Energy
US shale boom starts to fade
3:48pm For the past three years, the boom in the US shale oil industry has outstripped all expectations. That may be starting to change.
When the Sun King's luck ran out
A close look at the rise and fall of Australian-trained Shi Zhengrong and the solar giant Suntech Power he helped build.
EU should cull fossil fuel subsidies: Poland
The European Union should scrap fossil fuel and renewable energy subsidies and set a target to cut oil imports to remain the leader in the fight against global warming, according to Poland’s environment minister.
Crossroads for Europe's carbon capture efforts
Gerard Wynn While Europe join Australia in cutting back support for carbon capture and storage efforts?
Carbon
Blowing the carbon budget
John Kemp The carbon budget is destined to be another one that politicians - and the rest of us - break.
Greenland melt threatens to shift northern climate
Greenland ice melting at an expanding pace may begin cooling the North Atlantic and increasing the severity of storms by 2075, said James Hansen, the former NASA scientist who raised concerns about global warming in the 1980s.
Energy
Australian coal miners face China cap
PETER HANNAM China's new leadership has a new slogan - 'control coal' - and Australia's coal exporters underestimate their resolve to cap consumption of the fossil fuel at their peril, a Chinese researcher says.
Obama secures energy chief, EPA next
President Barack Obama's energy and environment team takes two steps forward after a key vote.
Energy
Solar panels catch up with wind
Gerard Wynn Solar panels were cheaper than wind turbines for the first time last year in certain markets, per unit of capacity, and are rapidly closing a remaining gap in the full cost of power generation.
Trade
China warns EU over solar tariffs
China warned the European Union hat duties on Chinese solar panels would "seriously harm" bilateral trade, upping the tone of criticism a week after the EU said it would move ahead with hefty penalties in June.
Autos
Tesla extends surge as investors pile in
Tesla Motors Inc., the electric-car maker run by Elon Musk, surged as much as 12% on investor confidence in Musk's plan to boost his stake in the company that's selling as much as $US830m in shares and debt.
Tar sands make climate change 'unsolvable': Hansen
Exploiting oil and gas trapped in tar sands and shale threatens to make climate change 'unsolvable' said James Hansen, the former NASA scientist who raised concerns about global warming in the 1980s.
Markets
German split may delay EU carbon fix
Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition blocked an opposition move to debate and vote on Europe's carbon market, highlighting the government's reluctance to take a stance on a proposed fix before Sept. 22 elections.
Sci-tech
Aussie scientists print flexible solar panels
Miles Godfrey Australian scientists have found a way to print large but extremely lightweight and flexible solar panels like money.
Markets
China's carbon market unlikely to go global for decades
China, the world's largest greenhouse-gas emitter, probably won't import carbon credits for two decades, the nation's climate negotiator said.
China invited into Arctic circle
China is granted observer status by the Arctic Council, giving the world's second-largest economy more influence amid an intensifying search for resources in the globe's most northern region.
Budget
Poor lose out in energy efficiency cuts
PETER HANNAM Government plans to slash energy efficiency programs will fall hardest on poorer households and local governments despite their sizeable returns on spending, industry experts say.
New York to face superstorms every two years
New York will endure catastrophic flooding from storms such as Superstorm Sandy every two years by the end of the century because of the impact of climate change, according to experts.
Sea level rises to exceed IPCC estimates: study
Sea levels may rise as much as 69cm through 2100 as water temperatures rise, glaciers melt in the Andes and Himalayas and ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica shed water, European scientists said.
Rockefeller offers $100m climate aid
Climate The Rockefeller Foundation marked the centennial of its founding with the announcement this morning of a $100 million global disaster-relief fund aimed primarily at helping cities handle climate-related or man-made disasters.
Trade
Canada ruling offers limited view on solar battles
Gerard Wynn Rejection by the world's trade body last week of preferential support for domestic solar panel makers in Canadian province Ontario brings helpful but limited guidance in a growing number of other disputes.
Wrap
Mixed week for renewable energy
Renewable energy-related trade disputes stretching from China to Canada grabbed headlines last week, while General Electric and Warren Buffett's MidAmerican sounded bullish on the US wind market.
Energy
Power giant cuts stake in controversial wind farm
PETER HANNAM EnergyAustralia raises $228m from the sale of 75% of its stake in the controversial Waterloo wind farm in South Australia but says it remains committed to the project’s expansion.
Energy
Germany seeks 'amicable' end to China solar tiff
Germany distanced itself on Monday from the European Commission's proposal to impose punitive import duties on solar panels from China, saying it would prefer an amicable solution.
Climate
Germany's Merkel eyes tougher carbon targets
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she's confident that European Union member states can agree to more ambitious climate protection targets.
