Oceania

The Australian arm of South Korean solar technology giant Hanwha Q-Cells has extended its reach, launching into the New Zealand energy market.

New Zealand’s Climate Change Commission today released its long-anticipated advice to the government on how to reshape the economy to meet the country’s domestic and international climate change obligations. The document sets out three emissions budgets, covering 15 years to 2035 in five-yearly plans. It also provides advice on the direction policy should take to achieve the country’s 2050 net-zero goal.

For the transport sector, which is responsible for half of New Zealand’s energy-related emissions, the commission suggests a sweeping set of changes to electrify the country’s car fleet and to replace imported fuels with local renewable electricity. It’s exciting to see a national-level plan that actually cuts emissions. But it raises two questions: is it feasible, and is it the best or only option?

Researchers from Swinburne University and China’s Shaanxi Normal University have managed to develop a novel catalyst for highly efficient production of green hydrogen from seawater via solar. This catalyst, which required researchers to invent a prototype device called a ‘Ocean-H2-Rig’, highlights the potential of this technology and that we are only just now starting to scratch the surface.

Flinders University in Adelaide has announced its campuses and facilities are now officially 100% powered by renewable energy from campus-based solar arrays and a local wind farm.

New South Wales’ Lismore City Council will construct a carpark solar shade structure and an electric vehicle charging station funded through a Federal Government grant.

Australia’s Rectifier Technologies has unveiled its latest electric vehicle charging technology, which the company says is flexible, reduces grid stains and opens the door to High Powered Charging in urban areas.

Western Australia’s government has today announced plans to construct what will be the state’s largest VPP to be hosted in the Perth suburb Southern River.

Spanish-Japanese renewable energy company Univergy Solar and local partner New Energy Developments are set to begin construction on the 120 MW Wallaroo Solar Farm on the NSW/ACT border by the end of 2021. The agrivoltaic installation will operate symbiotically as a generator of clean energy, grazing land, and a thriving habitat for native vegetation and pollinators.

WePower has delivered its blockchain-enabled Elemental technology to Mojo Power for the establishment of the Mojo Marketplace, an online shopping setup whereby businesses and industry can shop for locally sourced renewable energy retail contracts.