As the days get shorter and nights longer in Western Australia, jumpers have been reclaimed from mothballs, and hearty foods like soups, casseroles and puddings are back on the menu.

Welcome to another Sustainable Energy Matters e-Newsletter. With the cooler months ahead, you may be interested to know that the average WA home spends about a quarter of its energy budget on heating and cooling. So before buying a new heater, consider the many energy efficiencies you can achieve by reducing your use of artificial heating and saving money while keeping the home and the family warm. Helpful tips are in “Ways to Winter Warmth” on our website: www.sedo.energy.wa.gov.au.

In our May edition we welcome the go-ahead for a new wind farm to generate 8,400 megawatt hours of electricity at Mt Barker, as well as leaders across the nation agreeing to an expanded national Renewable Energy Target of 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020.

We look forward to seeing you at the Sustainable Energy Expo at the end of the month. The SEDO theme this year is ‘Energy Smart Homes Save Money’ and we invite you to get some practical advice at SEDO’s Expo display area on pruning your power bills and conserving energy.

We look at two important reports; one national and the other local, outlining the impacts and implications of Australia’s Climate Change Policies on the nation’s energy markets and how an increase in intermittent generation in WA will impact on the South West Interconnected System.

We’re pleased the 7th annual HIA-SEDO GreenSmart Awards attracted a record number of entries and that was despite the current economic pressures.

And the United Kingdom frames the world’s first carbon budgets with ambitious carbon reduction targets to tackle climate change and substantial increases in renewable energy investments, and low carbon technologies.

Sustainable Energy Matters will continue to update and inform you about local interstate and international developments in renewable energy, new ways of achieving significant energy efficiencies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. So keep an eye out for next month’s edition and let us know of anyone or organisation who would like to be placed on our SEDO e-Newsletter subscription list.

See you at the Sustainable Energy Expo.

Executive Director
Michael Kerr

$4.2 million for Mt Barker Wind Farm

WA’s renewable energy capacity will increase next year with the announcement of $4.2 million in funding for a new wind farm at Mt Barker.  More info...

SEDO Sustainable Energy Expo 2009

The Nuts and Bolts of living Energy Smart and saving money in your home are on show at the 2009 Sustainable Energy Expo at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.  More info...

Addressing the implications of national Climate Change Policies

Reports investigate the implications of Australia’s Climate Change Policies for Western Australia’s energy markets.  More info...

Expanding Australia’s Renewable Energy Target

On 30 April, the design of the expanded national Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme was agreed. The purpose of the scheme is to achieve the Commonwealth Government’s target of supplying 20% of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020.  More info...

2009 HIA-SEDO GreenSmart Awards


The seventh annual HIA-SEDO GreenSmart Awards attracted increased attention throughout the WA residential building industry despite the current economic pressures.  More info...

The UK leads the way with the world’s first carbon budget

While many countries are still deciding on how best to tackle climate change and what reduction targets to set for greenhouse emissions, the UK has taken the lead position. In late April, the nation’s Budget 2009 was released, setting the world’s first carbon budgets as required by the new Climate Change Act. Included is a legally binding target of a 34% reduction in emissions by 2020.  More info...
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