The rapid adoption of reverse-cycle vapour-compression air-conditioning systems in residential buildings has produced an escalation in both total and peak electricity demand, necessitating a high level of investment in electricity infrastructure, and raising concerns over energy security and environmental issues. To address these issues, solar air-conditioning systems can be used in dwellings as a demand-side...

With Australian electricity prices amongst the highest in the world, more and more households are going solar. The big power companies say the Renewable Energy Target is undermining their businesses and they want it wound back. The federal government agrees, so who is to blame for the high price of power? Jess Hill investigates.

This short paper explains Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs), which are payments for electricity fed into the supply grid from a renewable energy source. FiTs can be mandated by the government or offered voluntarily by an electricity retailer. The primary aim of FiTs is to encourage the adoption of renewable energy. FiTs make the installation of renewable...

It’s not uncommon to hear that the cost of living in Australia – and Sydney in particular – is among the highest in the world. And in exploiting our fear of hip-pocket pain, politicians and the media have fuelled our sense that keeping up with day-to-day expenses is getting harder and harder.

This paper argues that there is little for Australia to gain by rushing into an expansion of CSG operations. Summary The purpose of this paper is to bust the gas industry’s myths about coal seam gas (CSG). The gas industry has been prolific in putting out exaggerated claims about CSG’s economic benefits while at the...