July 09 - Sydney Theatre Company to transform into a green precinct
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Sydney Theatre Company in Sydney Harbour, will ‘go green’ thanks to a $1.2
million dollar investment thanks to the Rudd Government. The project will
transform the wharf into a sustainability hub, employing solar power
technology, water smart design and the latest in energy efficiency.
Minister Peter Garrett said the Greening the Wharf said the project will
install cutting-edge Pluto photovoltaic cells – high efficiency, low cost
solar cells developed by the University of New South Wales and Suntech
Power. Greening the Wharf is being funded by the Rudd Government’s Green
Precincts Fund, an initiative to prepare Australia for a future with less
water and to encourage local communities to better manage their water and
energy use. To read more, click here
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July 09 - New Policy Statement for the Wind Farm Industry
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Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett released an invaluable tool to
help the wind farm industry meet national environmental law; the Wind Farm
Industry Policy Statement will help wind farm operators decide whether to
refer wind proposals for assessment and approval under national
environmental law. This policy statement is the first of two key
documents that will help assist wind farm developments through improved
guidance and consistent advice. The second document is the National Wind
Farm Development Guidelines. "These guidelines will improve consistency
and transparency in the wind farm planning and approval processes, and
assist communities, developers and governments in promoting best practice,
especially best practice in community consultation - a vital aspect of any
new development."For more information, click here
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July 09 - World’s Best Environmental Practice for New Mine
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Highlighting the Australian Government's commitment to world best practice
environmental standards, a uranium mine in South Australia has been
approved subject to strict approval conditions which will ensure no
credible risk to the environment. The environment minister, Peter Garrett,
said approving the Four Mile uranium mine was a difficult decision to make
and came after a rigorous and comprehensive assessment. The proposal for
the Four Mile mine in South Australia, which will be located near the
existing Beverley mine, was also subjected to two independent reviews.
Both reviews concluded the mining operation could go ahead without any
significant lasting impact on the identified environmental values of the
area and that the proposal represents world best practice in uranium
mining. For more information, click here
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June 09 - NSW announces Solar Feed-in Tariff
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The NSW Government has announced that households with solar systems will be paid 60 cents per kilowatt hour for any unused electricity sent back into the grid.
The NSW Government has announced that households with solar panels will be paid 60 cents per kilowatt hour for any unused electricity paid back into the grid from 2010. Under the 20 year plan, residents, schools, small businesses and community groups will be paid 60 cents per kilowatt hour. It's 4 times the average cost of electricity. The net feed-in-tariff is the most generous in Australia, predicting that solar systems can be paid back within 12 years. The scheme, which begins on January 1st, will apply to solar systems up to 10 kilowatts and has the potential to create up to 500 green jobs. To find out more, click here.
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June 09 - $200m Wind Farm planned for ACT
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A $200m wind farm planned for the town of Shannon’s Flat in the ACT, could be up and running within 3 years and could create up to 500 green jobs.
One of Australia’s highest wind farms could be up and running on a site near Canberra within 3 years. Sydney-based company CBD Energy Limited has acquired a license to build the $200 million wind farm on a site at Shannons between Cooma and Canberra. The turbines would produce about 50 megawatts of energy which would be fed into the New South Wales electricity grid. Managing director Gerry McGowan says regulatory approvals could take two years at a cost of about $2 million but he says the construction of 20 turbines would only take about six months. For more, click here.
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June 09 - Government cancels another energy grant
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The Renewable Remote Power Generation Program was closed as of 8:30am on Monday 22nd June, due to a significant increase in applications since 2008.
Another grant has been cancelled for renewable energy, this time for those people in remote areas who are not connected to the grid. The Federal Government announced it would end the Renewable Remote Power Generation Program on Monday 21st June, in all states except for Western Australia, effective immediately. The program was supposed to run until mid-2011 and has provided up to 200,000 to remote-area households and businesses to install clean energy generation, largely solar and wind power. For more information, click here.
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May 09 - Solar Rebate to end on June 30th 2009
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The Australian Government’s Solar Homes and Communities Plan $8,000 cash rebate for grid connect solar power will end on June 20th 2009. After June 2009, the Solar Credits Program will be launched. The Solar Credits Scheme was announced by the Minister for the Environment Peter Garrett on 17th December 2008and scheduled to commence on 1st July 2009. The 50% Renewable Remote Power Generations Program will still stay in place for off-grid installations. Unlike the current program, the new scheme will not be means tested, and will be available to businesses as well as households and community groups. For more information click here.
