Environment
Batteries undercutting gas, keeping lid on power bills
6 May
Australian power grids have proven far more resilient to the latest global energy crisis compared with the Russia-Ukraine war, bolstered by battery boom and subdued local gas prices. A ballooning battery fleet soaking up cheap, abundant solar to...[Read More]
AI key to recovering ultra-valuable solar material
6 May
The race is on to extract more value from retired solar equipment to improve recycling economics and prevent tens of thousands of tonnes of material going to landfill. Materials like glass, silver and copper can be prised from end-of-life systems...[Read More]
Turning wine into fuel could bolster local supplies
29 April
As the petrol crisis continues, Australia’s peak grape body is hoping to transform wine into fuel. The country’s $51 billion wine industry is on the precipice as it faces a significant oversupply of product, with more than 350 million bottles of...[Read More]
Amazon Australia adds to green energy portfolio
29 April
Amazon Australia is expanding its green energy credentials as it begins a huge investment in energy-hungry data centres in Sydney and Melbourne. The e-commerce giant on Thursday announced it had signed nine more renewable energy purchase agreements,...[Read More]
‘Like charging a phone’: $1.5m boost for EV network
29 April
Electric vehicle chargers could be installed in the basements of more than 400 apartment buildings around Australia as part of a $3.4 million investment in the technology. Sydney-based charging company ReadySteadyPlug announced plans to expand its...[Read More]
Electric vehicle batteries could spark recycling market
22 April
As many as 4000 electric vehicle batteries could be recycled and used a source of critical minerals every year after an Australian start-up secured a $12 million funding boost. Perth-based Renewable Metals announced the investment on Monday, which...[Read More]
After the sun sets: hub to tackle coming e-waste crisis
22 April
A national research hub will seek engineers, scientists and policymakers to tackle one of Australia’s biggest renewable energy challenges: what to do with solar panels at the end of their lives. UNSW Sydney announced the opening of Australia’s...[Read More]
Electric truck transition preparing for the long haul
15 April
War in the Middle East and associated spiralling diesel costs could spell the perfect time for truck fleets to keep edging closer to electrification. On Tuesday, the NSW government announced an expansion of heavy vehicle electrification incentives...[Read More]
Green advocates urge reset on food security goals
15 April
Future food security needs to be decoupled from an obsession with agricultural productivity to ensure food is kept on the table of all Australians, sustainability advocates say. The federal government is currently consulting with stakeholders after...[Read More]
Electric vehicle fee could throttle record adoption
8 April
An annual fee for driving electric vehicles could put the brakes on their record sales in Australia, with almost one in three households saying it would change their purchase intentions. Working families in outer suburbs were most likely to be...[Read More]
More records loom as fuel crunch turbocharges EV sales
8 April
Australians have raced to secure electric vehicles during the Middle East war-driven fuel crisis, near-doubling sales to set a national record. Motorists bought more than 15,800 new electric cars during March, according to figures released by the...[Read More]
Farmers hit hard by food waste billions
8 April
Australian fruit and vegetable growers are missing out on the sale of up to a million tonnes of produce annually that never makes it to market. That’s a whopping $2.5 billion a year but a figure dwarfed by the costs linked to such a huge...[Read More]
Discount loans to rev up Aussie electric vehicle market
1 April
Demand for electric cars could get a second boost with the launch of a $100 million scheme offering discounted loans on low-emission vehicles. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation released details of the multimillion-dollar program on Wednesday...[Read More]
Fuel, fertiliser shortages could deliver barren harvest
1 April
Australia’s regional and rural businesses will face a triple threat from fuel, fertiliser and interest rate changes over the coming months, but can fight back with investments in renewable energy and artificial intelligence. NAB issued the advice...[Read More]
Bumpy path predicted for self-driving cars in Australia
25 March
Autonomous cars could slash transport pollution by driving more efficiently, avoiding traffic snarls and reducing the need for car parks. But with the wrong policy settings, the technology could undo those savings by putting more cars on the road,...[Read More]