people’s face”.

Read Katharine Murphy’s story from The Guardian - “‘We've turned a corner': farmers shift on climate change and want a say on energy.”

Letter calls on politicians for climate change action

A signatory to an open letter calling for climate change action says regional Australia is going to bear the brunt of its damaging effects

.

More than 20 prominent Australian scientists, community and business leaders signed an open letter in The Age newspaper on Thursday to declare a climate emergency.

The letter was addressed to those appointed to the new Federal Parliament after the July 2 election and called for "an immediate ban on new coal and gas developments" and an "emergency-speed transition" to zero emissions.

Environment Victoria chief executive Mark Wakeham was one of the letter's signatories, who said climate change would devastate rural and regional communities unless political leaders take action.

He believes regional economies are already feeling the effects of a warming climate

Read the ABC News story - “Political leaders urged to take action on climate change and prevent devastation to regional economies.”

Yackandandah has been up and down, but now it's on the pace

The 2015 Uralla Lantern Parade. Uralla
is one of numerous communities
 addressing renewable energy directly. 

Yackandandah, like most Australian towns, has had its ups and its downs.

 One of its biggest ups was the north-east Victorian gold rush. By the 1890s our town was full of miners toiling to extract what was left of its alluvial gold. The only thing holding these folks back was an energy crisis. The miners were unable to source the power needed to sluice and dredge or crush the ore. The solution was a water race from high up on the West Kiewa river, which wasn’t the brainchild of government, or even the mines department – but rather a local man.

John Wallace, a Yackandandah resident, recognised a problem that needed immediate action and set about solving it.

Many people living outside of Australia’s cities are now observing a new energy crisis and, once again, it is from within these small communities that solutions are emerging. While policy makers dither and draft lifeless strategies, those outside of the political bubble have no time to waste as they already face the realities of climate change on a daily basis. With every hotter month, with every failing crop and with an ever increasing bushfire threat, those who live in rural and regional Australia are desperately looking within for climate change solutions – and acting.

Read The Guardian story - “Australia's regions already have an energy crisis – and a climate of investment is the answer.”

Before and after pictures of the spreading, bitiing drought

Drought is spreading across southern and eastern Australia, affecting more of Queensland than ever previously recorded. Use these before and after images to see the impact.

Check out the before and after pictures here - “Before and after: How the drought is biting in regional Australia.”