Renewable Energy

Resources minister says she is ‘sad’ the US did not embrace a more reliable supply of minerals for renewable energy and battery technologies

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The Australian resources minister was saddened the US did not accept an offer of guaranteed supply to critical minerals in return for steel and aluminium tariff exemptions and has warned the package will not be improved.

Australian diplomats proposed a more reliable supply of critical minerals – which are essential for renewable energy, computer and battery technologies – as they sought exemptions from a 25% tax on steel and aluminium imports.

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Guardian readers share what they wish they had known before taking the plunge

• Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint
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So you’re finally ready to install a battery at home. There is much to consider – from cost and capacity to the behavioural changes that can boost efficiency. Here, Guardian readers make it easy by sharing their experiences and offering key pieces of advice for how to get the most out of it.

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Ed Miliband visits Beijing as part of plan to create global axis working in favour of climate action

• Ed Miliband: ‘The global battle against the climate crisis needs China’

The UK is hoping to shape a new global axis in favour of climate action along with China and a host of developing countries, to offset the impact of Donald Trump’s abandonment of green policies and his sharp veer towards climate-hostile countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Ed Miliband, the UK’s energy and net zero secretary, arrived in Beijing on Friday for three days of talks with top Chinese officials, including discussions on green technology supply chains, coal and the critical minerals needed for clean energy. The UK’s green economy is growing three times faster than the rest of the economy, but access to components and materials will be crucial for that to continue.

As energy firms race to meet challenges of storing power, critics worry about fluctuations in the depth of the loch

Brian Shaw stood at the edge of Loch Ness and pointed to a band of glistening pebbles and damp sand skirting the shore. It seemed as if the tide had gone out.

Overnight, Foyers, a small pumped-storage power station, had recharged itself, drawing up millions of litres of water into a reservoir high up on a hill behind it, ready for release through its turbines to boost the UK’s electricity supply. That led to the surface of Loch Ness, the largest body of freshwater in the UK, falling by 14cm in a matter of hours.

Dr Jonathan Pershing, a former US special envoy for climate change and climate negotiator under Democratic presidents, says few countries building nuclear power plants

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A longtime senior US climate official has weighed in on Australia’s energy debate, saying “very, very few people” internationally are building new nuclear power plants and, in most cases, the combination of solar and batteries delivers “higher reliability than gas”.

Dr Jonathan Pershing, a former US special envoy for climate change and climate negotiator under Democratic presidents, was in Sydney on Monday to speak at the city’s climate action week. Asked whether nuclear power as proposed by the Coalition was a viable option for Australia, he said “almost all the numbers that I have seen suggest that that’s a more expensive option than other choices”.