Latest news with #Synergy
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
City plan would allow 700-foot towers across downtown. But some say ‘it was a sham.'
Allowing skyscrapers to be built as-of-right, and without zoning variances, would let the city of Boston take advantage of its densest areas and Related : Advertisement 'There's general recognition that the downtown has not fully recovered its full vibrancy,' Shen said. 'We have to have the zoning to allow for people to actually think about more creative ways of investing in their property.' Advertisement The zoning plan has been a years-long process to dictate what can be built and where in Boston's downtown core, and aims to balance the need to alleviate the city's housing crisis and and downtown's deep historic fabric, while also promoting the vitality of Boston's — indeed, New England's — economic hub. A new zoning plan would allow for more tall skyscrapers with minimal permitting in downtown Boston. Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff Implementing clear zoning rules will ease the path toward making real estate developments more viable, said Dave Greaney, whose Synergy Investments owns nine properties within the Plan Downtown area. As-of-right zoning cuts down on the risk of a project getting caught in a protracted city permitting and entitlement processes — 'Anything that promotes investment and development in the downtown is great and badly needed,' Synergy CEO Dave Greaney said. 'We've seen the
Egypt Today
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Egypt Today
ON TV Announces Upcoming Premiere of Mamlket El Harir Starring Karim Mahmoud Abdel Aziz
Karim Mahmoud Abdelaziz. ON TV has revealed that the highly anticipated fantasy drama Mamlket El Harir will soon hit its screens. The announcement came via the channel's official Instagram page, where a striking poster featuring leading star Karim Mahmoud Abdel Aziz was shared, captioned: 'The Silk Kingdom — Coming Soon on ON.' The star-studded series features Karim Mahmoud Abdel Aziz alongside Ahmed Ghozzi, Amr Abdelgelil, Asmaa Abulyazeid, Mahmoud El Bezzawy, Sara El Tounsi, Walid Fawaz, Salwa Osman, and rising talents including Youssef Omar and Sara Baraka. Written and directed by Peter Mimi and produced by Synergy, the show explores an epic sibling rivalry wrapped in a rich, fantastical world.
The Age
6 days ago
- Business
- The Age
Griffin Coal set to deplete $220 million in WA taxpayer support nine months early
Failing Collie coal miner Griffin Coal is burning through its $220 million taxpayer support fund faster than the government anticipated. Premier Roger Cook revealed to parliament on Tuesday that the government had so far made $182.7 million worth of payments from the $220 million support package for Griffin Coal, which mines coal used to power the state 180 kilometres south of Perth. The package was devised in December 2023 to avoid the shutdown of Griffin Coal's mining operations in Collie, which would have cut coal supply to the privately owned Bluewaters power station and Synergy's nearby coal-fired power stations. The $220 million package was on top of $40 million in support payments already paid to Griffin. On average, Griffin is drawing down about $10.5 million from the taxpayer fund each month. At that rate, it will have expended the whole $220 million by September, despite the funding support originally slated to end in June 2026. If the Collie coal supply is impacted, it could impact the reliability of the south-west electricity grid over summer. Indian-owned Griffin Coal entered receivership in 2022 following escalating losses on the fading operation and crippling debts that reached about $1.5 billion. Cook confirmed he intended to cease funding Griffin by June next year and had reached out to stakeholders to find out what their plan was after taxpayer support ended.
