Originally published in reneweconomy.com.au

How good are Australia’s emissions reductions?!

Well, apart from a 3.5 per cent fall in electricity sector emissions from the previous year thanks to the rapid growth of renewables, not that good at all.

The Prime Minister’s decision to appoint a Minister for Emissions Reduction to his cabinet as overall emissions grow for the fourth year in a row looks a courageous marketing ploy indeed.

There are plenty of reasons why nuclear power is a pretty poor choice to power our country but apparently it's politically correct to point them out.

Ah well, pardon my political correctness!

Here's our letter in response to their Editorial, reproduced here as the chances of the Tele printing it are pretty slim...

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Søren Hermansen, a farmer and community energy expert from a small Danish island, has been travelling around Australia speaking with communities about how to switch to 100% renewable energy. The Australian Wind Alliance’s Andrew Bray listened in on a talk in Inverell in the New England tablelands to pick up some hot tips on how communities can lead the way on energy transition in Australia.

According to Hermansen community ownership, local innovation, and government leadership were key ingredients in the successful transition to 100% renewables in his home town on Samsø Island. While the transition proposal was initially met with concern by some members of his community, plans to share the benefits and create local economies eventually saw wide spread support and engagement.

“We did this together” is the general attitude says Hermansen.

Read more about the Samsø experience in Andrew's opinion piece here.

Originally published in Ecogeneration 10th March 2017

A Danish island has converted to 100% renewable energy thanks to the tenacity and good humour of a local farmer.

As a lump of coal passed from the Treasurer into the hands of the Deputy Prime Minister in the federal Parliament, so too did Australian energy politics pass from mere paralysis into sheer absurdity.

Originally published in the Newcastle Herald 8th February 2017

Security – it’s the new political buzzword. Our politicians are promising to keep us safe at our borders, securing us in jobs and now, apparently shoring up our energy system.

Energy security - is a catchy slogan, but can it be trusted? The Prime Minister’s latest lurch back to coal may give off the vibe that everything will be alright but, in reality, the building of a new coal plant in Australia is a real long shot. What’s actually scary is the government’s pigheaded push to make it happen.

Nestled in the foothills of the Macedon Ranges in Central Victoria is the town of Daylesford. Famous for it’s mineral water, cellar doors and artsy galleries, the town is also famous as the home of Australia’s pioneering community energy project, Hepburn Wind.

Hepburn Wind is Australia’s first community-owned wind farm. It’s two turbines were named ‘Gale’ and ‘Gusto’ after a competition for community to send in their favorite names. This makes them probably the only named turbines in Australia! Together Gale and Gusto have a combined capacity of 4.1 MW that produce enough clean energy to power 2,300 homes.

Check out Australian Wind Alliance National Co-ordinator, Andrew Bray’s Video of his recent trip to the Wimmera Plain and his published Opinion Piece.

In Victoria’s dryland farming region south of the Mallee scrub and east of the South Australian border lies the flat expanse of the Wimmera Plains. Horsham is the major town in a region largely dependent on the wheat and sheep industries with expansive plains dotted with flour mills and grain storage silos.

An Edited version of this Op Ed was published in The Weekly Times

A hundred metres above the flat, dry grain country of the Wimmera Plains in Western Victoria the wind blows strongly. Last week the farming region took a big step toward capturing the power of this wind when a 116 turbine wind farm at Murra Warra received its planning approval.

The project is huge, in stature and economic impact. It will power 250,000 homes, employ more than 600 people during the construction phase and create 60 ongoing jobs once the wind farm is switched on.

The benefits will be spread across Horsham, Warracknabeal, Dimboola and Minyip.

Ever thought of building a power plant with your next door neighbours? While people think about large-scale wind farms and household solar, when it comes to clean energy, community groups have been quietly banding together to build their own projects to take control of their electricity supply.

Community-owned energy projects allow families, individuals and renters to play an important role in cleaning up Australia’s electricity system. They also create much-needed local jobs and create a great sense of pride.

Time for parties to step up on wind energy

The electorate of Goulburn has as much to gain from future wind farm development as any electorate in the state.