Big energy savings waiting to be made from rethinking cultural values of housing; orientation and materials both potential contributors to savings, says WA Libera

Speaking on the National Environment Protection Council (Western Australia) Amendment Bill 2007 in the Western Australia Legislative Assembly on 9 September 2007, Liberals’ A.J. Simpson said that issues surrounding the environment must be looked at very hard.

Western Australia 5 Star Plus scheme motion demands government provides audited cost benefit analysis, identifies costs to taxpayers and other regimes examined

An amendment to delete part of a motion moved by Ray Halligan critical of Western Australia’s 5 Star Plus scheme was passed in the Legislative Council on 19 September 2007.

Burma military energy economics: bought fuel in US dollars; sold in the local currency, the kyat.

While the military reaped rich profits from selling quotas on the black market, the Ministry of Energy subsidised the price of petrol. It lost money on each transaction because the ministry bought fuel internationally in US dollars but sold in the local currency, the kyat.

Energy price riot backlash: Military rent-a-crowd pays 90c per rioter; 1000 people remain in custody at unknown locations in Burma

About 1000 people remained in custody at unknown locations in Burma since last month’s rallies, and concern for their safety had grown, reported The Australian (15/10/2007, p. 10).

Tasmania daylight savings runs from 2am on first Sunday of October until 2am Sunday, April 6: most eastern states to conform next year

According to David Killick, this weekend, for the last time, Tasmania would enter a time zone of its own, reported The Mercury (3/10/2007, p. 3).

High-rises consume disproportionate amounts of energy, costing up to 50pc more than conventional homes: programs study successful ways to keep consumption and costs down

EnergyAustralia demand management senior consultant Paul Myors said that residents wanted to reduce their energy costs and cut their greenhouse emissions, according to Carolyn Boyd reported in The Australian Financial Review (3/10/2007, p. 9).

Leading edge data centre concept used to build business case for ACT gas generator: ActewAGL, Galileo Connect and Technical Real estate consortium examines $200m idea

According to John Thistleton, the latest data centres were known as data pods, and could be dovetailed into other data pods and scaled up as institutions grow, reported The Canberra Times (6/10/07, p. B23).Race for market share: One pod was worth about $70 million, Thistleton reported. Galileo Connect, a data centre designer leading the market in Brit­ain and Europe, was partnering Act­ewAGL’s foray into the Asia Pacific data centre market. In a race with Singapore and Hong Kong to capture market share, they were proposing 20 pods in Hume and 10 in Belconnen, powered by a $200 million gas generator that would bring a host of other benefits to Canberra.

Cashing in on reliance on computers: The notion of using data centres to build a business case for a gas generator was explored by Act­ewAGL’s commercial development team, which began looking at the market — dividing it into successes and failures and talking to chief executives in Britain and the United States, as well as independent consultants. Galileo Connect, ActewAGL and investor Technical Real Estate had formed Canberra Technology City and had been pitching their plans to large institutions in Melbourne and Sydney this week. Next week they travel to Singapore and Hong Kong to test the new data centre model with multi­nationals and governments whose reliance on computer back-up is growing every week. Technical Real Estate’s financial backer is the listed real estate inves­tor and developer Thakral Holdings.

One way to keep the lights on: Most data centres in the world were capable of achieving 800 watts per square metre (w/sm), the better ones 1000w/sm. Galileo was planned to deliver 1500w/sm scaleable up to 4500w/sm. Asked how ActewAGL could spawn such a venture when it could not get a return from services pro­vider TransACT, which had cost Canberrans $100 million in capital investment, ActewAGL’s chief executive John Mackay said that was absolute rub­bish. The Government’s investment in TransACT was less than 20 per cent of the overall investment, the rest coming from private investors, he said. “Our primary aim is to get a gas-fired power station in Canberra which will provide security of supply, so that is highly legitimate for a government to support — it’s keeping the lights on,” said McKay. A briefing on the data centre project would be held in Canberra on October 15.

The Canberra Times, 6/10/2007, p. B23

New book by sustainable energy expert advocates biomass solutioon to produce 30 per cent of current energy needs

Neither “clean coal” nor the construc­tion of nuclear energy plants was a necessary or sufficient answer to Australia’s climate chal­lenge, and Dr Mark Diesendorf of UNSW’s Institute of Environmental Studies believed we were losing precious time investing in these two options when much safer options were available, said professor Bob Douglas in The Canberra Times (6/10/2007, p. B18).

