The circular economy is one with the idea that when a product fails or is replaced, it can be broken down into its components, and then these components can be processed and stripped back to raw materials, and made into new products. Recycling an air conditioner would involve taking it apart, separating all the different
The state of Victoria, in the south east of Australia, is similar to many western nations in that the use of electricity from centralized electricity generators on the grid is on the wane, as illustrated in the graph below, and is a leading cause of emissions reduction. Electricity consumption is down 17% compared with 2008
Over the last couple of weeks Australia’s coalition government have branded Labor and the Greens as having “an ideological hatred of coal.” According to the Oxford dictionary, the definition of Ideology is “A system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.” Throughout history humankind has
Last year’s 1 in 50 year storm in South Australia which knocked out transmission lines and cut power to the state bought a new term to the debate about the reliability of renewable power – “frequency control”. After the loss of the transmission line wind turbines went off line, as they were designed to, one
Reducing carbon emissions is a scientific imperative, yet yesterday (1 February) Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that Australia needed more synchronous base-load power, and that we would continue to use coal for many decades. He stated that “it is clear that the coalition stands for cheaper energy” and that “we are approaching this issue clear-eyed,
“From boardrooms to battlefields and churches, to states, why being in charge isn’t what it used to be.” For those of us who are interested in how to stop climate change this simple sentence provides insights into why it seems such a struggle. The theme of this 2013 book by Moisés Naím is that power
In some developed economies around the world the solar business is getting tougher, much tougher, as policy support ratchets back. In Australia this has been well underway for 3 years, and the number of rooftop solar installations in 2015 was roughly one third of what it was in 2011. Sure, the average system size has
At current trends 2016 will be the last year in which new rooftop solar makes much of an impact on Australia’s carbon emissions. There is a widening gap between the rhetoric about solar and the performance of the rooftop solar industry, which is now in hospital with its vital signs not looking great. A key
The state of Victoria has invited public consultation on its Renewable Energy Roadmap (now closed): My response to this consultation is below, focused on how 8020 thinking can be applied to achieving 100% renewable energy. 80-20 thinking applied to the Victorian Renewable Energy Roadmap The Victorian government is to be applauded for its consultation on
