Community

The small tourist town of Denham in Western Australia’s Shark Bay World Heritage Area could host a renewable hydrogen demonstration project as part of a new energy solution planned for the town.

Esperance has a new green deal for the supply of its electricity until 2042. The agreement, which commences in 2022, seeks to cut carbon emissions and features a new a battery storage system and renewables hub complete with solar farm.

Comet-ME has developed a solar-powered submersible borehole piston pump for off-grid communities and smallholders to use for irrigation and domestic purposes. The device, compatible with PV systems from 300-900 W in size, can pump water from 45m with as little as 50 W of continuous solar power.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has come together with private sector infrastructure fund manager Infradebt to invest in smaller utility-scale renewable energy projects for community and commercial energy users. The move aims to close an investment gap for projects of 25 MW or less.

Drought-stricken Manilla will soon have some of its pressures eased thanks to its efforts to develop a community solar project. The Manilla Solar Farm will not only provide locals with cheaper, clean energy, but also enable energy trading with the national grid.

Chinese scientists have developed a PV floor tile they say is suitable for pavements and cycling tracks. The devices were tested on a ‘green deck’ in Hong Kong. The developers say the tiles have demonstrated satisfactory solar energy conversion, anti-slip performance, heat-resistance and strength.

Located on a disused landfill that was once part of a coal mine, the newly completed solar farm will save ratepayers around $9 million over its 25-year lifespan.

University of New South Wales students have travelled to remote communities in Fiji in order to troubleshoot the challenges of renewable energy integration and come up with technical and design-based solutions to community needs.

Under the business-as-usual scenario, Western Australia could use up its Paris-Agreement 1.5°C compatible carbon budget within 12 years but a massive ramping up of renewable energy capacity would unlock significant economic opportunities for the state, finds a report by Berlin-based science and policy institute Climate Analytics.

The coastal town of Onslow in the Pilbara has had its much-anticipated standalone solar farm and battery completed this week, making it one of Australia’s largest distributed energy resource microgrids.