Google has just signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with a 114 MW wind farm in Iowa. The terms of the deal are unique in the US, and may serve as a template for future projects. The renewable energy sourced under this agreement contributes to Google’s plan to become carbon neutral. The announcement was made on the Official Google Blog.
By contracting to purchase so much energy for so long, we’re giving the developer of the wind farm financial certainty to build additional clean energy projects. The inability of renewable energy developers to obtain financing has been a significant inhibitor to the expansion of renewable energy. We’ve been excited about this deal because taking 114 megawatts of wind power off the market for so long means producers have the incentive and means to build more renewable energy capacity for other customers.
In this case, we’re buying renewable energy directly from its source – the wind farm. We cannot use this energy directly, so we’re reselling it back to the grid in the regional spot market – but retiring the RECs associated with the power. By obtaining RECs through the purchase of green power, our deal has a greater impact on the renewable industry than simply buying “naked” RECs from third parties; our long-term commitment directly frees up capital for the developer to build more wind projects.
Lord May of Oxford unleashed some harsh words against the Greens at a Lowy Institute lunch on Wednesday. He said they “mixed their genuine concerns with an overriding desire to feel good about themselves so that they actually obstructed useful legislation because it’s not perfect”. He went on to say that “there is a real [...]
At a recent meeting of local government sustainability officers hosted by the WA Local Government Association, we presented an analysis comparing the environmental, economic and social benefits for a range of greenhouse abatement options available to the City of Cockburn.
While there is no shortage of positive actions a City can take – including GreenPower, local [...]
The ACT government is leading the way on emissions reduction in Australia. Many organisations are looking at the Federal government’s failure to legislate an emissions trading scheme as a great uncertainty that will need to be resolved before taking action. The ACT government has instead viewed the Federal impasse as an opportunity to take a [...]
We’ve just rediscovered a gem from a few years ago. In March 2007 Stanford University hosted a 5-part lecture series on Advanced Energy Efficiency, presented by Amory Lovins. Each lecture is loaded with useful insights, ideas, anecdotes and a bit of humour. At 1.5 hours per lecture the series takes considerable time to watch and [...]
We’ve just rediscovered a gem from a few years ago. In March 2007 Stanford University hosted a 5-part lecture series on Advanced Energy Efficiency, presented by Amory Lovins. Each lecture is loaded with useful insights, ideas, anecdotes and a bit of humour. At 1.5 hours per lecture the series takes considerable time to watch and [...]
These days most companies are cutting costs and pulling back on major capital projects. Banks are reluctant to lend and investment dollars are shifting to low-risk safe havens.
Australian companies have bucked this trend. The government’s Renewable Energy Demonstration Program (REDP) has elicited a staggering number of large-scale renewable energy applications. The REDP set out to [...]
The ACT government is leading the way on emissions reduction in Australia. Many organisations are looking at the Federal government’s failure to legislate an emissions trading scheme as a great uncertainty that will need to be resolved before taking action. The ACT government has instead viewed the Federal impasse as an opportunity to take a [...]
Google has just signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with a 114 MW wind farm in Iowa. The terms of the deal are unique in the US, and may serve as a template for future projects. The renewable energy sourced under this agreement contributes to Google’s plan to become carbon neutral. The announcement [...]
About two years ago, on July 1 2008, the Canadian Province of British Columbia introduced the first ever carbon tax in North America. At the time the tax sparked a great deal of controversy, but it is now being recognised as a good political gamble, and a very successful policy move.
The tax puts a price on carbon [...]
This week the Western Australian Government progressed the approvals for four new coal-fired power plants. These plants will lock-in greenhouse-intensive power generation, and maximum cost exposure from a future carbon price, for decades. These plants will make it impossible for the State to meet the nationally-imposed 20% by 2020 Renewable Energy Target. Current renewable generation [...]
In 2002 the Western Australian Government set a target to reduce energy consumption by 12% from 2001/2 levels by 2006/7. A report recently released by the Auditor General has found that the government’s energy efficiency programs have not met the target, with the government achieving just a 0.1% reduction.
At HAC we have engaged with many [...]
At a recent meeting of local government sustainability officers hosted by the WA Local Government Association, we presented an analysis comparing the environmental, economic and social benefits for a range of greenhouse abatement options available to the City of Cockburn.
While there is no shortage of positive actions a City can take – including GreenPower, local [...]
