With the election now behind us, many are asking questions as to what policy’s our new government will put in place for clean energy. This week has also brought about new research into battery storage systems, community solar and solar powered water purifiers for rural areas.

The Coalitions policy changes for clean energy are about as clear as mud. We know they are going to scrap the carbon tax and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation as well as cut some funding for ARENA. Otherwise nobody really knows what their plans are. We expect they will conduct another review into the RET which is creating more investor uncertainty. Their policy for resources and energy mainly focused on fossil fuels and left out renewable energies of any kind. Nothing is expected within the first 100 days of the new government formation and the reviews into the RET could take over a year to produce any certainty. Click here to read the full article. 

Researchers from the University of Stanford have looked into pairing solar and wind farms with grid scale battery systems. Often these farms produce more electricity than is demanded and their research looked into whether it was more prudent to curtail the farm after demand was met or use a battery system. As one of the researchers said, you wouldn’t spend $100 on a safe for a $10 watch – hence why the main aim was to see if creating a battery system used more dirty energy than the clean energy the completed system would produce. Basically it found it energetically favourable to pair batteries with solar farms but not necessarily with wind farms. Click here to read the full article. 

Minnesota has designed and installed its first community solar project. The solar farm consists of 171 solar panels that were purchased individually by the utility’s members. The generation from the panel or panels purchased would be shown as a credit on that member’s utility bill. With panels selling out quickly, the small utility company is already planning it second community solar project and taking reservations for panel sales. Community solar makes solar available and affordable to those who may not have had the opportunity to participate in clean energy otherwise for one reason or another. Click here to read the full article.

An MIT team has installed a solar powered water purifying system deep in the Mexican Peninsula as a trail run. The village is otherwise a day’s drive away from a clean water source and currently has to truck in 20lt containers at expensive prices. The solar powered system uses reverse osmosis to filter water through a membrane and create clean drinking water for a fraction of the price. With positive results coming out of the trial, the solar powered system has great potential to give everyone access to a basic necessity such a clean drinking water. Click here to read the full article.

Have a great weekend everyone!