Energy

Australian biofuel developer, Algae.Tec will join forces with India’s largest private sector enterprise, Reliance Industries, to take its innovative technology to the market. Western Australia-based Algae.Tec has partnered with Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited (RIIHL), a subsidiary of the Reliance Group, to build a pilot biofuels plant using its algae fuel technology. RIIHL will make an initial investment of A$1.5 million with an additional A$1.2 million to follow. The plant is designed to tailor the technology for local settings and produce two barrels of biofuel a day in the pilot phase. The partners will work together towards commercialisation, with Reliance having exclusivity of the technology in India. The companies plan to take the technology to other parts of Asia to help meet the growing demand for biofuels. According to Bloomberg News, India is aiming for 20 per cent of its fuel to come from clean sources by 2017. Algae.Tec Managing Director Peter Hatfull told RenewEconomy that the algae technology had the potential to make a significant impact on India’s energy and environmental requirements. ‘India is a perfect market place for our technology. It is an absolutely gigantic market,” he told the magazine. Talking about the partnership agreement Mr Hatfull said, ‘This is a very exciting step forward. This level of financial backing and ongoing support is just what Algae.Tec needed. ‘It’s a fact of business life that emerging companies need funding injections and the technical grunt of this type to transition into the commercial phase,’ he said. Austrade’s Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, Nicola Watkinson said, ‘As Indian companies continue to drive innovation programs to improve their competitiveness at home and abroad, they are considering Australian businesses and research institutions for mutually beneficial partnership opportunities. ‘They are on the lookout for joint research projects, or to develop and commercialise […]

Deployment of solar PV has grown at a 48% compound annual growth rate since 200 in Australia.  Construction of the southern hemisphere’s largest solar PV plant is getting underway. This follows swiftly on from the announcement that Australia has recently completed its two millionth small-scale renewable installation, just eight months after reaching the initial million mark. On first glance it appears Australia’s time in the renewable sun is just around the corner. Deployment of solar PV has grown at a 48% compound annual growth rate since 2005, and the state of South Australia generated over 25% of power supply during peak output in January. Yet AGL Energy’s 102MW Nyngan Solar Plant provides a false glimmer of hope for Australian renewables, which are struggling to break through the billowing smoke of the fossil fuel industry. The Verdantix Energy Profile of Australia, highlighted how power generation is overwhelmingly dominated by fossil fuels, with coal generating 70% of electricity, dwarfing both wind and solar at 2% and 1% respectively. It appears the clouds are gathering for renewables as the government is planning to water down the Renewable Energy Target – a subsidy scheme which has underpinned the surge in solar and wind investment in recent years. “Elected in September 2013 on a mandate to scrap the carbon tax, the Coalition is on the warpath to put renewables on the backburner.” Elected in September 2013 on a mandate to scrap the carbon tax, the Coalition is on the warpath to put renewables on the backburner and cement Australia’s dependency on fossil fuels, as it seeks to put the brakes on rising electricity prices. Details released in December on the Emissions Reduction Fund – the cornerstone of the Coalition’s new energy and climate change legislation – reveals that the firms failing to meet emissions reductions targets will most likely go unpunished. With a declining manufacturing […]

Ten Sydney women have joined forces to make savings on their energy bills that would be enough to power four average family homes for a week. Many of the women exceeded their 20 per cent target and reduced their energy usage by more than half, providing them with significant financial savings in the lead up to Christmas. The three-month Women Power pilot was made possible by a City of Sydney environmental grant to 1 Million Women, an organisation of women taking action on climate change by changing the way they live. Katie McSweeney, who lives in the inner west, said her journey as a power woman was educational and enlightening and she is reaping the rewards of reduced power bills. “I really started paying attention to my power usage patterns, which allowed me to identify simple ways to cut my energy consumption,” Ms McSweeney said. “My technology-loving partner has dozens of chargers and appliances around the house. By switching them off when not in use, I was really able to cut energy consumption.”  Ms McSweeney cut her energy consumption by 41 per cent, doubling the target set for her by 1 Million Women and said she was surprised at the significant difference achieved through simple measures.”Most of my energy consumption came from my hot water heating and charging of electronic appliances such as tablets, laptops and phones.”I was able to cut down my energy consumption dramatically by turning them off as well as turning off unnecessary lights and taking short showers. My power bills are now down to about $12 a week from $21 which is a fantastic result.” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the pilot was a great example of women harnessing their economic power to make smart choices and save energy and power bills.”Everyone can play a part […]