Air fares to rise: flights to or from Europe to be included in the ETS from 2012, replacing current voluntary payments of around $75

Climate change costs will make travel to Australia more expensive, wrote Peter Forsyth in The Age (4/10/07, p. B7).

On day to review Federal Bill that gives powers to summons people without documenting reasons, force evidence, and create retrospective criminal sanction

The Law Council of Australia and the Democrats accused the Government of trying to rush through Amendments to the Australian Crime Commission Bill “The bill will abrogate a fundamental human right not to be subject to retrospective criminal sanction,” said Democrats senator Natasha Stott Despoja.

Credit markets around the world freeze: UK Bank collapses, street queues: rush of customers desperate to withdraw money from accounts, 9 August

Northern Rock, the provincial also-ran which, in less than a decade, had transformed itself into one of the UK’s biggest lenders, – £100 billion ($238 billion) mortgage portfolio – was in trouble and the court of the Bank of England was required to meet in emergency session to decide its fate.

Natural gas and renewable generation options, combined with demand side measures, to meet demand for electrical energy services at tenth to half greenhouse-intensity of a coal-fired power station using super-critical technology

In a submission to the Owen Inquiry into Electricity Supply in NSW, energy and environment consultant George Wilkenfeld said the rapid enhancement of demand side programs, the introduction of carbon pricing and strengthening the support for renewables and small-scale generation, along with increasing net imports from Victorian and Queensland, should delay the need for new baseload generation.

Western Power received 721 written queries, concerns or complaints from customers in the metropolitan area in the 12 months to 30 May 2007

Western Power received 721 written queries, concerns or complaints from customers in the metropolitan area in the 12 months to 30 May 2007, said Western Australian Energy Minister Fran logan on 14 August 2007.

Energy Minister offers Queensland blackout free summers: Energex big brother plan to control robot aircon; and gen contracts ready for demand-spikes

Energy Minister Geoff Wilson claims Queensland will survive the summer without a drought-inspired blackout or load shedding. Wilson said a taskforce and a separate independent review had found electricity supply would be secure this summer. “The advice from the taskforce is there will be secure supplies for this summer,’ reported The Courier Mail, 21/9/2007, p. 11.

Cost of storm damage that swept Hunter Valley and Central Coast likely to hit $1.5 billion

The cost of the damage caused by the devastating storms that swept through the Hunter Valley and Central Coast in June is likely to hit $1.5 billion in terms of insurance payouts reported The Sydney Morning Herald (25/8/2007, p. 6).

People’s response to environmental issues and business depends on their age and family circumstances

BP analysis revealed that people aged 18-29 want to be seen to be doing the right thing but are less likely to do much more than recycling, reported The Age (30/8/2007, p.B4).

New policy: Queensland to phase out off-peak electric hot water systems: new energy deal revealed by Minister

In three years time the state government will also start to phase out electric hot water . “Just a five per cent reduction in household and business electricity consumption in Queensland over 10 years would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 14 million tonnes”, said C.A. Wallace, Queensland’s Minister for Natural Resources and Water, in the Queensland Legislative Assembly on 5 September 2007.

Nightmare for Qld Ergon customers: $60,000 access fees, at $500 per metre for underground cable to new homes

The cost of accessing electricity from the state power grid – something that most Queenslanders took for granted – was an issue that had been raising its head more and more often in her electorate, said Tablelands MLA Lee Long in the Queensland Legislative Assembly on 5 September 2007.

Desal emissions; 0.08kg to 5.2kg of CO2/m3: low, if the process was 100 percent driven by waste heat; if NSW coal, then 5.2kg of CO2 per m3

The analysis of emissions’ intensity of various desalination technologies showed that MSF distillation emissions could be as low as 1.98kg of CO2/m3 if the process was 100 percent driven by waste heat, according to the WWF’s Phil Dickie.

Electricity as a weapon in an unwinnable war: Sri Lanka orders blackouts, to deny Tigers visibility: home generators essential Colombo white-ware

With Lankans in front of TVs, gripped by their cricketing heroes jousting with Gilchrist in the cricket world cup final they would lose in Barbados, the Tigers’ jerry-built “air force” staged a raid on the capital. The Government ordered the power supply cut, to deny the Tigers visibility. But Lankans have long known that the Ceylon Electricity Board cannot service the national grid, so home generators are de rigueur.