New technologies could make the switch to solar more affordable for renters and apartment dwellers.
- Senior Industry Fellow, Environment and Planning, RMIT University
People who switch from gas to reverse-cycle air conditioning to heat their homes still want to feel comfortable. Some don’t. Home electrification programs must tackle the causes of the problem.
Thinking about getting your home off gas, but don’t know where to begin? Here’s a few handy tips to get you on your way.
The ban on gas connections to new homes in Victoria reflects global trends and will ultimately save households money and cut their emissions.
Toys are the most plastic-intensive consumer goods in the world. So how can we avoid movie tie-in fads adding to the surging plastic waste problem?
Heat pumps use a fraction of the energy of traditional electric or gas heaters, which means they slash both energy costs and emissions.
The first upgrade to minimum energy-efficiency standards in a decade will cut emissions and energy costs for the 5.5 million houses to be built by 2050. Retrofitting homes is an equally urgent task.
A suite of proposed changes to energy efficiency section of the National Construction Code are a good step forward. However, a lot more can be done.
Victoria’s $800 million energy efficiency plan promises to lower power bills, make homes more comfortable and help meet our climate goals. It’s high time other states picked this low-hanging fruit.
Australia’s international reputation depends on rejecting the use of Kyoto carry-over. More importantly, so does our climate.
Australia’s government insists it is on track to surpass its emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement. But while that may be true, it will only happen with some clever accounting.
At the end of 2017, Australia is starting to (slowly) address our energy problems. But it’s also clear the federal government has abdicated leadership and responsibility.
The federal government has announced a new National Energy Guarantee focused on electricity reliability, after deciding not to implement a clean energy target.
As the Clean Energy Target fades away, perhaps a Dispatchable Reliable Energy Target will be innocuous enough to pass the Liberal party room and the Senate.
Federal energy policy failure is provoking action at other levels – it’s multi-layered democracy in action.
We need to remember that baseload coal power stations won’t help cope with peak demand – the issue that will determine whether people in elevators are trapped by a sudden blackout, per Barnaby Joyce.
Energy certainty is unattainable, because of disruptive change and multiple agendas. But we can deliver affordable, reliable, clean energy services. Governments will have to adapt.
A report released this week by the Australian Council of Social Service has pointed out that many vulnerable households cannot access rooftop solar and efficient appliances, describing the issue as a serious…
The idea that Australia’s national electricity market is either useful or feasible has simply passed.
Chief Scientist Alan Finkel has attempted to address the energy ‘trilemma’: electricity that’s cheap, reliable and low-emissions. Has he succeeded? Our expert panel weighs in.
The federal budget will pump A$90 million into boosting domestic gas production, as well as investing in pumped hydro and measures to monitor energy prices.
The current flurry of energy policy aims to make power cheaper and more reliable. But it will take more than that to meet vital longer-term goals like cutting carbon while keeping future prices low.
Australia is near the back of the pack of rich nations when it comes to policies for clean energy. But there are things we can do about it.
The goals are clear: clean, cheap, reliable energy. But no-one can agree how we get there.
Liberal MP Craig Kelly said businesses and households in Australia are paying twice as much as Americans for their electricity. Is that true?
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