Tasmanian Energy Security Taskforce Consultation Paper
Interested parties have been invited to provide feedback on a Consultation Paper released yesterday by Tasmania’s Energy Security Taskforce. “The Taskforce is aware of the broad community concerns that arose earlier this year as dam storages fell to historically low levels and energy security became a ‘front and centre’ issue for all Tasmanians,” said Mr […]
Victorian Government Fighting To Lower Electricity Prices
The Victorian Government announced yesterday it had made a submission to the Australian Competition Tribunal to plead the case against the loss of electricity bill cost reductions. It seems power companies in Victoria are appealing a previous decision made by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) that would have seen a lowering of average household electricity […]
Will This Invention Be A Battery-Killer?
Could a football-sized energy storage solution designed by a 21 year-old student from Lancaster University in the UK replace lithium-ion based home battery systems? Third year Mechanical Engineering student Abigail Carson has apparently developed a super-fast Flywheel Energy Storage (FES) design that could be used with solar power systems and for a wide range of […]
Smelting Australia Iron Ore With The Power Of The Sun
Solar powered iron ore smelting could be step closer thanks to the efforts of researchers at Australia’s Swinburne University. The temperatures needed to produce iron from iron ore need to reach between 1,000 and 1,500 degrees Celsius. That requires an enormous amount of energy. According to Low-Tech Magazine, it takes 20-25 megajoules (5,550 to 6,950 […]
Building Better Perovskite Solar Cells
Perovskite solar cell (PSC) technology offers big advantages as a cheap, high-efficiency alternative to silicon-based photovoltaic cells, but producing them in the laboratory can be a bit of a hit-and-miss affair. Scientists from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), working with researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), have developed a method of making […]
SA Government Intervenes On Electricity Prices
The South Australian Government announced yesterday it was stepping in to thwart attempts by SA Power Networks to bump up charges for electricity distribution. Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis has directed Executive Director of Energy Vince Duffy to deliver an oral submission to the Australian Competition Tribunal in response to an appeal by SA Power Networks […]
New Draft Wind Farm Guidelines For New South Wales
The NSW government is introducing new draft wind farm guidelines – finally updating those released back in 2011. While the draft guidelines didn’t appear to be available at the time of writing, The Australian reports each wind farm development will be assessed on its own circumstances; rather than blanket regulations excluding turbines being situated at […]
Western Australia’s New Museum To Be Solar Powered
The design of the new Western Australian Museum has been unveiled – and solar power is among its features. Brookfield Multiplex was awarded the contract to design and construct the $428 million project, which will be four times the size of the current museum. The development will include 7,000 square metres of galleries; incorporating a […]
An Electrifying Future For Australian Battery Storage
The world’s energy storage revolution is revving up – and Australia will be one of the global leaders in battery uptake out to at least 2025. In a new report, IHS Markit states the global energy storage market is expected to double to 2.9 GWh installed capacity by the end of 2016. Looking past this […]
NSW Government Launches Renewable Energy Map
The New South Wales Government has taken the wraps off a renewal energy mapping application that it hopes will help generate investment in new projects in the state. The NSW Renewable Energy Resource Map (basic viewer/advanced viewer) offers free access to data and information relevant to the state’s renewable energy resources. So far, more than […]