Energy

Tony Mahar is a seriously good operator, widely respected across the ag sector, but one suspects the government is hoping he’ll morph into their Lord Hee-Haw—a smooth-talking apologist who can help them roll out their 40 turbines a month, and thousands of kilometres of power lines across picturesque rural farmland   by 2030 ... The government must be worried as the bush is in revolt and the government's secret polling must have them worried.   Hence the roll out of the conservative version of Henry Kissinger to calm the locals.

Marian Haddrick. VicGrid CEO Alistair Parker met with a hundred concerned locals from Birchip and the surrounding area last Thursday at the Birchip Leisure Centre. Birchip is in the Regional Energy Zone (REZ) that is connecting supporting transmission infrastructure from Victoria’s west in Horsham to the north of the state in Red Hills.

Serrated trailing edges have broken off wind turbines endangering CFA volunteers, farmers and livestock in the vicinity of the infrastructure. Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur raised this issue in the Parliament citing it as dangerous and reckless. “My question for the Minister for Agriculture concerns news that turbines at the brand new Golden Plains wind farm are falling to pieces."

The Miles Labor Government is backing Central Queensland’s sustainable future by investing in a new gas-to-electricity power project that will reduce mining emissions by more than one million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The project will expand the underground mine’s drainage system to capture more fugitive gas, preventing it from being released into the atmosphere.

In its latest update, Snowy Hydro has advised that a new tunnel boring machine (TBM) will be deployed to help keep the Snowy 2.0 project on its delivery timeline. New ground testing techniques have provided a better understanding of the full extent of a complex fault zone on the route of the 17km tunnel that will connect Snowy 2.0’s upper reservoir to its underground power station.

We are a collective of CFA Brigades in Districts 16 and 18 who have taken a position where our Brigade will not commit to operating on or around electricity generation and transmission infrastructure by taking a perimeter only defence position except for where lives or safety of public is threatened. Specifically, this is Renewable Energy Infrastructure (REI) being wind turbines, large-scale solar and battery installations, high voltage (220 kva plus) transmission lines and connection hubs.

Sean Cunningham. Galore is set to get a solar farm which will contain half a million solar panels, but it won’t be coming to fruition anytime soon. Electricity retail business Flow Power plans to construct the solar farm near Galore, however its Head of Project Development Mark Raymond said the planning is in the early stages.

When I sat down with Gregory Andrews in the cool of the New Crown Hotel in Hay’s main street, it was following an incredibly blustery trek of 170 kilometres across the Hay Plains. On the day he arrived in Hay, the strong September winds and a flat tyre had delayed his arrival from Balranald by several hours ... Travelling solo, on an eBike, Mr Andrews spoke passionately about his trip around Australia and the reasons behind it.

Member for Mallee, Dr. Anne Webster, will stand with Mallee farmers and her Nationals colleagues shoulder-to-shoulder with hundreds more farmers from across the country today (September 10), in an unprecedented rally against Labor’s anti-farming ideology. Dr Webster said Labor is destroying agriculture and making life impossible for producers of food and fibre, due to endless cuts to the regions, anti-farming legislation and unnecessary red tape.

Council leaders from Gannawarra, Swan Hill, Mildura, Loddon, Campaspe and Moira shires visited Canberra and Bendigo over the last two weeks, speaking to politicians and advisors on water management, renewable energy, housing and the funding of local government ... The latest round of buybacks was a pressing issue for the group.

Almost a dozen power poles have been lost in the past few months due to fires from what’s thought to have been a series of separate hazard reduction burns across the state. Energy Queensland Chief Operating Officer Paul Jordon said while hazard reduction burning is an essential tool for managing vegetation and reducing fire risks, it is crucial to exercise caution to prevent unintended electrical infrastructure damage.

Clean Peak Energy has officially commenced construction of its Hay Solar Farm, adjacent to Hay Cemetery, east of Hay township. The advancement of the project was marked with an on-site sod turning, which brought together Clean Peak Energy executives and staff, Hay Shire Council and host landholders.

Back when Kookaburra was young and out for adventure, he used to jump into a car and drive overnight to the Western District of Victoria, traversing half of New South Wales and then half of Victoria to get there. A nap at a truckstop near Tocumwal was about the only break as the miles signs (in those days) clicked by. The sun rising near Maryborough whilst the car thrust its way forward through the ranges and down to Beaufort signalled the journey was nearing its end. A quick pit stop and then out on that last stretch to Stockyard Hill and my destination – a poll Dorset sheep stud owned by some old family friends – who always managed to find a spare room for the blow-in.

Close to 50 members of the Newstead community participated in a question-and-answer session about the Newstead Community Energy Project on Thursday 22 August, following the launch of the new solar farm. Representatives from project partners Renewable Newstead and Flow Power were on hand to explain the thinking behind the partnership, some technological context and the benefits to consumers for joining the project.

Representatives from across Australia's agriculture and fuel supply chain have urged the Federal Government to immediately initiate a national low-carbon liquid fuel feedstock strategy to give effect to the ambitious agenda outlined in the Federal Government Aviation White Paper released this week.  The industry groups include GrainGrowers, the Australian Sugar Milling Council (ASMC) and Queensland Cane Growers Organisation (CANEGROWERS).

On Friday ... hundreds of farmers rallied in Bendigo, to bring awareness to a number of issues facing rural communities, particularly the subject of renewables, and calling on the government for answers ... 13-year-old local Sophie Burke, stepped in at short notice to speak bravely about her own future as a sixth generation farmer at Jeffcott:...

Murrindindi Shire Council acknowledges the proposal by Fera Australia to construct a large wind farm called the Seymour Wind Farm in the area between Avenel, Longwood, Ponkeen Creek and Ruffy in Victoria. The proposed project is said to feature 80 to 100 wind turbines that are up to 245 metres tall and require approximately 30km of new 330kV transmission lines, proposed to be overhead, mainly across private and crown land within Murrindindi Shire.