45,000 renewables jobs are Australia’s for the taking – but how many will go to coal workers?
As the global renewables transition accelerates, the future for coal regions has become a big worry. This raises an important question: can renewables create the right jobs in the right places to employ former coal workers?
Ikea invests more in solar by the day
The Swedish furniture giant has said it will turn one of its Australian superstores into its first 100% renewables-powered solar+storage retail project. Australia is also home to the company’s first expansion of its retail solar offering, Solstråle.
Canadian Solar joins the 500 W-plus panel club
The Chinese-Canadian company has unveiled a range of high-power modules which are set to go into mass production by early next year. The series includes a commercial and industrial rooftop-dedicated product offering a reported 405 W.
What’s going on in the world of thermal energy storage?
Can this technology be commercialized? A partnership between Siemens Energy and EnergyNest to develop thermal storage solutions together is the latest development in an industry with lots of potential, but little practical application thus far.
PV module prices are falling faster than all predictions
New research from Wood Mackenzie shows that overall system costs for installations using mono PERC modules are set to fall by as much as 20% by 2025.
Albanese calls on Morrison to negotiate a bipartisan energy framework
Anthony Albanese has proposed negotiations for a bipartisan agreement on an energy policy framework to create greater certainty for investment.
Australia has failed miserably on energy efficiency – and government figures hide the truth
Amid the urgent need to slow climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency makes sense. But as Australia’s chief scientist Alan Finkel last week warned, we’re not “anywhere close to having that nailed”.
The number of climate deniers in Australia is more than double the global average, new survey finds
Australian news consumers are far more likely to believe climate change is “not at all” serious compared to news users in other countries. That’s according to new research that surveyed 2,131 Australians about their news consumption in relation to climate change.
Looking gloomy at Oakey 2 Solar Farm again?
Yesterday I received a call from the people at pv magazine who were preparing for the ‘Virtual Roundtables Europe 2020’ event on this week in Germany – i.e. Tuesday evening (now!) and Wednesday evening ‘NEM time’. I’m told the event will be recorded, with the recording available later to those who have registered, so get your skates on if interested.
HomeBuilder misses a chance to make our homes perform better for us and the planet
The federal government’s new A$688 million HomeBuilder package might protect residential construction jobs but it’s a missed opportunity to deliver sustainability benefits that would save owners money in the long run.