ABC News
6 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Denmark's co-op wind farm to double output as energy projects gather steam
Atop a windy headland on the picturesque south coast of Western Australia is one of the country's first community-owned renewable energy projects. Compared to the mega-farms proposed elsewhere in regional Australia, the Denmark Community Windfarm (DCW) is a minnow. The twin 800-kilowatt turbines, both 55 metres tall, produce about 40 per cent of the town's total energy needs. It is a fraction of the energy produced by commercial development, but for the last 12 years the modest facility has returned financial and environmental dividends. DCW director Paul Llewellyn said there was a plan to expand the operation amid population growth in the area. "We have approval for four turbines," he said. "We can keep the two running and put two additional turbines up, or we could increase the size of those two. "Batteries added to that [would] make it an even more integrated system. Mr Llewellyn said the energy sold to WA's state-owned electricity provider Synergy reduced the electricity bills of the 160 community shareholders by about 10 per cent. Plans to connect batteries to increase the community's load capacity were in the works, but a cap on government funding meant the plan was put on hold. "We've investigated and made an application for support to get five large batch-scale batteries embedded into the local network," he said. "We should have got support, that was a perfect project to do regional-scale storage and integration of electricity and batteries into the network." Mr Llewellyn said as Australia moved towards the goal of net zero, governments should have a mandate to support communities wanting to participate in the energy market. "It's profitable at the household scale, it's profitable at the community scale, and it's much cheaper for governments to support that than it is to build large-scale architecture, transmission and generation themselves," he said. A Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water spokesperson said it was considering implementing new residential and community subsidies, but there was no funding for mid-scale community-led projects. At the state level, a spokesperson for Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the government had established specific agencies to develop government-backed energy projects. They said the state government also supported community projects through its Clean Energy Future Fund and the regional-specific Traditional Owner Participation Support Fund in the Pilbara. The DCW is one of hundreds of "mid-level" energy projects across Australia being developed as part of a growing trend for communities to consolidate and participate in the national energy market. A similar project, the 4.1-megawatt Hepburn wind farm was built at Leonard's Hill in Victoria in 2011, while a 2,400-megawatt community-owned solar farm in Goulburn New South Wales was under development. Community Power Agency director Jarra Hicks said communities across Australia were increasingly looking to enter the energy market. "There's a lot of interest, and there's even more in the pipeline." She said while retail and household generation like rooftop solar had been widely supported, mid-scale developments in between household and commercial projects were less supported. "There's this gap in the middle, this middle-sized project where community energy groups have a strong role to play and a lot of benefit," she said. Independent energy analyst Ray Wills said as the proliferation of renewable technologies in the country rose, so too would stability in the grid. "Adding batteries to the grid will stabilise it to enable our energy security. It'll do a whole pile of things, that's what distributing energy is meant to do," Professor Willis said. He said efforts by the WA and federal governments to stabilise the grid, including subsidising the purchase of home batteries, had not given enough attention to regional areas. "We really should be focused on getting those batteries into the regions," Professor Wills said. "We don't really need them in the city straight away as much as we need them in the country straight away; every town in WA really should be being enabled."
West Australian
24-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
West Aussies stuck with higher power bills than national average as the cost of energy rises
West Australians are being slugged some of the highest prices in the nation for tasks around the house as basic as heating, cooking and doing the laundry, new figures show. The cost of power for daily routines has been laid bare in a new crunch by insurance and utility comparison service iSelect, revealing at least 10 chores and appliances that cost more in WA than the national average. The biggest money drainers are air conditioning, with heating and cooling topping the chart, and running an electric heater following behind. General manager of utilities at iSelect Julia Paszka said that sandgropers were having to fork out a higher bill on average than the rest of the nation. 'Western Australia has the third highest electricity prices in the country, which means everyday appliances can really drive up power bills,' she said. Comparisons on power costs are common in the rest of the country because deregulated electricity markets allow consumers to switch providers and retailers — though critics of the east coast system say deregulation has led to higher prices overall. WA's State-regulated power network means there are only options for different providers in few circumstances. The analysis by iSelect is the first the comparison website has conducted, allowing Australians to understand how much their energy bills cost. 'To calculate these costs, we analysed the average energy consumption of common household appliances and the approximate time each activity takes to complete. We then worked out the cost of each task based on hourly energy prices in each State,' Ms Pazska said. Only NSW and South Australia had higher costs, she said, largely due to elevated wholesale prices — due to reduced coal supply, network limitations, and increased demand 'Both States are also in the middle of a major shift to renewable energy, which can push prices up in the short term, especially in NSW following the closure of the Liddell Power Station, and in SA, where gas is often used when renewables can't meet demand,' Ms Pazka said. WA's Synergy and Horizon Power declined to comment on the analysis. Ms Paszka said though the independent electricity grid in WA, and its more regulated market, helped to insulate it from some pressures seen in NSW and SA, other factors pushed prices higher. 'WA's electricity prices are pushed higher by the cost of servicing a small population spread across a vast area, including many remote communities,' she said. 'Unlike other States that rely more heavily on renewables, WA continues to depend on gas-fired power, which can be more expensive to generate and distribute.' The State Government has committed to phasing out coal-fired power by 2030, to be replaced by renewables. But in the meantime, iSelect recommends some straightforward ways to save on bills — particularly as West Australians reach for the heating as winter approaches. Switching appliances off at the power point when not in use, naturally trapping heat in the house, opting for energy efficient appliances like air fryers over ovens and timing energy usage. 'Energy companies typically charge higher rates for electricity during peak hours, usually from 4pm to 9pm, when everyone is home and using power for heating, cooking, and entertainment,' Ms Paszka said. 'If you can adjust your habits to run your appliances outside peak times, you can save a significant amount on your bill.'
