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.

Insurance expert, Dr Peter Hoeppe, has told the ABC’s Lateline Business programme that weather-related insurance payouts in Australia have quadrupled since the early 1980′s.

Dr Hoeppe is the head of risk research at Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurers. He also chairs the German Government’s Climate Protection Strategy Forum.

Dr Hoeppe explained that "we unfortunately see quite some trends in weather-related disasters, increasing trends worldwide, also in Australia, for example, the weather related events have quadrupled. We have four times the number of loss relevant event in Australia nowadays compared to the early 1980s for example."

He added that the trend only applies to weather-related events – not to other catastrophies such as earthquakes, tsunamis or volcanoes. "We think something in the atmosphere has changed and this change is contributing to these increasing trends, definitely," he said.

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Australia’s 2009-10 Federal Budget has added $4.8 billion dollars to funds earmarked for projects related to climate change and carbon emission reduction – bringing its total commitment to $15 billion. Just a year ago, after the 2008-09 Budget, the total funding was just $2.3 billion, almost entirely allocated to "clean coal".

From the new funds, $2 billion will be spent over nine years developing between two and four industrial scale carbon capture and storage projects. These are expected to include a carbon dioxide storage hub and projects to demonstrate a range of technologies to capture carbon dioxide from coal-fired power stations.

$1.5 billion will be spent over six years on building four large-scale solar power plants to generate up to one gigawatt of electricity – about as much as a coal-fired power station and almost three times as much as the largest solar power plant currently in operation. According to the Melbourne Age, one of these "solar flagship" projects will be a solar farm in the Mildura region originally announced by then-Prime Minister John Howard but without any commitment of Federal funds. The Victorian Government has already promised to contribute $100 million to the project if it goes ahead. (See http://www.aussierenewables.com.au/news/?p=31 for more on this proposal.)

The government will also establish a new organization, to be called Renewables Australia, which will receive $465 million over four years to support the development and commercialization of renewable-energy technology.

The US economic stimulus package contains an innovative provision for renewable energy development that could be copied elsewhere at very little cost to the taxpayer.

Currently, projects such as solar, wind or wave power development involve a large initial cost with the financial returns spread over a long period. Companies undertaking these developments incur an initial loss which is carried forward and eventually offset against profits to reduce tax. The new US provision allows such developers to swap their future tax credits for immediate cash from the Department of Energy. The companies can then use this cash to fund part of the development with no significant net cost to the taxpayer over the longer term.

Other provisions of the stimulus plan include $5 billion for "weatherization" of more than a million homes, $4.5 billion for energy upgrades of government buildings, $4.5 billion to upgrade the electricity grid and $8 billion for new high-speed rail systems.

In a last-minute deal to get its $42 billion economic stimulus package passed, the Australia’s governing Labor Party has agreed to a compromise deal with independent Senator Nick Xenopon. The amended package will include a commitment to spend $900 million on water management, made up of $500 million in the next three and a half years to buy back water in the Murray-Darling Basin, $200 million in grants to assist local communities in water saving and planning for the future and $200 million for stormwater harvesting projects.

Meanwhile,  the US Senate-House Conference Committee has amended America’s $790 billion economic stimulus package to exclude nuclear and "clean coal" projects from obtaining benefits under the $50 billion Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program which is intended for renewable energy projects.

As part of its "Nation Building" programme, the Australian Government has promised to provide free ceiling insulation and  installation, worth up to $1,600, for all homes which are not currently insulated. The Government estimates that there are 2.2 million such homes and that home owners will save an average of $200 a year by having ceiling insulation.

For rented premises, the Government will double the rebate under the Low Emission Plan for Renters to give landlords $1,000 for installing insulation. The Government estimates that 500,000 properties will be affected.

The Government expects that its $3.9 billion investment in the programme will provide jobs for tradespeople and semi-skilled workers in the manufacturing, distribution and installation of ceiling insulation during the global recession and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 49.4 million tonnes – the equivalent of taking more than 1 million cars off the road.

The Government also increased the solar hot-water rebate from $1000 to $1600, effective until June 30, 2012.

The Australian Federal Government has announced $500,000 funding to help local councils across the country respond to climate change.

The money will be made available under the second phase of the Local Adaptation Pathways Program and individual councils will be able to apply for up to $75,000.

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said that "To tackle climate change we need a whole-of-economy, whole-of-community response. We need action from the grass roots and we also need policy at the national and international level to make the sorts of changes that are required."

A new study has found that Victoria could slash carbon emissions much faster than State Government predictions.

The report, commissioned by Environment Victoria, used the same models as a 2007 State Government study which said that emissions could be cut to 47 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050. The new Environment Victoria analysis found that emissions could be slashed to 46 per cent of 1990 levels by 2020.

The new study assumed sustainable production methods were used, that new and existing buildings were given green overhauls and that coal-fired power was replaced by gas and renewable energy sources.

Environment Victoria campaigns director Mark Wakeham said that "For example, if Victoria’s entire building stock was given a green makeover to improve water and energy efficiency, we could cut Victoria’s emissions by more than 8.6 million tonnes a year by 2020, as well as cutting energy bills.

"By ensuring the goods we buy are durable, recyclable, necessary and have a minimal carbon footprint, we could reduce emissions by 12 million tonnes a year by 2020."

Professor Ross Garnaut, Australia’s climate change advisor, has handed down the second part of his report on greenhouse gas reduction.

Professor Garnaut’s report says that ideally Australia should aim to reduce emissions to 25% below 2000 levels by 2020 but concedes that this target is probably unattainable. It suggests that an attainable target, if an international post-Kyoto agreement is reached by 2013, would be to reduce emissions to 10% below 2000 levels by 2020. If there is no agreement, then only a 5% target would be realistic.

To achieve the 10% target, the report says that a price of $20 per tonne of carbon emitted needs to be set from 2010, rising by 4% plus inflation per annum from 2012 until 2020. Setting a higher price would drive industry offshore and not achieve greater emission reductions.

In other words, carbon trading can only deliver a 10% reduction at best by 2020 – although a much higher reduction of 25% is desirable.

In the longer term, the report recommends a target of an 80% reduction by 2050 – higher than the 60% reduction target set by the Government.

In international negotiations, the report says that Australia should  argue for stabilisation at 450 parts of carbon dioxide per million although 550 parts per million is more likely to be agreed. Even 450 parts per million would not guarantee saving sensitive areas like the Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia.