Installations

U.S. researchers have investigated how rooftop PV systems may affect air and building temperature in urban environments and, conversely, how the urban heat island (UHI) effect may have a negative impact on PV system performance. Their work considered urban air temperature, urban air pollution, the partial shading of the PV system, soiling, building heating and cooling loads, and outdoor shade.

Remote power generation specialist Zenith Energy will build upon its renewable energy options at Western Australian miner IGO’s Nova nickel site to demonstrate it is possible to use 100% renewables to meet the demands of an operational mine site.

Australian financial institution Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has turned to solar PV to improve its bottom line with a 200 kW rooftop system installed atop its major corporate site in Bendigo in regional Victoria.

Singapore’s trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund GIC has made a “strategic” investment in renewables developer InterContinental Energy, one of the major players behind mega solar and wind-powered green hydrogen projects planned for Western Australia’s Pilbara and southeast regions.

An international research team has investigated how solar could be combined with thermoelectric coolers (TECs), which are small solid-state heat pumps used either for heating or for cooling. A system was built with six solar panels, an air duct system, four batteries, a charge controller, TECs, an inverter, heat sinks, a test chamber, and condenser fans.

Australian engineering firm UGL has secured the design and works contract for an 88 MW solar farm in outback Queensland and the engineering, procurement and construction contract for an 87 MW solar farm in South Australia as part of a works package expected to deliver a combined revenue of more than $296 million.

A 100kW/1.5MWh zinc-air battery will be installed in Queens, New York, in combination with a combined heat and power system and a PV array. The pilot project is intended to demonstrate the long-duration energy storage capability of the zinc-air battery.

Gold developer Calidus Resources has become the latest miner to decarbonise its Western Australian operations by installing a 19 MW hybrid solar PV-gas power system which in future could be up to a quarter fuelled by hydrogen.

The debate around what’s become known as Australia’s “solar tax” has rounded a new corner, with the Australian Energy Regulator publishing its draft guidelines for solar export tariffs.

Humes, a division of concrete company Holcim Australia, is making moves on its emissions reductions targets with the installation of rooftop solar on 10 of its sites across Australia. With a number of the projects already completed, Humes expects to finish the large-scale layout by the end of March 2022.