Victorian Premier, John Brumby, has announced a $30 million funding boost to support the development of alternative energy technologies.

Mr Brumby said that "The funding will be available for parties interested in developing pilot-scale demonstration projects or research and development proposals for sustainable energy technologies in areas such as solar, wave, geothermal and bio-energy. The results delivered from these grants will help us produce and operate the technologies we need to make renewable energy sources commercially viable."

The Premier also announced the establishment of an Office of Solar Energy which he said would would bring together under one umbrella the extensive work being done on solar energy in Victoria. 

Energy and Resources Minister, Peter Batchelor, also announced the appointment of a Medium Scale Solar Working Group, which will examine current barriers to investment and what additional measures are required to encourage the use of solar energy in Victoria.

The Working Group will be chaired by Tony Wood, Director of the Clean Energy Program of the William J Clinton Foundation, which was set up by former US President Bill Clinton to focus on worldwide issues such as climate change. Other members will include Ian Porter from the Alternative Technology Association, Mark Twidell from the Australian Solar Institute, Damon Moloney from the Green Buildings Council and Rod Menzies from the Clean Energy Council.

Beyond Zero Emissions has officially launched its "Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan".

The is a detailed and costed blueprint for transitioning our stationary energy sector to 100% renewable energy in ten years. The technologies utilised in this plan, which are predominantly concentrated solar thermal with molten salt storage, are commercially available now.

To download the full 200-page Plan click here (8.4MB). For a 16-page synopsis of the Plan click here (2.2MB). Hard copies can be purchased from the Melbourne Energy Institute.

Several eminent scientists, including Professor Robin Batterham, President of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and formerly Chief Scientist of Australia, have attested to the technical feasibility of the plan.

Professor Batterham went on to say "With our natural advantage Australia can and should be positioning itself as a global renewable super power for future prosperity. This report will help shift the climate debate to focus on energy; security; affordability; export and of course opportunity. Beyond Zero Emissions offers a new and invigorating message that is much needed”
 

The Australian budget for 2010-11 has committed the Government to invest $652 million over four years in a new Renewable Energy Future Fund, which will form part of the Government’s expanded $5.1 billion Clean Energy Initiative which includes the previously announced $1.5 billion Solar Flagships program and the $2 billion Carbon Capture and Storage Flagships program.

Two new projects will be funded under the Renewable Energy Development program:

• $32 million for CS Energy to build a 23MW solar boost to coal-fired turbines at Kogan Creek, near Chinchilla in western Queensland; and
• $60 million for N.P. Power Pty Ltd to build a 40MW concentrated solar thermal demonstration plant at Whyalla, South Australia, using "Big Dish" technology.

Five new solar reasearch and development projects will be funded through the Australian Solar Institute:

• $5.0 million for a project run by the University of New South Wales to overcome the performance limitations of commercial solar cells;
• $2.25 million for a project run by BT Imaging Pty Ltd to improve the performance of photovoltaic manufacturing;
• $4.95 million for an Australian National University led applied research project in collaboration with industry to help develop the next generation of solar cells;
• $2.25 million for a project run by Sapphicon Semiconductor Pty Ltd to develop a high-efficiency, integrated solar module on a transparent substrate; and
• $4.0 million for a project run by CSIRO and the Australian National University to develop advanced solar thermal energy storage technologies.

A new Resource Exploration Rebate of company tax will be available for geothermal energy exploration. Large areas of Australia are being explored for geothermal energy.

The Government also plans to impose a new 40% tax (replacing some State fees which will be refunded) on "super profits" by mining companies. Since coal and gas miners are the most "super profitable" Australian miners, this can be seen as largely a form of carbon tax.

The New South Wales government has changed its Solar Bonus Scheme, due to come into effect on 1 January 2010, from a net feed-in tariff model to a gross feed-in tariff.

Under the new version, householders who generate solar electricity will receive a premium payment for all of the electricity they generate, including the electricity which they use themselves. Under the previous model, householders would have been paid the premium rate only for the surplus generated  above the amount that they used.

The Australian Capital Territory is the only other Australian State or territory with a gross feed-in tariff. ACT residents currently recieve 50.05 cents per kilowat hour (calculated as 3.88 times the retail price of electricity) for twenty years after they join the scheme. The rate in New South Wales will be 60 cents per kilowatt hour for seven years after they join the scheme.

The Australian Government has abruptly suspended its "solar schools" program without giving any notice.

