IoT enabling a sustainable food industry

A consortium consisting of food value chain companies, researchers, government and regulatory agencies and technology providers is hoping to use the Internet of Things and other innovative technologies to improve food supply sustainability and profitability. Dubbed the Food Agility Cooperative Research Centre (Food Agility CRC), its mission is to “tackle real food industry problems working with innovative digital technology and talented people to make a difference.” The group has recognised that digital technology is the key to improving food industry outcomes, and will focus on and create projects based on four key tenets: Helping Australia’s food producers provide the right …

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Lithium stocks boom in Australia’s clean technology sector

The boom in lithium stocks is overshadowing a broader recovery in the Australian clean technology sector as investor interest in renewable energies builds. Several lithium explorers and emerging producers have soared this year amid expectations of rising demand for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. Energy-storage technology has become the latest hot sector in renewable energy and sparked renewed interest in global cleantech companies. After years of heavy losses, Australian cleantech stocks are collectively delivering strong returns and outperforming the sharemarket – a remarkable turnaround for a sector that has had many false starts and been battered by regulatory uncertainty. The Australian CleanTech …

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Large-scale hybrid project completed at Australian copper and gold mine

Work has been completed on Australia’s “largest solar and battery storage project to date”, a 10.6MW PV installation at a copper mine linked to 6MW of storage, according to developer Juwi. While it still uses diesel to run alongside the solar panels and batteries, the Germany-headquartered company claims the off-grid project will save the DeGrussa Copper and Gold Mine around five million litres of diesel fuel a year – around 20% of its current usage. The project’s construction began last summer, with support from Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). At the time, CEFC chief Oliver Yates said the project …

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Australia to use almost 40% renewable power by 2030

Nearly 40% of all Australian electricity generation will be from renewables by 2030, a report from consulting firm McKinsey has claimed. The report, released at the APPEA conference in Brisbane on Tuesday, said by 2030 up to 37% of Australian electricity could come from renewable sources. This compares to 14% in 2014. But across all fuel sources, including transport fuel, renewables are still only expected to make up about 5% by 2030. Using a “business-as-usual” approach the McKinsey report said despite an increase in renewables Australia was likely to miss Paris Climate Change Accords emission reductions. “In the power sector, …

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Visionary renewable energy projects that could pay off for Australia

Although there are numerous innovative projects seeking to improve the sustainability of Australia’s energy sector, one of the main barriers to making them happen is – as with most things – money. With the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) set to lose $1.3bn in unallocated funds, the agency has announced a raft of grants for green projects, including $17m for nine research and development projects that “have a pathway to being fully commercial” through industry partners as reported by Annie Kane. According to Arena’s CEO Ivor Frischknecht, the three-year projects all focus on integrating either more renewables or more energy …

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Sustainable Strata Schemes

The issue of sustainability is currently very topical, given the level of commentary around climate change, increasing greenhouse gas emission levels and global warming. The current generation wants to ensure the population’s needs are met without compromising the needs of future generations, and there is general agreement that people need to reduce their carbon footprint. One of the key areas to take action is by having more sustainable living quarters. Not only will this benefit future generations, but it will probably reduce the cost of living with lower energy and water bills. According to City of Sydney Council, over 73 …

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Climate Change And The Sustainability of the Dairy industry

There are a lot more problems with the dairy industry than the price of milk. The Australian dairy farming industry is in a state of crisis. Cheap dairy products and fluctuations in both the domestic and global markets have taken a financial toll on farmers. Consumers have rallied to help struggling dairy producers. But this is only half the problem. The true cost of dairy is also paid by dairy cows and the environment. With the meat and dairy industries as the leading cause of global warming, in 2010, the UN announced that a global shift towards a plant-based diet …

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Clean energy – current market trends

Marco Stella is Senior Broker, Environmental Markets, at TFS Green Australia. The TFS Green Australia team provides project and transactional environmental market brokerage and data services across all domestic and international renewable energy, energy efficiency and carbon markets. Here, Mr Stella outlines the current market trends. Large-scale Generation Certificate (LGC) market It has proven a mixed beginning to 2016 for the LGC market. A solid start across the first two months of the year saw the spot market climb into low $80 territory in February, only to soften back to a low of $75 by late March as buyers disappeared …

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Global warming milestone about to be passed and there’s no going back

Within the next couple of weeks, a remote part of north-western Tasmania is likely to grab headlines around the world as a major climate change marker is passed. The aptly named Cape Grim monitoring site jointly run by CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology will witness the first baseline reading of 400 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, researchers predict. “Once it’s over [400 ppm], it won’t go back,” said Paul Fraser, dubbed by CSIRO as the Air Man of Cape Grim, and now a retired CSIRO fellow. “It could be within 10 days.” The most …

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Renewables Could Revitalise Australian Manufacturing says Shorten

Zero – that’s the number of times solar and renewable energy were mentioned in Treasurer Scott Morrison’s Budget speech on May 3. Opposition leader Bill Shorten fared better on that front in his Budget reply speech on Thursday evening. In the speech, Mr. Shorten said Labor views renewables as a means of giving new life to Australia’s manufacturing sector as reported by Energy Matters. “By 2030, there will be $2.5 trillion of investment in renewable energy in the Asia-Pacific. Australian workers should be collaborating with our universities and researchers to design, manufacture and export battery technology, solar panels and turbine …

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