In this week’s issue of Solar Tidbits: (1) Australia Achieves Record Renewable Energy Penetration of 36.8% in 22/23 (2) Rooftop Solar Project worth A$3.6 Million Announced by Australian Capital Territory (3) “Cleaner, Cheaper, Faster:” Australian Technology Promises a Significant Increase in Lithium Production

Australia Achieves Record Renewable Energy Penetration of 36.8% in 22/23

Photo Credit: RenewEconomy

Australia’s main grid had a record-high 36.8% share of wind, solar, and hydroelectric power at the end of the previous fiscal year, bringing the share of coal-fired power to just 57%, the lowest level this century.

The National Electricity Market (NEM), Australia’s primary grid, produced 207 terawatt hours of electricity in the previous fiscal year, according to data from OpenNEM.

Of this, about 77TWh came from renewable sources. Wind contributed the most to renewable energy, accounting for 13% of the total production, followed by rooftop solar at 10% and utility-scale solar at 6.1%. Hydroelectricity made up the remaining 7.6%.

More about this article: https://bit.ly/3JMSSnl 

Rooftop Solar Project worth A$3.6 Million Announced by Australian Capital Territory

Photo Credit: vanblr via Flickr

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government has announced a program to finance the adoption of rooftop solar PV within its borders, which could have a significant impact on Canberra’s energy mix.

The program, which costs A$3.6 million (US$2.4 million), will offer tax breaks to people who buy and install solar panels on their rooftops as well as “concessional loans” for body corporates, which include housing associations and other associations of people who own or manage real estate.

Body corporates will be able to access A$50,000 from each project. These loans are based on other provisions of legislation designed to increase ACT residents’ access to sustainable energy, specifically the Solar Banks projects and the Sustainable Household Scheme.

More about this article: https://bit.ly/3PDVLKT 

“Cleaner, Cheaper, Faster:” Australian Technology Promises a Significant Increase in Lithium Production

Photo credit: Reneweconomy

Lithium production efficiency is set to increase dramatically thanks to new technology being developed by a start-up that was spun off from Monash University. Lithium is a crucial mineral for the battery technologies used in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.

ElectraLith’s technology offers a “cleaner, cheaper, faster” way of filtering lithium from salt lakes, mine tailings, and other brine solutions – including potential new sources – thanks to research from Laureate Professor Huanting Wang of Monash University.

Small amounts of solar electricity are all that is needed for the extraction process using ElectraLith’s innovative membrane; no additional chemicals or water are needed.

More about this article: https://bit.ly/3JFXyLC 

Keep yourself in the loop! Get solar updates from us just when you need them. Follow us on our social media accounts and subscribe to our newsletter: https://linktr.ee/sunovagroup

See past solar tidbits here: https://bit.ly/SolarTidbits