New Zealand opens $9 million in funding for renewable projects for Māori housing
New Zealand’s federal government has opened the final funding round in its NZ$14 million (AU$13 million) Māori Housing Renewable Energy Fund, open to small and larger-scale projects.
Sydney port to provide 100% renewable power to docked ships
Sydney’s Bay Port will soon be offering 100% renewably sourced power to docked ships, a world first for a dry-bulk precinct and the first in the Southern Hemisphere for a cruise terminal.
Could Russia’s actions in Ukraine accelerate renewables investment?
Given the goings-on in the world this last quarter, Mike Jefferies, Investment Manager at Octopus Investments Australia, takes a look at the current macroeconomic environment, how this is tied to energy markets, the impacts Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had on that energy market, what this could mean for Australia and how renewables could help address these issues.
World Bank wants 210,000 mini-grids this decade
The international development entity has already invested $1 billion in local, off-grid electricity networks over the last decade – and attracted a further $1.1 billion in matched funding – and wants to set up mini-grids to supply electricity to 490 million people by 2030.
Morrison commits $240 million to shore up critical minerals supply chain
The Australian Government has committed more than $240 million to critical minerals projects in a bid to end Australia’s reliance on China and cement its place in the rapidly growing global electric vehicle and battery markets.
Storing renewable electricity with supercritical CO2 heat pump
Researchers in Spain have designed a pumped thermal energy storage system that uses supercritical carbon dioxide as a heat pump and a heat engine. The proposed system is claimed to achieve an efficiency of 80.26% and an LCOS of €0.116/kWh (AU$0.18/KWh)
Investment cycle means race is on to incentivise green hydrogen
A report published by IRENA hints the world’s politicians will have to get to work immediately to avoid another generation of fossil fuel-fired hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol plants being set up to run into the second half of the century.
WA company to partner with Mercedes-Benz, building carmaker’s first foray into battery recycling
German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz has made public its plans partner with Primobius, a 50:50 joint venture between West Australian company Neometals and Germany’s SMS Group. Mercedes has said its intention is to build a 2,500 tonne per year lithium-ion battery recycling plant in southern Germany with Primobius as its technology partner.
World has installed 1TW of solar capacity
The world has installed its first terawatt of hardware on earth to generate electricity directly from the sun.
Labor pledges $22m to establish Northern Australia’s first eco-industrial precinct
Federal Labor has promised to allocate $22 million to help establish the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct being developed in northern Queensland if it wins the election in May.
