Tax breaks help solar firm expand, NSW Parliament told
Two coal projects make EPBC Act referrals
U.S. Armed Forces tackle their carbon 'boot print'
Tax breaks help solar firm expand, NSW Parliament told
Silex Solar, which now owns the former BP Solar plant in Homebush, "has achieved more than double the number of jobs targets for its first year of operations and is now expected to employ around 100 people by the end of this year", according to NSW Minister for Regional Development Ian Macdonald.
Macdonald, who officially opened the plant this week, told Parliament yesterday the NSW Government had provided the company with "partial tax rebates, which are conditional upon the company achieving employment milestones".
"It is very pleasing to see Silex Solar investing in the skills and ingenuity of our Australian workforce," he said.
Silex recently snapped up the assets of Melbourne-based Solar Systems, which went into voluntary administration last year (see related article).
Two coal projects make EPBC Act referrals
The Federal environment department yesterday released referrals received for two coal projects in Queensland.
Drake Coal Pty Ltd proposes a new open-cut coal mine about 17 kilometres of Collinsville that would produce up to six million tonnes of coal a year for 30 years, involving the disturbance of about 1,600 hectares of land.
Wesfarmers Curragh proposes an expansion of its open-cut coal mine in central Queensland that would allow access to about 27.4 million tonnes of coal and involve the removal of about 95 hectares of woodland vegetation.
Both proponents have advised the department they do not consider that the projects constitute controlled actions under the EPBC Act.
U.S. Armed Forces tackle their carbon 'boot print'
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) accounts for nearly 80% of U.S. Government energy consumption and its official energy budget in 2008 was $20 billion, says a report by the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate.
The report on efforts by the Armed Forces to cut their energy use and emissions says Defense Secretary Robert Gates has identified energy as one of the department's top 25 'transformational priorities'.
DoD's Quadrennial Defense Review, issued this year, declared that climate change "will shape the operating environment, roles, and missions the department undertakes", the report notes.
"DoD has historically been a national leader in technological innovation, creating such transformational tools as the Internet and the Global Positioning System. Building on this history, DoD can be a leader in creating alternative fuels, advanced energy storage and more efficient vehicles on land, in the air and at sea," the report says.
