Sustainability

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is allocating $460,500 in funding to investigate opportunities for using renewables in process heating in manufacturing.

The Northern Territory (NT) Labor Government has launched its draft Climate Change Response, a comprehensive and informed plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The NT is looking particularly to solar, as “Solar is the cheapest form of new electricity generation, and the NT has one of the best solar resources in the world.”

Electricity retailer Powershop is encouraging the uptake of Electric Vehicles (EVs) with the introduction of a “Super Off-Peak Tariff”, a way for EV owners with smart meters to charge their vehicles at a reduced rate.

Redflow has won a significant order of its ZBM2 zinc-bromine flow batteries for mobile phone tower sites across South Africa in a deal which should see the Australian energy storage company receive revenue this calendar year.

Aquarevo, VIC, Australia’s most water and energy efficient residential development, has seen its first instalment of sonnenBatteries at its showcase house, allowing residents to see the German designed, Aussie made energy storage technology in action.

A report by Germany’s Energy Watch Group thinktank has said we would be better off sticking to coal and oil than switching to gas because emissions of methane, the most potent greenhouse gas, caused by gas extraction render any related carbon savings irrelevant.

ITP Renewables has released Version 1 of open-CEM, an open-source modelling platform that allows users play out tailored made energy-transition scenarios on the National Electricity Market (NEM) for years simulated up to 2050. The platform is an extraordinary tool for investors, policy makers, project developers and the public.

Carlton & United Breweries’ (CUB) iconic Aussie beer Victoria Bitter (VB) is shifting to solar energy in 2020. The brewer made the announcement in typical fashion, with an iconic ad campaign.

After it had contracted enough generation to future-proof its 100% renewables target, the Australian Capital Territory has unveiled the next phase of its strategy towards zero net emissions with several nation-first policies.

Credibility comes not just from offering products that generate clean electricity, but also from the way in which those products are manufactured, says SMA Solar Technology CEO Jürgen Reinert. Here, transparency and sustainability are key. That’s why one of the world’s largest PV inverter producers has partnered with pv magazine’s UP sustainability initiative. In the following Q&A, Reinert lays out what SMA is doing to step UP its green game.