Leading economists back federal government action to curb rising gas and electricity prices

By Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Australia’s top economists have overwhelmingly endorsed intervention to restrain gas and electricity prices, with only three of the 47 leading economists surveyed believing the best thing the government can do is to leave things to the market. The 47 economists surveyed are members of…

New ARC Carbon Science and Innovation centre awarded funding

The UNSW-led Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science and Innovation has been awarded $35 million in federal funding, and aims to “revolutionise carbon science” to create new carbon-based catalysts for use in renewable energy generation, carbon capture and clean chemical production.  Scientia Professor Liming Dai (pictured), who is also Founding Director of the…

USQ leads bid for ten-year hemp CRC

University of Southern Queensland is leading a bid for a ten-year Cooperative Research Centre, which would “explore the immense production possibilities of hemp”. According to a statement from USQ on Monday, core research areas would include production, health and materials streams. Supporters of a thriving industrial hemp industry in Australia point to attributes such as…

Neoen shows the electricity industry has become storage

By Peter Roberts French renewable energy storage developer Neoen is showing how a new element of the electricity industry is emerging as highly profitable, taking the shine off traditional generation, distribution and retailing. The company owns the original big battery the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia of 150MW/193.5MWh, as well as the Victorian Big…

Ampcontrol shows off new EV charger for mine electricifation

Hunter Valley electrical engineering manufacturer Ampcontrol has showcased a mine specification DC Electric Vehicle Charger at mine innovation event the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney, NSW. The company displayed a range of mining electrification solutions including Electric Vehicle Charging for mine sites at IMARC. A number of DC chargers and DRIFTEX, the…