Archived News for Green Sector Professionals

The Northern Territory Government has announced the creation of two new parks, the Limnen National Park and the Linmen Bight Marine Park, which collectively add a further million hectares to the state’s parks and marine reserves.

“It will create a world class National Park, creating a conservation area connecting land to the ocean and protecting our beautiful Territory outback for generations to come,” Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson said.

Territory Minister for the Environment, Karl Hampton, said the Government had taken its time to strike the balance between new economic opportunity or the region and its environmental conservation.

WA appoints new Waste Authority chair

The Western Australian Government has announced the appointment of Marcus Geisler as the State’s new chair of the Waste Authority, with State Minister for the Environment, Bill Marmion, saying Mr Geisler is set to continue the authority’s strong growth.

EPA recommends James Price Point for approval

The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has delivered its final assessment of the proposed James Price Point Liquefied Natural Gas precict, recommending the project for approval.

Melbourne to fund green retrofitting

Changes to legislation in Victoria is set to allow property trusts to gain access to financing for environmental upgrades, likely to result in significant increases to opportunities for green retrofitting in Melbourne’s city centre.

WA receives advice on EPA

Western Australian Environment Minister, Bill Marmion, has received legal advice from the State’s Solicitor’s Office regarding the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) assessment of the Browse LNG Precinct at James Price Point in the state’s Kimberly region.

WA to question Great White protection

The Western Australian Fisheries Minister Norman Moore has announced he will be writing to the Federal Government this week to seek clarification about the white shark’s status as a protected species, following the fifth fatal attack by a white pointer in the state since September last year.

Friends of the Earth savage Murray plan

Environmental group Friends of the Earth has released a report that accuses the current Murray-Darling Basin Plan of failing to protect at least half of the Basin’s 16 internationally recognised wetlands.

Government kicks off final marine park consultation

The Federal Government has opened the final round of public consultation on its plans to create the world’s largest network of marine reserves.

Curtin research to target CO2 emissions

Researchers at Curtin University have been awarded $1 million in funding from the WA Government’s Low Emissions Energy Development (LEED) Fund to develop new technology for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

John Curtin Distinguished Professor Chun-Zhu Li, Director of the Fuels and Energy Technology Institute, will lead the project, which aims to replace some of the coal burned in coal-fired power stations with biomass.

The technology rapidly and efficiently converts biomass into vapour and finely ground char particles so it can be efficiently burned with coal in existing coal generation infrastructure.

The team will further develop and scale up the novel proprietary pyrolysis technology that has been developed at Curtin University. Professor Li said the commercialisation of the technology will solve a bottleneck problem currently experienced in the co-firing of biomass and coal, reducing emissions as a result of burning less coal.

“Using the existing coal-fired power plants to do the co-firing makes the process one of the cheapest and quickest ways to lower carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by making full use of the existing power generation capital equipment,” Professor Li said.

“This project will be a critical step in scaling up the novel pyrolysis technology we have been working on and enabling us to make this technology available for commercial use.”