Posts Tagged ‘energy’
Advanced Permaculture Principles and Planning Tools
Posted in Events, Movements by Holmgren Design Services on August 19th, 2010
This four-day residential course is designed to deepen understanding of permaculture principles, and improve conceptual skills and planning tools for permaculture practitioners, designers, activists and teachers. A Permaculture Design Certificate and prior reading of Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability are highly desirable for participants to successfully gain from the course, and contribute to it. The core of these courses is the presentation and workshopping in groups of the format of design principles from Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability. Additional presentations and group work focus on Reading Landscape, Landscape Mapping, Energy Descent Scenarios and Community Mapping. David Holmgren presents permaculture ideas through practical projects and personal example, providing a refreshing and unorthodox approach to the environmental issues of our time.
Saturday 18th to Tuesday 21st September 2010
Hepburn Primary School, Main Road, HEPBURN VIC 3461
Cost $530, includes meals and camping on-site.
For more info email info@holmgren.com.au or phone 03 5348 3636. www.holmgren.com.au
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Dr Alex Wonhas: CSIRO
Posted in Events by Mark Ogge on July 30th, 2010
Image: CSIRO
A monthly discussion group hosted by Beyond Zero Emissions focusing on energy solutions to climate change.
August guest speaker: Dr Alex Wonhas, Director, Energy Transformed Flagship CSIRO.
Dr Alex Wonhas joined CSIRO directly from McKinsey & Company where he was one of the co-authors of McKinsey’s Carbon Abatement Cost Curve for Australia. He took up the role as CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship Director in August 2009. The Flagship aims to lower greenhouse gas emissions by providing sustainable, efficient, cost-effective energy solutions. Dr Wonhas will present an overview of his work including:
- Australia’s first Zero Emissions House (Aus ZEH),
- Energy efficiency for commercial buildings,
- Web-based smart metering system,
- Ultra batteries (super capacitor + lead acid battery hybrid),
- Distributed energy systems (using microturbines, PV, wind, demand mangement, etc),
- Solar Brayton Cycle demonstration system.
Come prepared with lots of questions as it is rare that we have a guest speaker with the breadth of knowledge as Dr Wonhas. He will appear via Skype video link.
Further reading:
http://www.csiro.com/people/Alex.Wonhas.html
http://www.csiro.com/org/Energy-Transformed-Flagship-Overview.html
Event location: 2nd Floor, Kindness House, 288 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
Time: 6.30 – 8 pm, Monday 2nd August 2010
Cost: Gold coin donation
Wheelchair access available via lift; 2 flights of stairs. Happy to assist with access. Please call 0421 272 884 to arrange.
All welcome
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Australian Stationary Energy Plan: 100% Renewable Energy in 10 Years
Posted in Events, Research by Mark Ogge on July 9th, 2010
Please join us for the launch of the Stationary Energy Plan, the culmination of over 12 months and thousands of hours of pro bono work by engineers, scientists and postgraduate students. The plan is a collaboration between the climate solutions think tank Beyond Zero Emissions, and the University of Melbourne Energy Institute. This plan is unique in Australia. It has been put together in a collaborative way involving over 50 technical experts.
It is a detailed and costed blueprint for transitioning our stationary energy sector to 100% renewable energy in ten years. The technologies utilised in this plan are commercially available now.
This free public lecture will cover the details of the plan as well as the state of renewable energy in Australia more broadly. A panel discussion will follow the presentations.
Wednesday 14 July, 6-8pm
Basement Theatre, The Spot
198 Berkeley St, Carlton
Speakers:
John Daley (CEO, Grattan Institute)
Keith Lovegrove (Solar Thermal Group Leader, ANU)
Lane Crockett (General Manager, Pacific Hydro)
Matthew Wright (Director Beyond Zero Emissions)
The full report will be made available for the first time on 14 July, free to download from the Beyond Zero Emissions website or hard copy for purchase. A flyer for the lecture is available here.
