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The carbon tax needn’t cost you
By Alan Pears on 27 June 2012
Saving $4 on weekly energy use will offset your energy-related carbon costs. Saving $10 weekly will offset all your carbon costs. And it’s not hard.
Tag: "energy efficiency"
Chu says big solar soon to be cheaper than coal and gas
By Giles Parkinson on 4 February 2013
US energy secretary Stephen Chu says big solar will be cheaper than coal and gas before most people realise. He says the combination of solar and battery technologies, pushed forward by electric vehicles, will turn the energy industry upside down – unless, of course, if politicians fail to seize the moment.
Graph of the Day: Did efficiency drive 75% of US CO2 cuts in 2012?
By Sophie Vorrath on 7 May 2013
Natural gas is touted as the driving force behind America’s declining emissions. But a new study concludes efficiency is the primary reason.
Australian companies could double energy savings, save billions
By Sophie Vorrath on 3 May 2013
Report finds Australia’s most energy-intensive companies have potential to more than double energy savings, cutting emissions by 15m tonnes a year.
US power grid could rely on majority renewables by 2050: study
By Sophie Vorrath on 18 April 2013
Study finds US grid could quit coal, close a quarter of its nuclear plants and rely on renewables for the bulk of its electricity generation.
Efficiency: Can government and business get it right?
By Giles Parkinson on 2 March 2012
Energy efficiency offers the cheapest, quickest and easiest solution to cutting emissions and controlling energy bills. So why isn’t it taken up more widely? Blame an inability to sell a simple message, and the power of vested interests for whom quantity is king.
Why are we buying insurance from power companies?
By Richard Keech on 12 December 2012
Rather than pay a premium to power companies for assuming peak price risk, there’s a much smarter way we could be spending the money.
Revealed: technology to make us healthy, cut bills, lift profits, save planet
By Giles Parkinson on 28 February 2013
We have a “hidden” technology to cut energy use by half, lift profits, make us healthier, and combat global warming. So why not use it?
Mixed Greens: 55kW solar array for Kangaroo Island
By Staff Reporter on 8 February 2013
55kW solar array for Kangaroo Island, Bond issue for community solar farm, Japan banks fight over solar market, Brisbane gets biggest street lighting retrofit.
Little black boxes for big green motors could save billions
By Tina Casey on 7 February 2013
A modest-looking black box from US company AC Kinetics could lead to the next generation of energy efficient electric motors.
Demand management: A clean winner in the low-carbon race
By Tim Buckley on 16 November 2012
To manage demand, we need an effective price signal. A “cash for clunkers” trade-in deal for old air conditioners is one option.
How energy efficiency and renewables can save the planet
By Giles Parkinson on 13 November 2012
The IEA says that if climate goals are to be met, then energy efficiency and renewables will be the two most important abatement measures.
Smart meters, deregulation seen as cures for rising power bills
By Sophie Vorrath on 8 November 2012
The federal government’s final Energy White Paper names retail price deregulation, increased community engagement, improving the efficiency of energy networks, and the nation-wide roll-out of smart meters as some of the key critical reforms needed to help lower retail electricity prices.
$40m in funding to help low-income households get energy smart
By Sophie Vorrath on 17 December 2012
Eleven consortia chosen to receive $40m in federal funding towards efforts to improve energy efficiency in low-income housing.
COAG’s energy market reforms must protect the poor
By Damian Sullivan and John Thwaites on 10 December 2012
For low-income households, energy saving usually means switching off. Will COAG’s reforms give them more options?
Will smart meters benefit consumers?
By Gill Owen on 6 December 2012
Smart meters can deliver energy saving information, technology solutions and price signals to consumers. We just need to get the roll-out right.
New energy efficiency system passes the Army tank test
By Tina Casey on 30 October 2012
US Army research has been applying the thermoelectric effect to an M1 Abrams tank, in a project that could ripple out to the civilian sector.
Energy efficiency vs energy supply: Which should be our focus?
By Joshua Hill on 30 October 2012
A new US study shows that twice the effort is going to developing supply technologies than to improving the efficiency of end-use technologies.