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May 09 - Federal Budget allocated $15 billion to solar and green energy
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The Federal Government wants to lead the world in solar and green energy as the climate change budget boasts a whopping $15 billion over nine years. Of this, $1.5 billion will be spent building 4 solar plants that will generate enough power equivalent to one coal-fire power station. The money will be spent over 6 years and will go to plants which use solar thermal or solar photovoltaic technologies. As expected, the budget shows that the Government plans to start emissions trading by 2011 and have promised to slash emissions by 25 per cent by 2020. For more information click here.
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May 09 - Australia’s First Carbon Neutral Solar Powered Resort
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Hidden Valley Cabins is Australia’s first fully carbon neutral resort and tour business; powered by solar energy and opened in April 2009. The resort generates all of its own renewable energy and has avoided 78 tonnes of CO2 emissions and 26 000 L of diesel generator fuel per year. Hidden Valley’s new off grid solar system was funded in part by the Australian Government’s Renewable Remote Generation Power Scheme, which provides up to 50% rebate on equipment for residential and commercial off-grid systems. The complex includes an Interpretative Centre where visitors can learn more about the solar technology used to power the resort. To learn more about Hidden Valley Cabins, visit their website here.
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April 09 - Skills for the Carbon Challenge
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The ACTU and the Australian Conservation Foundation have welcomed the Federal Government’s Skills for the Carbon Challenge plan which will provide $25.7 million to drive green skills and training development. A major report by the ACF and ACTU Green Gold Rush: How ambitious environmental policy can make Australia a leader in the global race for green jobs, shows that Australia is well-positioned to capitalise in six key and shows Australia has the potential to generate up to 500,000 additional green collar jobs by 2030 and multi-billion dollar export opportunities. Both organizations believe the Government’s initiative is a welcome step towards this goal and will be the start of a more ambitious long term plan for green collar job creation.
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Read the rest of the article from ACF.
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April 09 - Solar Power Plant Site for Canberra
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The ACT has identified several sites in the territory that could be suitable for its promised solar power plant and they will be announced next month when the tender process begins. The Government is offering a $30 million subsidy to build the plant and says it will need to produce at least 22 megawatts of energy, enough to supply ten thousand homes. The Government would like to take a modular approach, making sure that it is built within the ACT, so they can expand the plant in the future. Energy Minister Simon Corbell stated that he would like to make Canberra the solar capital and would like the territory to benefit from the economic and employment activity.
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Read the rest of the article from ABC News.
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April 09 - New Website to track Murray-Darling Basin
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A new interactive website will be updated weekly to show water availability in public water storages across the Murray Darling Basin. The Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, announced that the website went live on April 23rd, and provides easily accessible information on water held in public storages right across the Murray-Darling Basin. Water managers, irrigators, community and environment groups, students and anyone else who is interested can click anywhere on the interactive map of the Basin to locate the data for that area.
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Read the rest of the article from the Australian Government.
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March 09 - One step closer to first ever solar farm in New South Wales:
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The Clean Energy for Eternity Group says it is close to completing a feasibility study on the proposed solar farm for New South Wales’ south-east coast. The environmental group has received a $100,000 grant from the government to assess the most appropriate design and business models for the Bega Valley project. The group’s public officer, Phillipa Rowland, says they have had plenty of community interest, input and support for the renewable energy farm. The feasibility study should be completed by the end of March, taking another step forward to constructing the first ever solar farm in New South Wales.
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Read the rest of the article from the Australian Government.
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March 09 - Project would save millions of dollars in energy costs:
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A $1 Billion proposal to build the first substantial U.S offshore wind-power farm has moved a step closer to overcoming permit requirements in Massachusetts where it faces opposition from some influential residents. A privately funded Boston-based energy company has proposed constructing 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, within view of the wealthy Cape Cod region of Massachusetts. The project, designed to power 400,000 homes, is creating an interesting debate, with residents of Cape Cod arguing that it would kill migrating birds, threaten the region’s lucrative tourist industry and disrupt commercial fishing. Its supporters, including Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, say the project would save millions of dollars in energy costs and help the nation reduce reliance on foreign oil at a time of volatile crude prices.
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Read the rest of the article from Reuters.
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March 09 - Think globally - act locally, is what Earth Hour is all about:
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Think globally – act locally, is what Earth Hour is all about. It is a grassroots movement that started in Sydney among ordinary people and motivated half the population of Sydney to switch of their lights on March 31st, 2007. This year, one billion people from all over the world are expected to participate in Earth Hour, reflecting the viral impact that this grassroots movement has had. It’s for every country, every creed, everywhere, and people from all over the world are getting involved. Want to see how you can be part of Earth Hour? Check the website...
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Go to the website of Earth Hour.
