Archived News for Green Sector Professionals

The Clean Energy Council has countered media reports that the cost of solar energy is now cheaper than that of coal fired electricity, saying they are “premature and inaccurate”.

Clean Energy Council chief executive Matthew Warren said solar electricity was becoming more affordable, more efficient and more reliable, but it still needed responsible government assistance to compete with carbon-based electricity generation.

"Claims that the cost of solar energy are competitive with coal, while intended to be constructive, risk doing more harm than good. Leading solar industry analysts expect that the falling cost of solar will meet the rising the cost of fossil fuel electricity somewhere between 2015-2018. At this point we will achieve what is known in the industry as 'grid parity'.

"If solar electricity was at or very close to grid parity anywhere in Australia at the moment then systems would be going up on every roof and every business without government assistance. That simply isn't the case yet.

"We have seen a big fall in the cost of these systems over the past decade and it's clear that solar energy is going to play a major role in Australia’s energy supply over the rest of this century," he said.

Mr Warren said the industry was currently on a knife-edge.

"Since the closure of the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme we have seen the industry come to a complete standstill. We have come so far in developing this exciting clean energy industry. But we still have to finish the job," Mr Warren said.

"Delivering a safe, efficient and responsible solar industry is like landing a plane. We're approaching the runway, but we haven't landed yet. If we cut the engines now the plane will still crash," he said.

"Government support for solar energy has been one of the success stories of the 21st century. We now have sufficient scale, expertise and competition to deliver this technology affordably across Australia.

"If we cut off support at this point, we damn hundreds of solar businesses that have helped deliver this transformation, along with thousands of solar jobs."

The Federal Greens have warned that billions of dollars worth of coal seam gas investment may become standard assets within decades.

Keep Australia Beautiful has published its National Litter Index 2011 report which has found a slight decrease in the national litter rate across the 983 in the 2010/11 period.

Federal Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has announced that the Government’s planned carbon tax will be introduced before parliament in September and could be legislated before the end of the year.

Western Australia's southwest is particularly vulnerable to climate change as rising sea levels threaten coastal homes and a drying trend curbs water supply,  according to a new report by the Climate Commission.

The American National Science Foundation (NSF) has published research that indicates that Artic sea ice melt could temporarily stabilize or expand at times over the next few decades.

Professor Helene Marsh, from James Cook University, has been appointed to head the national Threatened Species Scientific Committee.

A report co-published by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has found that strong action on climate change would lead to job growth on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

Ausgrid, one of Australia’s largest electricity distributors, has reported that the company is experiencing an unprecedented drop in household power demand.

The Victorian Government has launched a $5.5 Million Metropolitan Local Government Waste and Resource Recovery Fund to support implementation of the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Strategic Plan.

The funding, sourced from the Landfill levy, will be used by the Metropolitan Waste Management Group (MWMG) to support coordination of local government's waste management and resource recovery activities. The Group has legislated responsibility to work with the 30 metropolitan councils, covering the area where 70 percent of Victoria's waste is generated.

Chair of the Metropolitan Waste Management Group, Councillor Heinz Kreutz said it was important that councils are supported in their efforts to promote recycling and reduce our reliance on landfill.

"The Metropolitan Waste Management Group will work closely with local government to help identify practical projects that will enable councils to tackle waste reduction and improved resource recovery in their communities.

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A report has been released by the Economic Regulation Authority of Western Australia which finds that the electricity market in the South West of Western Australia is at a cross-road and warns against higher power prices due to renewable energy incentives.

The Federal Government has released the Australia's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: Update report which provides estimates of Australia's national greenhouse gas inventory based on the latest available data and the accounting rules that apply for the Kyoto Protocol.

Steep costs and falling public support for Japan’s controversial whaling program have prompted the first serious moves by the country’s influential Fisheries Agency to consider ending the practice.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has announced its support for the creation of a co-operative research centre (CRC) for Cotton Regions.

Internationally recognised conservation and environmental scientist Professor Helene Marsh has been appointed the chair of the Australian Government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee.

The Australian Solar Institute (ASI) and the Federal Government have launched a co-funded $9.5 million solar energy scheme designed to make solar energy a competitive choice for consumers, with the ASI contributing $3.2 million.

Australia could achieve significantly greater than expected emissions reductions by 2020 if the Federal Government successfully implements its carbon pricing package, according to research conducted by environmental think-tank ClimateWorks Australia.

The Federal Government has opened the Emerging Rewnables program for promising renewable energy technology projects.

The Federal Minister for Sustainability, Tony Burke, has released the final national heritage assessment of the West Kimberly region by the Australian Heritage Council (AHC).

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings have signed an agreement on the extend of forestry and conservation following an extended collaboration and consultation period.