For further information contact the Melbourne Energy Institute:
T: +61 3 8344 3519
F: +61 3 8344 7761
E: mei-info@unimelb.edu.au
W: www.energy.unimelb.edu.au
We hope you can join us for this important event. No RSVP required.
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Managing Victoria’s Electricity Demand: Seminar
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on June 22nd, 2010
Source: Climate Action Calendar
Transition Management: Institute for Social Research
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on May 27th, 2010
Presenter
Professor Derk Loorbach, Dutch Research Institute for Transitions, Erasmus University, Rotterdam and Visiting Distinguished Researcher at the Institute for Social Research at Swinburne University of Technology
The issue
Australia has ‘inherited’ from the 20th century highly liveable but unsustainable cities, and a very cheap but unsustainable energy system. These and other challenges have been catalogued in Transitions: Pathways Towards Sustainable Urban Development in Australia (2008, Springer and CSIRO Publishers). Visions of where our urban, water, energy, transport and housing systems could be by 2050 have been advanced, but the process of transformation is proving to be intractable.
Towards a solution
Professor Derk Loorbach is a pioneer in Transition Management (TM) and author of a 2007 book with that title. At the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT) at Erasmus University, he and his colleagues have led several major TM initiatives, including a national energy transition program, urban transitions in Rotterdam Harbour and city, among many others. Professor Loorbach will outline the TM process invented at DRIFT, together with case studies, and reflect on its potential for application in Australia.
Running sheet for the event
Professor Peter Newton from ISR at Swinburne University of Technology will briefly outline AHURI’s Greyfield Regeneration project he is leading with Monash and RMIT Universities before introducing Professor Loorbach.Following Professor Loorbach’s presentation there will be a brief wrap-up by ARUP who will introduce the Melbourne Transformation Cluster initiative. The session concludes with light refreshments, drinks and informal networking.
When
5.30pm – 7.00pm Thursday 10 June 2010 (presentation followed by drinks and light refreshments)
Where
Level 5, 215 Spring Street Melbourne (ARUP)
RSVP
Before Monday 7 June 2010 Email: isradmin@swin.edu.au Telephone: 03 9214 5978 (seating is limited)
www.sisr.net
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Replace Hazelwood with Clean Energy: Ongoing Campaign
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on May 25th, 2010
A growing coalition of community groups are campaigning for the State and Federal governments to make an election commitment to replace Hazelwood power station with clean energy by 2012. This will be a key election test for the Federal and State Labor governments. Hazelwood is the dirtiest coal fired power station in Australia and one of the most polluting in the developed world.
Upcoming actions & events
6.30pm, Tuesday 25 May Public forum on Climate Change and Our Energy Choices, Concert Hall, rear of the Coburg Town Hall, 90 Bell St Coburg. (Climate Action Moreland)
Join us in Door Knocking the inner city throughout June
7pm-9pm Wed June 23 Community Forum – Truth and Lies about climate change – the science and solutions, Northcote Town Hall, High St. Darebin Climate Action Network
July 19 National Day of Action (details soon)
Sign a letter to State Politicians
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Community Power Program discontinued: Other Options
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on May 6th, 2010
Source: Moreland Energy Foundation
Community Power was a partnership program of Darebin, Whitehorse and Moreland City Councils and MEFL aiming to increase the uptake of GreenPower in the community. The program, which ran from 2002 to 2010, assisted local households and businesses to take action on climate change by switching to GreenPower products endorsed by Community Power.
The GreenPower market has matured and grown since the inception of Community Power and there are now a large number of different offers available to the community. As a result, recently we have found the low number of new households signing up to Community Power offers has not warranted the resources invested by the partner organisations.
For this reason, in March 2010, Moreland Energy Foundation and partners resolved to discontinue the Community Power program. Residents who have signed up with a Community Power Energy Plan will not be affected by the finalisation of the program; their Energy Plan will remain valid.
If you would like to find out about some of the best GreenPower offers available to you, we encourage you to take a look at the Green Electricity Watch website, which rates accredited GreenPower products so you can make an informed choice.
