Feed aggregator

What if we could double the amount of light that hits a solar panel? UNSW researchers say it's possible.

The post Australian researchers race to smash the solar efficiency ceiling using “singlet fission” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Wholesale electricity prices hit a new landmark on Tuesday night when all five state grids had prices pushed above $15,000 a megawatt hour (MWh) at the time. Greed is the new black.

The post Generators fill their pockets again, pushing grid prices to new highs and leaving renewables to cop the blame appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australian big battery projects headed for record year as storage prices halve over the last year.

The post New big battery projects in Australia double in size as storage prices plunge appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Queensland coal power company has been moving into renewable energy for some years, and is now signing O&M contracts to give staff taste of renewables future.

The post Coal giant signs solar farm maintenance contract to train staff in green energy future appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Barnaby Joyce reckons the "gig is up" for "intermittents" as he hoorays a cancelled project and EnergyCo rolls out scoping report for New England REZ.

The post “The gig is up:” Joyce celebrates as wind project shelved and new route to New England zone unveiled appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The scientific and broader community must join together to advance Southern Ocean science and protect this vital natural asset. Luke Bennetts, Lecturer in applied mathematics, University of Adelaide Callum Shakespeare, Senior Lecturer in Climate and Fluid Physics, Australian National University Catherine Vreugdenhil, ARC DECRA Research Fellow in Fluid Dynamics, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

An economy-wide cap-and-invest programme in Maryland would help the state achieve its climate and decarbonisation goals if designed and implemented carefully, according to a recent report published by a Washington DC-based non-profit.

The government says its budget to support a renewable energy auction will rise 50%.

The new budget comes after the previous government failed to award a single new offshore wind contract in 2023

The Labour government will make record amounts of funding available to clean energy developers after it increased the value of its summer subsidy auction by 50%, to £1.5bn.

The addition, compared with figures previously announced, means the total budget is seven times the amount available at last year’s auction, the government said.

Continue reading...

A new report from the Climate Council identifies ways to cut methane greenhouse emissions, almost two years after Australia signed a global pledge to reduce them. Lesley Hughes, Professor Emerita, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Fluctuations in the path of storms over the Australian continent can influence the conditions delivered by an El Niño or La Niña. Carly Tozer, Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO James Risbey, Researcher, Oceans and Atmosphere, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Most European airlines and aviation groups are convinced that an exemption from mandatory reporting of greenhouse gases for international flights can smooth the implementation of the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), although others are asking for stricter controls, just a few months before draft EU rules come into force.

Firm says it is now re-adjusting to a realistic end date and blames difficulties in procuring new planes and sustainable jet fuel

Air New Zealand has become the first major airline to drop its 2030 goal to cut carbon emissions.

The company has blamed difficulties in procuring new planes and sustainable jet fuel.

Continue reading...

Germany is preparing a second CCUS-focused bidding round as part of its ‘climate contracts’ funding programme for energy-intensive industries. 

Microsoft has purchased 80,000 carbon removals from a forest management project in California, it was announced on Tuesday. 

Houses in the UK could be built faster, and with more solar panels installed, if direct current (DC) microgrids were used to alleviate pressure points on the electricity network where the supply-demand crunch is particularly acute, say experts working to promote the benefits of DC technology.

Carbon Capture Scotland has partnered with a Toronto-based company to launch a digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system for the tracking of CO2 from biogenic carbon removal projects, the two announced on Tuesday.

Corporate buyers of renewable energy need to temper their expectations on prices when it comes to signing long-term contracts, as the impacts of inflation and higher financing costs mean that these deals come at a premium to buying power on the spot market, according to a sustainability advisory.

Audit of Environmental Improvement Plan finds it inadequate as government announces overhaul of goals

Goals to stop the decline of nature and clean up the air and water in England are slipping out of reach, a new report has warned.

An audit of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), which is the mechanism by which the government’s legally binding targets for improving nature should be met, has found that plans for thriving plants and wildlife and clean air are deteriorating. This plan was supposed to replace the EU-derived environmental regulations the UK used until the Environment Act was passed in 2021 after Brexit.

Continue reading...

John Podesta says negotiations ‘to find a path forward’ continue with urgent discussions planned for Cop29

Trade frictions and increasing tension between the US and China won’t affect climate negotiations between the two superpowers if he can help it, the US climate chief has pledged.

John Podesta, a senior adviser to Joe Biden on international climate policy, said the relationship between the world’s two biggest emitters and largest economies was critical to climate action, despite what appears to be a deepening gulf over trade policy.

Continue reading...