It has long been an irony that Germany instals more solar panels than any other country, yet it receives only a fraction of the solar irradiation of a country like Australia or Spain. “At the moment, Germany dominates the solar market in Europe with a 90 percent share. But strong growth in other European countries, especially in southern Europe, will see Germany’s share fall to about 50 percent in the next few years,” Christoph Wolfsegger of EPIA told RenewableEnergyAccess.com.

Looking for news of info on renewable energy but don’t know where to look? Try searching AEoogle, the alternative energy search engine put together by Alternative Energy News and powered by Google. However there is no Australian search option, unlike Google. (more…)

The September winds are still blowing, but it’s already October! Cosequently I have been asked the same question by people from Bullaburra to Brunswick and from Fitzroy to Wentworth Falls. And I have some answers, some very funky answers!

The question: How can I use all that wind energy by putting a turbine on my roof? 

The Viability of Domestic Wind Turbines for Urban Melbourne is a report just released by the Alternative Technology Association with Sustainability Victoria which addresses this question describing the  technology, physics, planning, grid connection and economics of small scale wind turbines, and it is applicable to most urban centres in Australia.

The turbine technology looks great and keeps getting better. Take the QuietRevolution vertical axis turbine, shown above. Designed for urban parks it looks like modern sculpture. Or the Hush turbine made in Melbourne.  It’s quiet, robust and operates in low wind speeds. The WindWall is designed to be mounted on the edge of buildings to capture the updraft. And the Motorwave looks like a wall of Pacmen, with dozens of small platic rotors like toy helicopter blades. (more…)

Gippsland Austalia is home to large reserves of brown coal, a fuel of such poor quality that the world will not buy it. Instead it is burnt in Victorian power stations such as Hazelwood, shown above,  and Loy Yang. Each megawatt of electricity produces 1.55 tonnes of carbon dioxide. To put this into perspective, black coal power stations produce 1 tonne of CO2 and gas turbine power stations produce about half a tonne.

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During World War II the motivation to build weaponry was immense. Factories were retrofitted within months to make ammunition, guns and uniforms. “We can do the same thing with renewable energy”, says Derek Povel of Clean Energy for Eternity . “It’s ambitious but achievable”.

And to meet the 50/50 by 2020  goals it is necessary to be ambitious. To reduce energy use in the Bega Valley by 50% will require a radical rethink of energy efficiency. And to source 50% of electricity used in the Valley from renewable sources will require massive investment in wind, solar and biomass facilities. The timeframe is tight to achieve all this by 2020. But already nine shires in SE NSW have committed to these goals. The region has been identified as a place that supports renewable energy. People are excited by it.  (more…)

Today the sun is shining and it feels like spring has arrived. The first apricot blossom has burst and I planted zucchinis. Is this really spring or will the zucchs be killed by frost?

When we moved into our 1950s fibro and tile house we were charmed by the original bathroom. With its matching pink bath, basin and toilet, sky blue fibro walls and old fashioned taps it was both practical and durable. However the toilet used 15 Litres per flush and leaked constantly as new parts were not available. It had to go. (more…)