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Electric Cars: Not good enough
Posted in Opinion by Kate Archdeacon on April 29th, 2010
Source: Going Solar Transport Newsletter
“There’s no quick fix to either the energy shortage or climate change. In the longer term, we’re all going to have to use less energy, and that means smaller houses, less plastic junk that we don’t really need and less wasted trips in our cars.”
From Electric Cars a Major Environmental Threat:
Despite their ‘green’ image, electric cars are often less efficient and more polluting than the petrol cars they replace, according to a major report released today [23-03-10]. The 168-page report, titled The Emperor’s New Car, is described as a ‘long-overdue reality check’ by its author, car expert Clive Matthew-Wilson. The report was prepared in consultation with several internationally-recognised energy experts. Matthew-Wilson, who edits the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide, says: “The car industry is selling a false image of efficient, environmentally-friendly electric cars powered by ‘green’ energy. In reality, electric cars often aren’t very efficient and aren’t very green.”
The report was highly critical of the iconic Tesla electric sports car, which has become the international symbol of chic, environmentally-responsible motoring. “The Tesla is actually not very efficient at all. Most of Tesla’s publicity focuses on the efficiency of its electric motor. What they don’t tell you is that its batteries are heavy, inefficient and that Teslas are frequently powered by electricity from highly polluting power stations.”
“Despite what most people believe, a high percentage of the world’s electricity is produced using dirty fuels like coal. This isn’t going to change anytime soon; in fact, the widespread introduction of electric cars will probably increase the world’s reliance on coal in order to keep up with the increased demand for electricity.”
“Claims that electric cars are ‘emissions-free’ are simply a lie; they merely transfer the pollution from the road to the power station. Not only will electric cars not reduce emissions, they may actually increase emissions, because burning coal to make electricity to power an electric car creates more pollution than if you simply powered the same vehicle using petrol.”
“Renewable energy sources may be growing fast, but they’re still a tiny percentage of the world’s electricity supply and they’ll stay that way for the foreseeable future, because renewable energy sources tend to be far more expensive than fossil fuels.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Proposed changes to the Renewable Energy Target: Advocacy update
Posted in Opinion by Kate Archdeacon on April 9th, 2010
Source: Zero Carbon Moreland
Image: richardmasoner via flickr CC
The Federal Government has recently announced proposed changes to the national Renewable Energy Target (RET). Those changes are aiming to provide more support to Australia’s fledgling wind energy industry and also address issues with the existing Solar Credits Scheme. MEFL has expressed concerns with the current Solar Credits Scheme, and therefore we welcome these proposed changes.
The proposal removes small-scale renewable energy, such as roof-top solar electricity and solar hot water, from the main RET. Instead all small renewables will become part of the Small Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES). For homeowners, the SRES provides greater certainty as well as ensuring that your investment in renewable energy is additional to the national target, which is a very good thing! For more information on the changes, visit MEFL’s Advocacy Blog.
Switch Off for Earth Hour: Saturday 27
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on March 25th, 2010
Source: Climate Action Calendar
Image: Perth Skyline by EarthHourGlobal via flickr CC
Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Approximately 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses took part in the first year. In 2008, Earth Hour involved between 50 and 100 million people in 370 cities and towns around the world, including Chicago, Toronto, Copenhagen, Dublin, Atlanta and Bangkok took part. An independent survey found that 58 per cent of people in Australian capital cities joined in by switching off their lights.
In 2009, the concept truly went global, with Earth Hour triggering people to “switch off” all over the world – from the Eiffel Tower in Paris to Times Square in New York. Millions of people in over 4,000 towns and municipalities in 88 countries took part. 2009 was also an important year for the UN climate negotiations. In December 2009, world leaders and climate negotiators gathered at UN climate talks in Copenhagen to agree to a deal to follow the Kyoto Protocol, which Australia ratified in 2007.
Switch off your lights for an hour at 8:30pm this Saturday, March 27
Visit the website for more information on actions in Australia & around the world.