Oceania

Sydney’s Inner West Council has set an ambitious target of 1000% increase in solar generation over the next decade. Council is seeking Expressions of Interest from all parties as the Inner West looks to help its residents toward a sustainable future.

UNSW student groups have been visiting Tanna Island in Vanuatu for over a decade. The solar PV solutions they’ve brought with them have helped many communities, but since Cyclone Pam tore through the region in 2015, sustainable solar is more important more than ever.

Over the past week renewable energy developers and major investors have told the Smart Energy Council that, “They’re done. The sovereign risk in Australia is too great,” says the industry body’s Government Relations Manager, Wayne Smith. With prospects, employment and energy prices in jeopardy, the SEC vows to rattle the corridors of power for a bankable plan.

Between Shepparton and Wangaratta, in rural Victoria, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures’ latest solar project will soon tilt its panels to the sun, and fund a research project with the University of Melbourne to explore ways — including regulatory innovation and community empowerment — of accelerating the state’s transition to a sustainable low-carbon future.

The economics of energy supply are subject to a host of variable factors — including steady reductions over time in the costs of solar, wind and battery technology. Last week Rystad Energy published analysis of the proposed electrification of Curtis Island LNG plants and government assertions that such an energy swap would release substantial gas supplies for domestic use, lower gas prices and reduce carbon emissions…

Despite a massive drop in renewable energy investment seen last year, 2020 promises to bring both good and bad news for the Australian solar sector. While network conditions will continue to deteriorate, the low-carbon policy will become more supportive but also more chaotic.

The federal government has extended the default market offer coverage to more than a million households with rooftop solar across three states.

The Australian research team which developed the device said the higher efficiency was achieved through a nanowire design which eliminates the interface inside the titanium dioxide band.

As part of its $1.7 million investment in a greener future, the City of Wagga Wagga is set to install a series of solar PV arrays across its sites. Meanwhile, construction continues on the nearby 120 MW Bomen Solar Farm.

In a bid to seek resolution of all disputed claims, Windlab has reached a standstill agreement with the EPC contractor on the Kennedy Energy Park, Australia’s first project on a major grid to combine wind, solar and battery technologies.