Employment

Tasmania has committed to being 100% renewable by 2022 and remains well on track to meet this target ahead of schedule. But the island state says it is well placed to set a more ambitious goal, which would see it double its renewable production and help mainland Australia reduce its emissions.

Horizon Power has launched its Reconciliation Action Plan to strengthen relationships with Indigenous peoples. Among the many-faceted mandates in the Plan is a recognition of the utility of solar in remote communities.

The traditional coal and gas hub of Gladston is turning into a green hydrogen mecca with two new ambitious projects in the pipeline. The city has been selected to host a gigawatt-scale green hydrogen and ammonia development and a gas injection facility to blend renewable hydrogen into its natural gas network.

Construction has begun on Royal Dutch Shell’s 120 MW solar farm which will generate clean energy for QGC’s natural gas processing plants near Wandoan in South West Queensland. The project is the oil major’s first global investment in an industrial-scale solar farm.

“It’s a pivotal time to be working in the industry,” said Women in Focus award recipient Bridget Ryan. The GreenSync Policy and Government Lead has seen great change in her two decades in the industry, but recognises there is still a way to go.

The coronavirus outbreak in China could raise solar module prices in the near term as manufacturers have already begun experiencing wafer and solar glass shortages. Production rates are also being affected by an extended new year holiday introduced by the authorities as a measure to deal with the virus, and the requirement workers from infected areas quarantine themselves for two weeks.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has called for more renewable investment and Federal government backing to help create and support more jobs in more industries, but gas is not out of the picture.

Curtin University research that aims to develop a new way of producing, storing and exporting green hydrogen from Australian resources, UNSW Sydney’s efforts to develop novel cathode coating materials towards more durable and powerful energy storage devices and Monash University’s investigation into phase change materials for wind and solar energy storage are among 18 new research collaborations supported by funding through the Australian Research Council.

A study from Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology has predicted solar and other renewables can provide a global energy jobs revolution – just as four European operations revealed recent struggles.

President Ursula von der Leyen has outlined plans to fund her Green Deal with a mix of EU, member state and private sector contributions. Now it is over to individual nations and the European Parliament.