Western Australia to consume its carbon budget 20 years too early, report finds
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.
University of Wollongong sets benchmark for sustainable buildings in Australia
The University of Wollongong’s Sustainable Buildings Research Centre has become the first building in Australia to achieve full marks under the world’s toughest sustainability standard for buildings, the Living Building Challenge. With 468 solar panels to support net-zero energy, an onsite rainwater system to enable net-zero water performance, and use of environmentally safe and reused building materials, the building is a demonstration of the value of the research the SBRC team carries out.
Divide and conquer, Tesla’s electric Cybertruck breaks into ute-market
Tesla’s new electric ute, the Cybertruck, may not be the most beautiful of vehicles, but that doesn’t seem to have cost it any attention. The unveiling almost broke the Internet, and a couple windows really did break in the process.
WA town leading the way in renewable integration
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.
State of play: Leaders and laggards in Australia’s renewables race
South Australia has won this year’s state and territory renewables race, with the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania hot on its heels. As the state governments continue to step up action on climate change, the Federal Government is acting as an obstacle to investment, finds the Climate Council.
Angus Taylor short-circuits dissent and narrows the scope on COAG debate
NSW Energy and Environment Minister Matt Kean stands as an example of what you can gain by playing nice with the Feds, and the country’s electricity reliability standard becomes the focus of national next steps in Australia’s energy transition…
City of Melbourne invites second renewable energy tender
A group of Melbourne’s prominent universities and businesses are combining their purchasing power to source their electricity from a large scale renewable energy project in Victoria.
Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy adopted, funds for new projects allocated
State and federal energy ministers have given a tick of approval to the National Hydrogen Strategy prepared by chief scientist Alan Finkel and voiced support for a $370 million fund for green hydrogen projects. Against high expectations of the country’s hydrogen export potential, a report finds that Australia has overhyped the potential demand for hydrogen exports by a factor of up to 11.
Let’s Talk Losses
Last week two things happened related to rule changes on losses. The AEMC released a draft determination, rejecting the proposal to move to Average Loss Factors (ALF). They also held a working group for COGATI which proposes dynamic marginal loss factors.
NSW’s first renewable energy zone to unlock 3 GW of new generation
Under the Electricity Strategy released on Friday, the NSW Government has unveiled a plan to deliver Australia’s first coordinated Renewable Energy Zone in the Central-West, seeking to support the new generation needed to get energy bills down. The administration has also pledged to give NSW one of the world’s highest reliability targets to cope with the changing electricity mix and unexpected generator outages.
