The budget should have been a road to Australia’s low-emissions future. Instead, it’s a flight of fancy
Professor John Quiggin from the School of Economics at the University of Queensland on where the federal budget falls down.
Australia can be ‘renewable energy superpower’ says Albanese
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has outlined his plan for Australia to “emerge as a renewable energy superpower,” underwritten by a $100 million initiative to fund apprenticeships in new energy jobs including solar, large-scale renewable projects, green hydrogen and renewable manufacturing.
Adelaide to deliver Australia’s first 100% electric hospital
Australia’s first 100% electric hospital will be built in Adelaide with the South Australian Government announcing that the new $685 million Women’s and Children’s Hospital will operate without input from the state’s mains gas network.
Lightsource bp gets approval for 600MW NSW solar energy hub
British-headquartered solar developer Lightsource BP has received approval to develop a 600 MWdc solar PV hub in central western New South Wales which the company said could become the largest renewable energy power hub in the state.
‘Hydrogen as a universal climate solution might be a bit of false promise’
Hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels will not be able to move forward fast enough to replace fossil fuels and tackle climate change, according to a German-Swiss research team that claims direct electrification alternatives are cheaper and easier to implement. The scientists cite too-high prices, short-term scarcity and long-term uncertainty, as the main reasons for their skepticism, which has caused a stir in academic circles.
Rooftop CPV-thermal tech to produce electricity and freshwater
It’s claimed the decentralised desalination system can deliver a levelised cost for desalinated water of US$0.7-4.3/m3, depending on PV costs and electricity prices. It was built with several concentrated photovoltaic/thermal (CPV-T) collectors, a hot water tank, a V-MEMD module, a seawater feed tank, and a distillate tank.
Green hydrogen supply chain concerns
With South Africa holding 63,000 of the world’s estimated 69,000 metric tons of platinum reserves – according to the Statista.com website – and Russia and Zimbabwe a further 5,100 between them, the European Commission has cited the metal as an example of a potential supply chain bottleneck that could handicap its grand plans for renewables-powered hydrogen production.
NSW leads nation with record number of rooftop solar PV installs
New South Wales is leading the rooftop solar PV race with homeowners in the state installing more than 100,000 systems in 2020 according to the CSIRO following a detailed analysis of data released by the Clean Energy Regulator.
Solar Citizens warns controversial ‘sun tax’ shapes as threat to NEM
Solar Citizens has warned the Australian Energy Market Commission’s controversial proposal to make solar PV owners pay to export their surplus production to the grid could send the National Electricity Market into a ‘death spiral’.
Vast Solar progresses plans for $600 million solar thermal plant
Australian renewable energy developer Vast Solar is calling for expressions of interest from contractors as it pushes ahead with plans to develop a $600 million hybrid solar thermal project in far western Queensland.