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Jan 09 - Obama Promises Green Future:
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The United States will "roll back the specter of a warming planet" and "restore science to its rightful place," President Barack Obama pledged in his inaugural address. Obama's remarks marked a stark departure from the stance of his predecessor, George W. Bush, whose rejection of the landmark 2001 Kyoto Protocol almost destroyed multilateral efforts to roll back global warming.
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Read the rest of the article from AFP.
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Jan 09 - First Signs of the Federal Carbon Emissions Scheme:
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The first trade in Australian Emissions Units (AEU) since the government released its blueprint for a carbon trading scheme was carried out on Monday, providing an indication of the future cost of polluting in Australia. Newedge senior energy trader Donovan Marsh said his firm handled a transaction of 10,000 AEUs expiring on June 20, 2012 at $22.25 each, helping to establish a price for carbon trading in Australia ahead of the start-up of the government's scheme.
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Read the rest of the article from Reuters.
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Jan 09 - Wilkins Ice Shelf On Verge of Breaking Off in Antartica:
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A huge Antarctic ice shelf is on the brink of collapse with just a sliver of ice holding it in place, the latest victim of global warming that is altering maps of the frozen continent. "We've come to the Wilkins Ice Shelf to see its final death throes," David Vaughan, a glaciologist at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), told Reuters after the first - and probably last - plane landed near the narrowest part of the ice.
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Read the rest of the article from Reuters.
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Nov 08 - NSW Introduces Solar Power Feed In Tariff:
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The recent announcement that NSW would be introducing a Feed in Tariff in early 2009, now means that all states have confirmed that houses boasting solar power will be getting paid a higher rate for energy produced by their Solar Panels.
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For more information click here...
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Nov 08 - BP To Close Aussie Solar Plant:
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This was an announcement last week from BP Solar, which will mean the end of any commercially available solar modules manufactured in Australia. BP announced that its reason to close the plant is because it is competing with plants 20 times its size and cannot compete on pricing. This is sad news for the Solar industry as well as Australian local manufacturing.
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For more information click here...
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Nov 08 - Who Decides The Future Launches:
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When you think of the future, what world do you imagine? A world without poverty? A world where humans live sustainably? A world with financial certainty? What if you had the chance to vote for who decides the future? Who would you vote for? Kevin Rudd? Bono? Your mum? Tim Flannery? Or YOU?
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To cast your vote today click here...
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Nov 08 - Sustainable November Nights:
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Todae's Chief Eco Officer Danin Kahn gave a talk on Food and Ethics at Todae's Bondi Store as part of Todae's Sustainable November Nights Initiative. It was a great evening, which was enjoyed by all. To see information on the talk visit our blog.
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To see the rest of Todae's Sustainable November Nights click here...
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Nov 08 - Australia’s has 5th Largest Ecological Footprint:
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Australia’s ecological footprint is now the fifth-largest in the world, and expanding fast, an international report has found. The report found that it takes an average of about 7.8 hectares of land to sustain the lifestyle of each Australian - significantly more than citizens of Britain, Canada or France - up from about 6.7 hectares in 2006.
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For more information click here.
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Oct 08 - Downlights Guide Released:
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Todae released their much anticipated downlights guide. The guide explains everything you need to know about downlights and offers solutions to help you reduce your energy bill and CO2 emissions.
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For more info click here...
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Sept 08 - Todae's Glebe Eco Store Turns 2:
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September was a big month for Todae. Not only did we turn 5, but our Glebe store turned 2! it has been an amazing two years at Glebe with the support of locals and people from all around Sydney. The Glebe store is especially proud of its younger sibling, the Bondi store who turned 5 months in September as well!
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Sept 08 - Todae Turns 5:
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In September Todae turned 5! Todae was founded in 2003, and has continued to grow and evolve. We are really happy to have reached this milestone and appreciate all the loyal support and feedback from our customers which has helped us to be where we are today.
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Sept 08 - Canadian Ice Shelf Breaks Away:
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A huge 55 square km ice shelf in Canada's northern Arctic broke away last month and the remaining shelves have shrunk at a "massive and disturbing" rate. This is the latest sign of accelerating climate change in the remote region, scientists said on Tuesday.
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For more information click here.
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Sept 08 - WA Set To Become Solar Leader:
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WA could become a world leader in Solar Power after its government announced a 60c feed-in tariff. This scheme would see residents receive almost four times the present retail price for electricity and the highest feed-in tariff offered in Australia.
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Aug 08 - Todae Wins The Best of Sydney Award:
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We are really pleased to announce that Todae has won the "Best Environmental Store/New Age Store" in the Best of Sydney Awards 2008.
We would like to thank everyone who voted for us! It is really special to receive recognition for our efforts, especially when it is our wonderful customers who vote for us.
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