With Queensland businesses reeling from a progression of double-digit electricity price hikes in recent years combined with a highly competitive commercial property rental market, many property owners are looking for a new competitive edge to help attract increasingly discerning tenants who are seeking smart ‘green’ buildings with low electricity consumption.

Peacock Bros and Software Integrators have joined forces to produce a real-time waste management solution for truck fleets working on government waste management contracts. The solution, first developed for waste collection contractor J R Richards & Sons, includes real-time monitoring of every truck’s position, instant recording of waste bin pick-ups and a full history of the trucks’ activities during the day, including trips to the tip for unloading, breaks and time spent travelling versus time spent collecting.

Maroochy Shire on the Sunshine Coast has an extensive waterway network that adds much to the area’s splendour and makes it a desirable place to live. However, the more people migrate to the area, the greater the threat grows to its catchments and waterways. Today, stormwater and agricultural run-off as well as nutrients from treated sewage discharge pose major risks to the health of the Maroochy River estuary.

A number of key renewable energy and energy-efficiency initiatives have been announced as part of the 2010-2011 Australian Federal Budget. Treasurer Wayne Swan said the government accepts the science of climate change and the need for combined global and domestic action. A number of industry associations welcomed the budget speech saying that energy efficiency and smart electricity networks could be an important part of the solution.

GBCA has launched a new Green Star rating tool for industrial facilities to support the sustainable planning, design and construction of high-performance industrial buildings.

Environment Victoria has welcomed the state government’s Green Jobs Action Plan released by Premier Brumby.

In the 10 years since it began operations, the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) has become a leader in assessing the environmental performance of buildings. Adding even more significance to NABERS, coming of age is the federal government’s scheme requiring office building energy efficiency to be disclosed at sale or lease, which is expected to commence in the second half of this year.

Australia’s water sector is recognised globally as one of the first required to adapt to dramatic changes in water availability due to climate change. Through traditional technology solutions (desalination and treatment for re-use) and more radical options (strong demand management and recycling networks), progress has been made but at a considerable cost in energy, carbon emissions and dollars.

Resilient and durable infrastructure is predicated on its designers and managers having a solid understanding of the conditions that it will face over its useful life, which is typically from 20 to over 100 years.

As Environmental Management Systems (EMS) have now become an essential part of our standard operating procedures and thought processes, it is becoming increasingly necessary for field and operational staff in the industries of engineering, manufacturing, construction and mining to take on the responsibilities of the supervision of on-site environmental compliance.

For municipal and industrial applications, sludge dewatering with belt filter presses and plate filter presses has proven to be an economical means of reducing sludge volumes produced from wastewater treatment plants. Depending on the volumes to be treated, payback periods on the capital cost of a dewatering plant can be as little as three months and rarely exceeds 16 months. John Koumoukelis reports:

At present there is an immense research effort directed towards improving our understanding of the dynamics of the Earth system. Twenty-nine of the world’s leading Earth-system scientists have recently summarised the reasons why they are so worried about the future.

Methane gas from Glenfield Sewage Treatment Plant is being converted to green energy under new technology being rolled out at sewage treatment plants across Greater Sydney, NSW Minister for Water, Phil Costa has announced.

Maintaining rainwater tanks and other storages used for drinking water in a good healthy condition is important in removing the risk of outbreaks of dengue fever - a mosquito-borne viral disease which is often symptom-less but can create fatal consequences.

ABB has announced that the recently developed S800PV circuit breakers have been used successfully in solar power applications in Australian schools. Designed specifically for the photovoltaic (PV) industry, ABB’s S800PV high-performance miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) and IP65 enclosures are protecting Australian schools’ investment in green energy, including the recently installed 6 kW solar power system at Wenona girls school in Sydney.