Posts by Paul Williams
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
There is no alternative to properly renewable energy. Offsetting is simply a salve for Western consciences so we can continue to use profligate amounts of on renewable energy and not feel bad about it.
Thanks for the tip on offsetting Peter, I'll look for the article. It does seems to me that offsetting is simply a cheap alternative to investing in clean generation. Unless governments are going to support investment as per MRET in Australia, then the dosh needed to develop windfarms are going to be hard to find... which brings us to I/S's position.
Bit off topic but I found this intriguing.Wonder what this man did ?
Indeed.
-
I have always felt that "green" electricity has limited meaning until sufficient people take it up to outstrip NZ's existing low-emissions generation.
Which is why it's big business in Australia where 75 per cent, or thereabouts, of electricity generation is by way of coal.
-
What do you think? It clearly benefits the lucky punter who gets a PVR, we get a little money, and -- hopefully -- the conversation is worthwhile.
If nothing else, this is the point Drinnan misses in his piece. The discussion will inevitably include comments critical of powershop which makes their approach more interesting.
I take Russell at his word that the appeal was about pioneering unique campaigns focused on independent (online) publishers. Frankly, as most of my media consumption is online or via the public broadcaster, it's the only way they'll get me (ignoring for the moment that I'm resident in Sydney).
-
That Macdougall piece is superb. Cheers. Powershop mightn't be for everyone but big kudos for their engagement and product innovation.
-
What I'd like to see is an electricity scheme that includes the cost of pushing those electrons across Cook Straight
You'll be wanting a feed-in system then... actually, that's a bit glib, NZ's reliant on hydro, solar arrangements don't work quite so well if you live under the long-white cloud and wind farms mightn't look so nice in St Clair...
-
The bit I've never got about this new fangled electrickery stuff is how do you know which electricity are you getting? I mean, it all comes down the same wire and you can't even see it.
Steve, in the short-term it doesn't matter too much. The point of MRET and related initiatives is to progressively develop the market for green-generation (wind, solar etc). As someone up-thread said, the electrons pumped through the infrastructure don't differ in anyway because of their generation. MRET gives investors confidence that for a reasonable period of time, demand for their services (green-generation or offsets) will be kept higher than they might otherwise have been despite the price-disadvantage associated with the fuel/technology/capital etc (this addresses the classical economic market failure of public spillover benefits of investment). There's an excellent ABC background briefing on MRET, its limitations and some alternatives if you're interested. The ACT feed-in system is damn interesting.
-
It seems to my Friday brain, that nominally splitting the generation into 2 tiers when the resource is pooled is silly, and won't result in any sort of market pressure on generators to make their new generation renewable, particularly when it's such a small segment of the market that you are applying the difference to.
I don't know the NZ situation, but in Australia these arrangements are all related to the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target which requires electricity generators to generate no less than 20 per cent of their total from renewable sources by 2020. That's one hell of a change when you think that (a) Australia is the largest emitter of CHG per head of population and (b) we've got an unbelievable amount of brown coal which means we've also got the cheapest energy in the world!
-
I consider that acceptable shorthand, considering you're giving the money to someone who generates the equivalent amount of electricity from a renewable resource. (But as usual, it's not cleaner than not using the power).
That's as I understand it also. We buy an amount of renewable energy as part of our electricity/gas bundle. We don't get that specific electricity/gas as it's an homogenous resource at the user-end, but there's an offset or substitution at the generation-end.
-
And while I'm at it, I'd say the best venue in Sydney is the North Sydney oval. I understand some pre-season AFL games are played there as are Shute Shield games (club rugby) - I watched a number of the ICC Womens' World Cup games there.
-
LegBreak, that extends to most Eastern Bay restaurants as well as those on the Harbour.
I'd highly commend going to a AFL game at the SCG, very highly. In fact, I'd recommend not watching AFL on tele until you'd seen it at a stadium. It's actually a damn fine game and a pretty friendly environment (for most of the three hours it's played).