Categories: CommentaryRenewables

The week in green numbers…

Published by

13.6: The per cent increase in electricity prices in Melbourne for the September 2012 quarter – since the introduction of the carbon tax. Well short of previous September quarter jumps of 19 per cent and 21 per cent.

615 million: The US-dollar amount that concentrating solar thermal power firm BrightSource Energy has raised, in total, in equity financing, including a recent raising of more than $80 million, which the company revealed this week.

50 billion: The US-dollar amount worth of gas that is wasted annually through the oil mining practice of gas flaring, a practice which, according to new figures released this week, contributes as much to climate change as a major economy like Italy.

100: The percentage of new US electricity capacity that was either wind or solar energy, added in the month of September.

100: The percentage of its energy consumption that Swedish furniture retailer IKEA plans to source from renewable energy – most of it from plants owned by IKEA, too – by 2020.

1.5 billion: The € amount that IKEA will be spending on renewable energy investments – particularly wind and solar – to help achieve the above goal.

22,000: The number of pigs that make up Australia’s first carbon farming piggery, which was registered and launched on Thursday at Blantyre Farms in Young, NSW. The pigs’ owners say they are generating “more than enough” clean energy to power the entire property and they no longer pay a cent for electricity.

90: The number of (Siemens’ gearless) wind turbines that will make up South Australia’s Snowtown II wind farm – set to be the state’s largest, at 270MW – which commenced construction this week.

67: The percentage of respondents to a UK survey who said they would rather have a wind farm within two miles of their home than a shale gas well. 11 per cent said they would rather the gas development. The UK-wide ICM survey also found that only nuclear power and coal were less popular than shale gas developments.

6: The number of years’ jail six Italian earth scientists were sentenced to this week, having been found guilty of causing 29 of the 309 deaths caused by the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake.

Sophie Vorrath

Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. She is the co-host of the Solar Insiders Podcast. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

Plibersek defends coal mine approvals amid blockades of Newcastle port

Environment minister Tanya Plibersek defends coal mine approvals as 170 people arrested for blockading world's…

25 November 2024

From finance deal to carbon trade: Here’s what was – and wasn’t – achieved at the COP29 climate talks

Many people are disappointed by COP29. It did not bring transformative change. But it was…

25 November 2024

Rooftop solar and EVs will dominate our grids: How do we reform the energy system around them?

Australia’s electricity system is physically decentralising, but the regulatory response is to extend the current…

25 November 2024

Australia’s bid to host climate COP for first time on hold as fossil lobby ups the ante at fractious Baku talks

Australia's bid to host UN climate talks for first time stalled at fractious Baku COP,…

25 November 2024

Massive 70 GW wind and solar project that straddles Nullarbor given environmental criteria

EPA says proposed 70 gigawatt wind and solar project that straddles Nullarbor is a complex…

25 November 2024

Labor girds for tricky fight for green hydrogen tax credits in last week of parliament

The hydrogen tax credit bill is being introduced to Parliament, with the Coalition opposed and…

25 November 2024