Ovida expands solar market into coal country with commercial microgrid PPAs
Ovida provides PPAs to businesses and multi-tenanted buildings, but the company is also working hard on a Community Energy Microgrid Hub and Victoria’s largest concentration of on-grid microgrids in the heart of Victorian coal country, the Latrobe Valley
Using machine learning and cheap satellite data to design rooftop solar power
Researchers have built a tool to use cheap satellite imagery – like Google Maps – to automatically create solar designs with a 91% accuracy rate.
Community solar to take Victoria town to 100% renewables
A 1.6 MW community solar farm will support the Victorian town of Natimuk to reach its target of being 100% powered by renewable energy. The project is underpinned by state government funding.
Ib vogt launches EPC works on 109 MW NSW solar project
The German developer and EPC contractor has reached the final development milestone on a solar and battery project in the Riverina region and moved into construction phase.
Solar-powered furniture offers off-grid connection
South Australian outdoor furniture brand Sedi has developed bespoke benches and shelter options for smart cities and regional areas.
Potential $92 billion boost to Aussie economy from EV and personalised transport uptake
A study by LEK Consulting puts the future economic value of “new mobility” options such as electric vehicles and autonomous taxis in the tens of billions of dollars. The benefits go beyond decarbonisation into social and healthcare realms — compelling reasons to accelerate change.
New US study finds renewable energy storage costs need to drop 90%
Researchers in the US have published a study that brings 20 years of renewable energy (solar PV and/or wind plus storage) generation into line with historical energy-demand profiles, to ascertain at what storage cost point renewables can cost-effectively consistently meet 100% demand.
Suspicions grow that Solar Homes being gamed
The impacts of the cap that Victoria’s Solar Homes program is having on local installers are becoming more pronounced, as some express fears that the system is being exploited by unscrupulous industry players. Solar Cutters says some installers are receiving “pitiful” numbers of installs under the scheme, leaving them “dumbfounded”.
QIC raises green bond to upgrade shopping malls
Touted as the first green bond issued by a retail property landlord globally, the $300 million instrument will fund initiatives to enhance the environmental performance for three of the retail assets within the QIC Shopping Centre Fund portfolio. The green bond was five times oversubscribed and attracted new investors from across Asia and Australia, as well as a cornerstone investment from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).
Australia’s biggest behind-the-meter energy storage officially launched
Victoria’s Monash University has unveiled the nation’s largest hybrid battery storage system as part of a microgrid that will cover 100% of power needs at its biggest campus with renewable energy.