The program provided up to $50,000 to schools for solar panels, solar hot water heaters, water tanks or other energy efficiency measures.

So far, 1,800 schools have received funding and formal applications have been received from a further 700. These will be processed but no more applications will be accepted this financial year. Another 2,500 schools have registered for the scheme but have not yet made formal applications.

Schools in New South Wales received no funding for more than a year after the scheme began because of delays in the State’s centralised tendering system.

Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said it was "amazing that this government can waste $16 billion on unwanted school halls but suspend a key solar program that every school appears to want".

AGL Energy says that it will develop $6 to $7 billion in renewable energy projects in Australia over the next decade following the passage of the renewable energy target legislation.

AGL Energy’s chief executive, Michael Fraser, said that the passage of the legislation was very significant for his company and the industry. He said that in total about $25 billion to $30 billion of renewable projects would have to be built over the next decade to meet the target and that to achieve this, Australia would need about 4,500 wind turbines able to deliver around 9,000 megawatts of electricity.

Mr Fraser also said that, under the legislation, coal-fired power stations using brown coal would eventually have to shut down.

The Australian Government’s renewable energy bill has been passed the House of Representatives. The bill provides for 20 per cent of Australia’s energy needs to come from renewable sources such as solar and wind farms within a decade.

The Opposition supported the bill through the lower house after the Government agreed to split the renewable energy provisions and the cabon pollution reduction sections of the bill which was rejected by the Parliament three weeks ago and to  treat the gas created from coal-mining as a renewable energy source.

The bill is intended to help spur $28 billion of investment and the creation of 28,000 jobs in industries such as wind and solar power

Another round of negotiations will take place before the bill will is presented to the Senate, probably on Thursday (August 20).
 

Update (August 20)

The Senate has passed the Federal Government’s renewable energy target legislation.

The Nationals were unsuccessful in their bid to get compensation for food-processing industries and the Greens’ effort to have the target raised to 30 per cent also failed.

While the United States and Australian legislatures are bogged down in political disputes over the introduction of carbon trading schemes, a group of economists, climate scientists and academics has released an analysis for the the German Marshall Fund of the benefits and lessons that have come from the European Union’s Emissions Trading System.

The EU introduced a cap-and-trade system in 2005 and now has a carbon market worth 40 billion euros ($AU 67 billion) annually.

The report, titled "Climate Policy and International Competitiveness", lists ten main "insights":

1. Despite initial setbacks, carbon trading has been a success in reducing carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 50 to 100 million tonnes (2.5 to 5%) annually.
2. Everyone learns after the system has been introduced, so it must be flexible enough to be adapt over time.
3. Prices can be volatile and are impacted by unforeseen circumstances. In Europe, these have reduced prices below initial expectations.
4. The impact on gross domestic product has been small and consistently less than predicted.
5. Those industries which engage contructively in the system profit from it.
6. The impact on international competitiveness is small and isolated to a few industries.
7. Free allocation of credits degrades efficiency and can create new inefficiencies.
8. Free credits can also create windfall profits for dirty industries.
9. The best way to allocate credits is by auctioning them.
10. Any international trade difficulties should be dealt with by multilateral negotiation rather than unilateral trade barriers or subsidies.

Australian welfare, union, environment and research organisations have launched a national multi-media campaign calling on “dinosaurs” in politics and business to stop blocking urgent climate action, saying that they are holding up the creation of hundreds of thousands of new clean energy jobs.

The multimedia campaign, which includes national advertising, online communications and public information sessions, is backed by The Climate Institute, the ACTU, the Australian Council Of Social Service, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund.

Launching the campaign, John Connor, CEO of The Climate Institute CEO, said that "In a world turning to clean energy and technology, Australian industries are in danger of being left behind. Some dinosaurs in Australian politics and business are blocking climate action that will create the hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs we need now more than ever.  It’s time for these dinosaurs to evolve.”

The campaign has launched the website www.cleanenergyjobs.com.au in partnership with GetUp.

Australia’s Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has promised to create 50,000 "green" jobs and apprenticeships to combat climate change and unemployment simultaneously.

The jobs package includes 30,000 apprentice positions that will provide training in environment-friendly building practices, such as installing solar panels and water recycling systems and retrofitting homes to be more energy efficient.

There will be 10,000 positions in a national Green Jobs Corps that will provide environmental training for unemployed people between 18 and 24 and employ them in public works projects, such as planting trees and restoring walking tracks.

Funds will be provided for another 10,000 jobs that encourage sustainability and green building practices.