Vestas, one of the world’s leading wind energy companies, is leaving Australia, calling the nation’s wind energy market "unviable."

Vestas Australia Wind Technology will close its 2 1/2 year-old turbine blade factory in Portland, Victoria at the end of this year. Consequently, 130 jobs will be lost. The Danish company’s Asia-Pacific senior vice president, Jorn Hammer, was quite forthcoming with his criticism of the Australian government:

"It’s not viable for us to make further investments in the Australian market…we don’t see the market as big enough in Australia to justify the expense…When we committed to build the factory we believed there was support for the wind industry in Australia, and that has not come through to the extent we anticipated.

We have the view that if the government steps up to the plate and puts the necessary security for a long-term market in place we’ll have another look at the market, but I guess we’ll be a little more careful next time…(Not) just believing in what they’ve been telling us, we need to see some hard evidence to justify investment."

Australian officials were upset with the divestment, and some pointed fingers at the Howard administration, which has been criticized in the past for moving too slowly to address climate change and implement solutions.

Vestas apparently made the ultimate decision to end its manufacturing business in Australia when it was told the government would not extend its mandatory renewable energy target (MRET) of 2 percent renewables. A spokeswoman for federal Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane told the Western Australian that Vestas knew the MRET wouldn’t be renewed even before they decided to build in Portland in the first place.

Last year, Vestas also shut down a wind turbine factory in Tasmania, laying off 65 employees.

Crossposted on Maria Energia.

Australian farmers have teamed up with environmentalists to create the Agricultural Alliance on Climate Change, a group that wants to cut emissions up to 60 percent by 2050.

Although they may not agree on all environmental issues, climate change is problem that they know requires immediate action and can be slowed. Farming groups like the South Australian Farmers Federation and Agforce are on the front lines of having to adapt quickly to a changing climate and risking their livelihood in the process. Some farmers also feel that they haven’t received the recognition they deserve for fighting global warming. The Alliance acknowledged as much in a statement:

Australia is tracking close to its Kyoto target due largely to the efforts of Australian farmers reducing emissions, particularly from practices such as minimum tillage and ceasing broad-scale land-clearing, while emissions from most other sectors have continued to increase.

The group seems to be rather light on specific policy initiatives or technology recommendations, while their ultimate aims include creating “effective and sustainable economic drives” from harvesting renewable energy, providing social and physical infrastructure and services to rural Australia, and providing information and tools to rural Australians to help them prepare for some of the unavoidable impacts of climate change.

Here in the U.S., farmers have joined with clean energy organizations and traditional environmentalists to push a common agenda as well. While they may not agree when it comes to party politics, issues like clean, efficient, and homegrown energy have clearly crossed party lines in many areas.

Organizations like the 25x’25 initiative were started by farmers with a vision of 25 percent renewable energy by 2025, and farmers unions are working at all levels of government to push for policies that support local, renewable power. Wind energy and biofuels are common grounds for collaboration, as so much farm land is also in some of the most wind-rich areas of the country, and as the potential for biofuels that go (and grow) beyond corn continue to hold great promise as a clean, reliable source of fuel.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Conservation Foundation

Australia’s getting on the energy-efficient light bulb bandwagon, and in a big way. It recently announced it will phase out the use of inefficient, traditional light bulbs (incandescents) and replace them with the highly efficient, often swirly looking bulbs called compact fluorescents light bulbs (CFLs).

By making the switch, Australia could cut global warming pollution by 4 million tons in the next 5 years and cut household electric bills by up to 66 percent with the new legislation. Bulbs that do not meet energy efficiency requirements would be gradually banned from sale. Exemptions would be made for special circumstances like medical lighting.

CFLs use about 20 percent of the power as traditional bulbs to make the same amount of light. With traditional bulbs, most of the energy is lost in the form of heat.

Clean energy supporters applauded the energy efficiency plan as a good first step to cutting global warming pollution, but pointed out that the vast majority of Australia’s emissions comes from industrial sources like coal-fired power plants. To make real cuts in pollution, they argue that Australia must follow up the light bulb legislation with more cuts to global warming pollution from power plants and encourage renewable energy.

Australia’s Prime Minister John Howard is a bit of a newbie when it comes to energy policy: he only recently agreed that humans are causing global warming. But the light bulb legislation is still more than the U.S. government has done, and they’ve acknowledged for years that humans are contributing to global warming.

To get CFLs for your own home, check out your local hardware store or your utility may even sell them. I’ve personally found a good selection of styles at Home Depot. For more info on CFLs, check out Green Options’ Tip o’ the Day and the Green Life Guide.

International Business Times
Groovy Green

UPDATE: There appears to be some discrepency inside the Bush Administration as to whether humans are causing global warming. Although reports from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency link human activity to higher temperatures, Dick Cheney said in a recent interview that it’s still unclear whether humans or “natural cycles” are to blame. Check out the full ABC news story here.