USDA Funds Rural Renewables And Energy Efficiency Projects
The United States Department Of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded loans and grants for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy systems to more than 1,100 rural small businesses and agricultural producers. USD $102 million in loan guarantees and $71 million in grants has been provided to 1,114 projects financed through the latest round of Rural Energy […]
Australia’s First Wind/Solar Plant To Be Built In Queensland
Construction of a $140 million combined wind and solar energy facility in North Queensland is expected to begin within a year. Kennedy Energy Park will go ahead as a result of a 50/50 joint venture agreement between Canberra-based Windlab Limited and Japan’s Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation. The first stage of the Kennedy Energy Park will […]
Australia’s New Chief Scientist Big On Wind, Solar And Storage
Dr Alan Finkel AO is Australia’s next Chief Scientist; and one who has a vision of a world without coal and gas. Dr Finkel will succeed Professor Ian Chubb AC, whose term concludes at the end of 2015. “The Australian Government recognises the importance of science, innovation and technology to our future prosperity and economic […]
White Bay Power Station To Be Transformed
White Bay Power Station in the Sydney suburb of Rozelle will be reborn as a hub for knowledge-intensive industries. The repurposing of the shuttered coal-fired electricity generator is part of the New South Wales Government’s plan for the transformation of Sydney’s Bays Precinct. “This plan showcases the NSW Government’s ambition for The Bays Precinct to […]
Adelaide Airport Installing More Solar
South Australia’s Adelaide Airport has announced it will install the largest airport rooftop solar power system in the country. The 1.17MW PV array, which will also be the biggest private-sector owned solar power system in South Australia, will slash Adelaide Airport Ltd’s mains supplied electricity consumption and carbon emissions by nearly 10%. The new project […]
Electricity Bills Top Australian Consumer Concerns
Electricity bills remain the no.1 concern for Australian consumers according to the latest Choice Consumer Pulse – and the energy sector is suffering from a significant reputation problem. 70% of those surveyed cited electricity as their biggest concern (79%), followed by food and groceries (73%), fuel (70%), health/medical (67%), car insurance (60%) and water (60%). […]
SMA Achieves 1GW Of Solar Inverter Sales In Thailand
SMA Solar Technology AG announced on Friday it had reached 1 gigawatt of solar inverter sales in Thailand, the fourth market in the APAC region where SMA has done so. SMA said earlier this month that it had reached a similar milestone in Japan; the first non-local supplier to achieve that level. SMA states its […]
Apple To Take Another Big Bite Of Solar
Apple has announced the completion of a major solar project and its intentions to have more constructed. Apple stated construction on 40 megawatts of solar PV in the Sichuan Province of China is now complete and will produce up to 80 million kilowatt-hours per year of clean energy. This is more than the total amount […]
Cool Tools – New Global Wind Atlas Launched
A publicly-available, highly detailed map of wind energy resources around the world has been launched by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The Global Wind Atlas provides wind resource data at one-kilometre resolution; offering far more detail than other maps available to the public that are 10-kilometre resolution […]
JA Solar Opening Malaysia Panel Plant
One of the world’s largest solar panel producers, JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd, has reportedly invested RM300 million (~ AUD 96.7 million) to establish its first manufacturing plant in Malaysia. The Penang facility will also be the company’s first outside of China. Bernama reports production of solar panels will commence in a few weeks and […]