Archived News for Green Sector Professionals - October, 2011
The Federal Government has introduced legislation that will create the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) before the Commonwealth Parliament.
Pending the passage of the bill, ARENA will be established on 1 July 2012 and will oversee around $3.2 billion in federal funding for the renewable energy sector, such as large scale solar deployment, biomass, biofuel, ocean and geothermal. Of this, $1.5 billion is committed to existing projects, and $1.7 billion is uncommitted.
ARENA will be responsible for channelling funding to support the development of renewable energy technology as well as working in tandem with the Renewable Energy Target to drive down the costs of renewable energy and to encourage wide scale deployment.
City of Melbourne signs Environmental Upgrade Agreement
The first Environmental Upgrade Agreement has been signed under the City of Melbourne’s 1200 Building Program, opening the doors for significant investment in retrofitting Melbourne’s commercial building sector.
Government announces advisors for Clean Energy Finance Corporation
The Federal Government has announced that Jillian Broadbent will chair an expert review panel to advise the government on the design of the $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation, which will be tasked with providing a new source of finance for renewable energy, energy efficiency and low emissions technologies.
Queensland passes waste management reforms
The Queensland Government has passed its Waste Reduction and Recycling Bill through parliament that will aim to halve the amount of rubbish directed to landfill within a decade while creating thousands of green jobs while seeing millions of dollars invested into recycling and resource recovery programs.
Carbon tax passes House of Reps
The Federal Government’s suite of carbon trading legislation has passed in the House of Representatives following weeks of intensive parliamentary debate.
Think tank addresses stressed ecosystems
A team of sixty physical, natural and social scientists from around Australia have participated in the Theo Murphy High Flyers Think Tank aimed at assisting in policy generation for managing the country’s most stressed ecosystems.
Victoria announces terms of reference for marine assessment council
The Victorian Government has tabled the final Terms-of-Reference for the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council investigation into the state’s existing marine parks and other marine protected areas.
Jindabyne Dam opens with historic high
The Jindabyne Dam's gates have opened, starting the largest environmental flow into the Snowy River in almost 40 years.
Government releases solar power discussion paper
The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism has published a discussion paper on large-scale deployment of solar power in Australia following a roundtable held earlier in the year.
Victoria announces biofuel funding
The Victorian Government has announced a $500,000 grant for the construction of a new bio-energy production centre in Echuca in the state’s north.
Olympic Dam expansion receives environmental approval
The Federal Government has announced that the proposed expansion of BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine in South Australia has received environmental approval.
Industrial air-conditioning technology awarded cleantech prize
An industrial air-conditioning technology that stands to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption by up to 85 per cent has won the Australian Clean Technologies Ideas Competition
Government releases alpine climate change summary report
The Federal Government has released the Caring for our Australian Alps Catchments summery report, a technical assessment report for policy makers that details a number of key findings for the future of catchments from the Australian Alps.
Tasmania releases next Climate Futures report
The Tasmanian State Government has published the latest report of the Climate Futures for Tasmania Project, entitled ‘Extreme Events’.
CCS centre gets state funding
The Victorian Government has announced $500,000 in funding for the creation of the new centre for Geological Carbon Storage in a bid to support the emerging Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) industry.
Capability teams to assist water and clean tech industry
The Federal Government has announced the formation of new Industry Capability Teams to assist small to medium water and clean technology firms access new domestic and international customers.
New photosynthesis findings published
A team of US, Dutch and Australian scientists have published a paper that estimates the global rate of photosynthesis, the chemical process that governs how ocean and land plants absorb and release carbon dioxide.
Sydney Water wins recycling awards
Sydney Water has won two awards for its $209 million St Marys Water Recycling Project which provides up to 50 million litres of high quality recycled water a day that flows into the Hawkesbury-Nepean River.
Expressions of interest called for Contract to Close
The Contract for Closure Program aims to support the closure of around 2,000 megawatts of highly emissions-intensive electricity capacity by 2020. Under the scheme, eligible generators can seek payment from the Government as part of a competitive tender process to retire their operations by an agreed date and will remain as a voluntary process.
Carbon price impacts released by Treasury
Treasury has released a more detailed modelling of the impact of a $23 carbon price on household expenditure for the Clean Energy Future package announced on 10 July 2011.
Auditor General urges more environmental focus on mining compliance
Western Australia’s Auditor General Colin Murphy has submitted a report to State Parliament outlining his the need for increased focus on compliance with mining conditions in the state.