12 Renewable Energy Projects Receive ARENA Funding

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has announced $21.5 million funding for a dozen research and development projects it says will keep Australia at the forefront of solar research.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $21.5 million funding for a dozen research and development projects it says will keep Australia at the forefront of solar research.
  
ARENA’s Research and Development (R&D) Program supports renewable energy technologies that will boost the commercial deployment of renewable energy technology in Australia. 
  
“The research will complement ARENA’s existing suite of solar projects, which is already delivering more efficient technologies and helping to reduce costs associated with the deployment of renewable energy in Australia,” said ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht.
  
The funding is being bolstered by contributions from domestic and international partners, resulting in the projects totalling more than $70 million. The economic benefits will also include generating Australia-owned intellectual property.
   
Picked from 110 application; among the projects to receive funding under Round 1 are:
  
University of NSW (UNSW) – development of a tandem solar cell using perovskite.
  
CSIRO – design of an improved heliostat mirror for central-tower solar thermal installations.
   
Australian National University (ANU) – optimising solar modules for Australian conditions.
   
University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) – the development of lithium-sulfur batteries for large-scale energy storage.
  
All 12 projects are being run by UNSW, CSIRO, ANU or UTS. A full listing of projects to be funded can be viewed here.
  
Up to $300 million over the period 2013 to 2022 had been allocated to develop ARENA’s R&D portfolio; but the agency has been in the crosshairs of the Federal Government, which attempted to backflip on a promise to maintain it. However, efforts to abolish the agency were frustrated by Senator Ricky Muir who not only wants to see ARENA preserved, but expanded.
   
In other recent news from ARENA, earlier this month the body announced $4.6 million for an $11.9 million 1 MW expansion of the award winning Doomadgee Solar Farm that will benefit a remote Aboriginal community in north-western Queensland.
  

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