By Peter Roberts The federal government has moved to accelerate Australia’s shift towards renewable electricity, replacing the Renewable Energy Target with a series of auctions to drive investment. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen revealed the shift to six monthly auctions to secure 32GW of new wind, solar PV and energy storage capacity to…
Ark Energy has released images of the ceremony marking the groundbreaking for its planned green hydrogen hub in Townsville, Queensland. Townsville state MP Scott Stewart, Mayor Jenny Hill, partners, suppliers, contractors and key stakeholders joined company executives to celebrate the start of construction of Stage 1 of SunHQ H2 Hub. According to Ark Energy: “So…
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $11 million in funding to innovative Australian solar technology company SunDrive Solar to expand its novel solar cell metallisation capabilities. The company’s solar cell production capacity will rise from prototype scale of 1.5 MW/yr to commercial capacity of greater than 100 MW/yr. SunDrive has previously received $3…
Australian owned Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners is to add a missing piece to the solar PV manufacturing puzzle announcing plans for an $8 billion polysilicon manufacturing facility in Townsville, Queensland according to media reports. The company has been allocated 200 hectares of land at the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct which has acess to renewable energy supplies, promising…
By Bruno Vicari Stefani, CSIRO and Matthew Wright, University of Oxford Solar panel technology has made enormous progress in the last two decades. In fact, the most advanced silicon solar cells produced today are about as good as the technology will get. So what’s next? Enter “tandem solar cells”, the new generation in solar technology.…
A consortium of Halocell Energy, First Graphene and Queensland University of Technology has shared a few details about a three-year project to develop perovskite solar cell fabrication, recently awarded a $2 million grant under Round 14 of the federal Cooperative Research Centre Projects (CRC-P) initiative. Halocell makes perovskite solar cells containing halide, and describes itself…
By Peter Roberts Queensland, a state only a few years seemingly totally committed to coal fired electricity generation as well as fossil fuel export, is putting on a greener front as investments in green energy reap quick results. According to the government the state is halfway to achieving its 2030 renewable energy target with a…
The federal government has announced funding of $12.4 million to support five major projects that will help Australian researchers collaborate globally on clean energy research and development. The International Clean Innovation Researcher Networks grants will support networks focussed on renewable energy and clean technologies such as solar, wind, storage, green metals, and their supply chains.…
The maker of Penfolds wines Treasury Wine Estates gone live with the largest winery solar installation in Australia at its Barossa Winery and Production Centre in South Australia. Commissioned 12 months ago and now operational, there are almost 6,000 solar panels at the Barossa site alone, putting wines including Penfolds, Wynns, Squealing Pig and Pepperjack…
A University of NSW team that has developed a new high-efficiency method offering “effective separation of 99 per cent” of materials in solar PV panels is seeking industry partners as it progresses the technique. A statement from the university on Thursday describes the patented process as the product of three years of work. After removal…