Finance
Heavy debt weighs on China's renewable energy sector
Renewable energy companies from China and Hong Kong need to repay $US3.5b of debt this year, prompting global investors to fret that another issuer will follow Suntech Power into default.
Mining
Glencore Xstrata shelves coal terminal
BRIAN ROBINS Glencore Xstrata has cancelled plans for a coal export terminal in Queensland, citing the poor state of the coal market.
Melting Arctic prompts race for routes, resources
When 16th and 17th century European explorers sailed west in pursuit of a trade route to Asia, their search for a Northwest Passage was foiled by Arctic ice.
Energy
Solar PV price falls to slow
Gerard Wynn The latest round of company financial reports suggests that solar module selling prices will continue to fall, although more slowly than previously.
Habitats to shrink without carbon curbs: Nature
The habitats of many common plants and animals will shrink dramatically this century unless governments act quickly to cut rising greenhouse gas emissions, scientists said after studying 50,000 species around the world.
Sun power advocacy lights up
PETER HANNAM Australian residents with solar panels now less likely to be treated poorly, backers say.
Materials
Waste revolution a boost for 'green' steel
PETER HANNAM Rubber, plastics and palm waste are not ingredients most people associate with steel girders and beams.
US solar firms take on 'Big Power'
Major US companies that financed the majority of rooftop solar installations form a lobbying group to counter efforts by 'monopoly utilities' to quash programs that support renewable energy in 43 states.
Energy
Solar shift threatens Western producers
Gerard Wynn US solar module maker and project developer First Solar illustrates wider industry efforts to secure new markets in a shift away from the United States and Europe.
Markets
Carbon market 'champions' undeterred: EU climate chief
Carbon-market supporters from China to California will push for emissions trading even as they prepare for the end of the United Nations Kyoto Protocol in seven years, Europe's top climate negotiator said.
Trade
Chinese 'knee-capping' solar-panel rivals
PETER HANNAM Australia's sole remaining maker of solar photovoltaic panels has called on the government to save local skills in the industry.
Trade
EU to slap hefty tariffs on Chinese solar PV
The European Union is planning to impose tariffs of as much as 67.9% on solar panels from China to counter unfair pricing in the largest EU trade dispute of its kind, according to a commerce official from the bloc.
Energy
Canada threatens EU over oil sands block
Canada threatened on Wednesday to take the European Union to the World Trade Organisation over its plans to label Canadian oil sands as dirty, but promised not to delay a bilateral trade pact.
Markets
EU's carbon crisis blows back on Australia
The unprecedented collapse in European carbon prices is shattering Australia's budget assumptions just as corporate resistance to the market weakens in the developed world's biggest per capita polluter.
ACCC
Solar firm placed under a cloud
PETER HANNAM A major solar-panel provider has been accused of making false and misleading claims about the source of its photovoltaic panels and posting fake testimonials on the internet.
Energy
Local wind farm curbs point Windlab offshore
Peter Hannam Windlab Systems says on-going doubts about over Australia’s renewable energy policies is prompting it to turn to overseas markets for growth - including sealing South Africa's biggest deal.
Energy
Old King Coal dethroned in US
The shale gas boom means coal's share of US power generation has sunk to a record low of 37%, leaving mining communities in turmoil.
Emissions
US budget cuts block methane curbs
Methane emissions from coal mines escaped being curbed by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which said mandatory budget cuts didn’t leave it with the resources to determine if the pollution is a significant risk.
Markets
EU to vote on carbon rescue plan in July
The European Parliament will hold a second plenary vote in early July on a stopgap plan to bolster prices in the world’s biggest carbon market after it rejected the draft measure last month.
Energy
Samsung tests giant turbine off Scotland
Scotland presses on with plans to cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 80% by 2030.
Carbon
US climate plan would dodge common cuts
The United States' new proposal to let countries draft their own emissions reduction plans rather than working toward a common target can unlock languishing UN climate negotiations, the US climate change envoy said.
Profile
The surprising rise and rise of Al Gore
In 1999, Al Gore, then US vice president and a Democratic candidate for president, sold $US6,000 worth of cows. His fortunes have soared ever since.
Policy
Europe faces 'sea-change' against climate policies
Europe's program to halt climate change is in disarray with lawmakers in the region expressing concern the drift is undermining the planet's most significant effort to combat global warming.
Energy
Biggest US solar firm bounces back
First Solar, the largest US solar manufacturer by shipments, reported a first-quarter profit as sales from new power projects surged.
Energy
US wind industry braces for Congress fight
The US wind-power industry is expecting a tough battle in Congress as it seeks another extension of a federal tax credit that received a one-year renewal at the last minute in January.
