Labor’s plan to green the Kurri Kurri gas power plant makes no sense
Is it possible to have your cake and eat it too? Federal Labor is certainly giving it a go by supporting government plans for a fossil gas/diesel peaking plant in the Hunter Valley currently under construction – as long as the plant switches to green hydrogen by 2030.
BHP begins work on Northern Goldfields solar+storage system
Construction has commenced on an off-grid solar PV and battery energy storage system which will help power Australian-headquartered resource major BHP’s estimated $1 billion Nickel West mining operation in regional Western Australia.
Ampol makes move into energy retail market
Australia’s largest petroleum company Ampol has revealed its ambition to expand into the nation’s energy market by submitting an application to the industry regulator for licences to retail electricity and gas in Australia.
Microgrid project using vanadium redox flow battery
SDG&E and Sumitomo Electric complete a pilot microgrid project in California that successfully powered utility customers solely with energy stored in a flow battery.
High performance seawater batteries based on novel anode material
Scientists in Korea have developed an efficient synthesis route to produce a novel co-doped anode material for rechargeable seawater batteries. They developed a one-step plasma-in-liquid process to synthesise nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon-based anode material, which displayed great potential for seawater batteries.
Philippines launches 2 GW renewables auction
The Philippines’ Department of Energy hopes to allocate 1,260 MW of solar through the procurement exercise.
Australian researchers claim solar cell efficiency record
Researchers at the Australian National University say they have set a perovskite solar cell efficiency record at 22.6%. This efficiency, however, appears to be lower than that achieved in January by a group of Swiss and Korean researchers who used quantum dots to achieve an efficiency of 25.7% in an area of 0.08cm2 and 23.3% in 1cm2.
Shell completes Powershop takeover despite widespread outrage
Shell has completed its acquisition of green power company Powershop Australia. The takeover sparked heated outcry when it was first announced in November 2021, reportedly causing Powershop to bleed customers who felt angered and betrayed by the apparent ‘greenwashing’.
BloombergNEF says global solar will cross 200 GW mark for first time this year, expects lower panel prices
The analyst also forecasts strong growth for the storage business and a significant increase in PPAs for photovoltaic projects in Europe. It also said the newly installed PV capacity for 2021 reached 183 GW.
Australian zinc-bromide batteries chosen for Acciona’s Spanish testing field
Gelion’s zinc-bromide Endure batteries will undergo commercial tests at the 1.2 MW Montes del Cierzo testing field Spanish renewable energy company Acciona Energía operates in Navarra, in the north of Spain.
