China coal consumption down 23% as more funds dump fossil fuels : Renew Economy

Divestment gains momentum as China reduces coal imports further:

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Deutsche Bank reported on Monday that a survey of thermal coal used in China by six major coastal electric utilities shows that consumption declined by 23 per cent yoy during the August-September period.

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In Australia this week, the $8 billion Local Government Super Fund announced it would divest $25 million of shares in companies that generate more that one-third of their income from “high carbon sensitive” activities, including coal and tar sands mining and coal-fired power generation.
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But, as the BNEF report also noted, the $5 trillion global shift out of fossil fuels will be “far from easy,” requiring a massive scale-up of new investment vehicles.
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Up to $39bln a year - the cost of unpriced energy pollution in Australia : Renew Economy

A report, released on Tuesday by the Climate Institute, has found that Australia’s polluting energy sector benefits from an annual subsidy of $14-39 billion from the unpriced cost of climate damages on economic growth, environmental systems, health, and security.

The total carbon subsidy to electricity between now and 2030 would reach $165-500 billion, even if the current RET stays in place. If the RET is curbed, the subsidy would increase by about $0.7-2 billion annually. If the RET were abolished altogether (and current arrangements grandfathered), the carbon subsidy would increase by about $0.8-2.5 billion annually.
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“Other countries like the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom recognise the economic costs of carbon pollution, and the IMF is calling on all countries to end this subsidy to fossil fuels” 

Read the full article on RenewEconomy

Enough reasons to take your saved or invested money out of the industries causing or supporting the pollution and into sustainable organisations and industries.

China added 3.3 GW of new PV capacity in the first half of 2014 : Photon

08.08.2014: 
China connected 3.3 GW of new solar generation capacity to the national grid in the first half of 2014, almost double the amount it connected in the same period last year, reports Reuters, citing figures from China’s National Energy Administration (NEA). However, the figure represents just a fraction of China’s 2014 installation goal: the NEA recently revised up its total 2014 PV target from 10 GW to 13 GW. In July 2013, the Chinese government raised its cumulative 2015 PV target from 21 GW to 35 GW, and in May 2014, the government said it planned to increase the solar target to 70 GW cumulative by 2017. China had around 20 GW of operational PV capacity at the end of 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. China aims to raise the share of non-fossil fuels in the overall energy mix to 10.7% by the end of this year from 9.8% at the end of 2013, reports Reuters.
© PHOTON

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http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL4N0QD32E20140807

Worse news for Australia as India taps solar, Beijing bans coal : Renew Economy

China is moving ahead on plans to address its pollution problem by phasing out coal.

In Delhi last week, the Indian government committed to a plan to provide low-cost loans and grants to set up some of the world’s largest solar PV parks across the country, each of them comprising as much as 20 gigawatts of capacity, about 10 times what India has built to date.
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According to official Chinese government statistics, coal use accounted for 25.4 per cent of the capital’s energy consumption in 2012 – a figure that is expected to shrink to less than 10 per cent by 2017.
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When will Abbott & Co realise that they have backed the wrong contender and break with King Coal in Australia? If they want to keep in government they need to soon!

Solar industry provides far more jobs in Australia than coal : Renew Economy

Solar industry provides far more jobs in Australia than coal : Renew Economy:

Australia’s solar industry employs a “far larger” amount of people than its fossil-fuelled power stations, a new report has found.

The report, released on Monday by The Australia Institute says that in 2014, 4,300 solar PV businesses employed 13,300 people in Australia – a vast increase on 2008 numbers, when the industry only employed 1,800 people.

This was a “far larger” amount that the total employed in Australia’s coal-fired power stations, said the report, and a good deal larger that the total number of people working in the entire electricity generation sector, which amounted to 9,487 in 2007 according to the ABS, a figure which also included those employed in gas, hydro and renewable energy generation.

Australia’s biggest existing coal-fired power generators, such as Macquarie Generation and Stanwell, employed only 642 and 800 FTE workers respectively, said the TAI.

it is estimated that an additional 8,000 jobs will be created in the four years from 2014 to 2018.

“The solar industry is likely to become an even bigger employer in the near future as the price of both solar panels and battery storage come down,” says the report.

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Energy prices crash as Queensland solar takes hold : Renew Economy

Energy prices crash as Queensland solar takes hold : Renew Economy: "Energy prices crash as Queensland solar takes hold"

Wholesale electricity prices this week in Queensland have fallen below $30/MWh – see graph below – far below the levels of other states as mild weather and sunny condition reduced demand and generated a large amount of solar electricity.
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The fall in energy prices came as Abbott blamed renewable energy for lifting retail electricity bills. On Tuesday, Queensland electricity prices did indeed rise 18 per cent, but this was almost entirely the result of soaring network costs and rising gas prices. The impact of renewable energy on retail prices actually fell.

Abbott’s comments came despite the conclusion of his own hand-picked modellers, ACIL Allen, which said the renewable energy target would lower consumer bills over the medium to long term.

This confirms conclusions reached by other analysis, despite the fact that the numbers dialled into the modeling by ACIL Allen were “fossil fuel” friendly and did not reflect the real cost of renewables.

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This graph of Queensland demand and prices on Monday and Tuesday from the Australian Energy Market Operator illustrates the problem for coal and gas generators. The middle of the day was when the fossil fuel generators used to generate most revenue, because demand was highest. Now, demand eases dramatically, as this graph shows. Demand is in the green, while the wholesale price in is the red line.

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Which Solar Panels Are The Most Efficient?

Which Solar Panels Are The Most Efficient?
One answer is given in this brilliant overview:

However, ist is questionable whether this is relevat for you.
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Abengoa mulls 20MW solar tower + storage plant in WA : Renew Economy

Abengoa mulls 20MW solar tower + storage plant in WA : Renew Economy

Already proposed for a long time by the Greens something is finally happening with the help of Spain-based renewable energy giant Abengoa. The company has secured $450,000 in funds from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to conduct a feasibility study for the project, which would be connected to the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), and could offset expensive grid upgrades, and avoid the cost of transporting expensive fossil fuels.
Just in time, regarding the wrecking ball that is swinging in Canberra.