Sustainability

A group of Deakin University researchers have won a top gong at Climate Launchpad 2020 with their innovatory sodium battery which they expect to electrify Indonesia’s enormous scooter market within three years and outcompete lithium ion batteries in the near future.

The 18-meter long solar cell-clad trailer is said to enable fuel savings of 5-10% in Sweden. Swedish thin-film manufacturer Midsummer is a partner on the project.

Yesterday, Zali Steggall, the independent member for Warringah, introduced her long-awaited climate change bill to the Australian parliament.

Singapore-based solar plus storage microgrid expert Canopy Power has helped the Batu Batu resort on Malaysia’s Tengah Island reduce its dependence on diesel fuel through the installation of an integrated system which will cover a quarter of its energy needs.

BlackRock, the $7.3 trillion asset manager and one of AGL Energy’s largest shareholders, broke ranks at AGL’s recent annual shareholder meeting to side with the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility’s resolution to accelerate the closure of the energy giant’s coal-fired power stations. The move is significant for BlackRock who had so far only talked the talk, but now seems to be walking the walk.

In a move which is sure to pan out well for Granny Smith gold mine in Western Australia, Aggreko has installed one of Australia’s largest renewable energy microgrids comprising 7.7 MWp of solar energy generation which will integrate with the site’s existing power station. pv magazine sat down with Aggreko’s Managing Director of Microgrids and Storage solutions, Karim Wazni, to discuss how microgrids and energy storage can help transition Australia’s resource sector.

Sustainability-linked debt financing is experiencing ever increasing popularity and the success of green bonds has driven other products linked to social performance and other sustainability criteria. The total volume of such investments to date passed the $2 trillion point this year.

Vector Powersmart has completed construction on New Zealand’s largest solar array, which is also, incidently, New Zealand’s largest floating solar array. The 1 MW system isn’t just floating around doing nothing though, it’s generating approximately a quarter of the Rosedale Wastewater Treatment Plant’s energy needs.

Solar and energy storage play an essential role in Project Gilghi, an off-grid water security innovation that has the potential to help a great many Australians, particularly Indigenous Australians, and people around the world who are struggling with poor access to potable water and sanitation.

The iron and steel sector is the ‘world’s largest industrial source of climate pollution.’ This steel mill in Pueblo, Colorado, will be the first in North America to rely on solar power.