Technology

The controversial Snowy 2.0 project has mounted a major hurdle after the New South Wales government this week announced approval for its main works.

A massive project, which promises to transform baseload power in New South Wales, is finalizing planning, development studies, and offtake agreements. The initial target for Project NEO is to deliver 1000 MW of green hydrogen using solar, wind, and hydrogen fuel cells.

In a world-first, perovskite solar cells developed by Australian scientists have passed a series of heat and humidity tests using a low-cost solution to overcome some of the challenges that are hindering the technology’s commercialization. The scientists did this by suppressing the decomposition of the perovskite cells using a simple, low-cost polymer-glass blanket.

Homegrown fast-charging technology company Tritium has launched “Plug and Charge,” a seamlessly simultaneous way to charge your electric vehicle and pay for the pleasure.

Kalgoorlie-Boulder, in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia (WA), is set to receive the region’s first community battery. The WA Government-owned utility Western Power is looking to smooth out peak load periods by integrating the Tesla battery into the network.

A national Technology Investment Roadmap, which is intended to drive a successful shift to secure, more affordable energy and lower emissions, has flagged support for new gas investments, carbon capture and storage, and “emerging nuclear technologies”. The long-awaited document has prompted a flurry of reactions.

Researchers from Charles Darwin University have conducted a ‘cradle to grave’ life cycle assessment (LCA) of the four most widely used PV technologies. The academics say that cadmium telluride solar modules have the lowest life cycle impact, followed by amorphous, multi and monocrystalline silicon products.

The Palaszczuk Government is providing funding to accelerate a $1.5 billion transmission link stretching from Townsville to Mount Isa in North Queensland in a bid to stimulate large-scale solar and wind investment and underpin the creation of local battery industry.

The unique solar, wind, and battery project has been completed at Gold Fields’ Agnew Gold Mine, marking Australia’s largest hybrid microgrid of its kind.

The University of Queensland has released a performance report on the Tesla Powerpack it installed in December 2019. Across a range of revenue streams, the Powerpack is already earning the university some serious cash.