Articles
Choosing a solar module
Thin-film or crystalline 'thick-film'? Mono or poly crystalline? German, European or Asian? The huge choice of solar panels available on the market makes deciding on one or the other a real headache. For David McCallum, General Manager at Conergy Australia, quality panels must fulfil three criteria: they must be high-yield, solid and safe.
[ + ]NABERS environmental ratings for buildings extended to six stars
Australian buildings are becoming so much more efficient that the NABERS rating scale is being extended from 5 to 6 stars.
[ + ]Transition to renewable energy in Europe
The transition to renewable energy is set to deliver an economic pay-off in the years to come. Various studies show that a shift to alternative energy sources will raise the GNP in the coming decade and create new jobs, as Prof Eicke Weber, spokesperson for the Fraunhofer Energy Alliance, points out. Fraunhofer scientists are developing concepts and solutions for the transition as it takes shape.
[ + ]Tequila plant could fuel vehicles and help reduce emissions
Large-scale farms of the agave plant used to make the drink tequila could be established in Australia's arid inland as a novel and greenhouse-friendly solution to our transport fuel problems, a University of Sydney academic has found.
[ + ]Advanced water treatment plant constructed
Viterra is an agribusiness providing premium quality ingredients to leading global food manufacturers and its Tamworth malt facility has a grain capacity of 45,000 tonnes, supplying malt both domestically and internationally.
[ + ]Wastewater upgrades gain favour
Until recently, Local Authorities in Queensland and Tasmania owned and operated their wastewater treatment facilities. Many of these plants were old, undersized and provided substandard levels of treatment. In most cases, the smaller plants used trickling filters or facultative ponds. By the 1970s, extended aeration package plants and oxidation ditch-type activated sludge plants became more common.
[ + ]Improving air pollution in Iraq
With growing concerns in Iraq about the heavy air pollution, the country’s Ministry of Environment took a decisive step in the direction for improved monitoring, control and prevention of air pollution, and announced a tender to procure five fixed and one mobile air quality monitoring stations to monitor SO2, NOx, NH3, O3, SO2, CO, PM10, PM2.5, methane, non-methane, BTEX and VOCs.
[ + ]Sustainable solution to groundwater and soil contamination
Coffey Environments has over 15 years of experience in the injection of chemical amendments into contaminated groundwater and lithologies across a broad range of contaminated sites throughout Australia. The company recently acquired the only licence in Australasia for Wavefront Primawave pulsed injection technology that has been demonstrated to improve amendment injection efficiency. To complement this new technology, the company developed a Remediation Amendment Injection Device (RAID) to provide a more effective chemical amendment delivery system that is claimed to provide higher success rates and safer injection events.
[ + ]Solar farm installed at hotel
The family owned and operated Jet Park Hotel & Conference Centre has recently been named as the recipient of an Enviro Gold Award. Awarded by Qualmark New Zealand, the Enviro Awards recognise businesses in the NZ hospitality industry that are working to reduce their environmental impact.
[ + ]Sewage more than just waste
Melbourne’s biggest sewage treatment plant, the Western Treatment Plant, has, for the first time, used sewage to produce more than enough biogas to power the entire plant for the last two months.
[ + ]Treating wastewater for food manufacturers
For many Australian food manufacturers there is increasing pressure from government agencies to reach higher standards of wastewater treatment for environmental discharge. In fact, throughout the western world, food manufacturers are facing similar challenges.
[ + ]Trigeneration at the new Royal Children’s Hospital
Rapid developments in medical technology, the paradigm shift to patient and family-centred care, and the inability of aging hospitals to accommodate the latest models of care, have all contributed to the current worldwide boom in hospital redevelopment.
[ + ]Less power more profit for restaurants
Kingsley’s Steakhouse & Crabhouse in Woolloomooloo and Chophouse in Sydney CBD both signed up to GreenChef - an energy-efficiency program run by the Green Skills (Aust) Institute. The pilot program, funded by the NSW Government’s Energy Efficiency Training Program, was designed to see how changing behaviour and practices in restaurants would save power - and money. In just seven months, Chophouse reduced its total energy consumption by 14% and Kingsley’s was reduced by 5%.
[ + ]How will the carbon pricing mechanism impact your business?
The Australian government has announced plans to introduce a carbon price mechanism from 1 July 2012. There will be a three-year fixed price period. The carbon price will start at $23 per tonne in 2012-13 and will be $24.15 in 2013-14 and $25.40 in 2014-15. From 1 July 2015 onwards, the carbon price will be set by the market. Under the plan, Australia will cut 159 million tonnes a year of carbon pollution from its atmosphere by 2020 - the equivalent of taking over 45 million cars off the road. In the article below, Elisa de Wit, Anthony Hobley, Noni Shannon and Dominic Adams from law firm Norton Rose Australia outline the impact of the carbon pricing mechanism on businesses.
[ + ]Water forum promotes sustainable solutions for water industry
Rockwell Automation recently hosted the ‘Innovations for Smart, Safe, Sustainable Automation Solutions in the Water Industry’ forum in Adelaide in May. The event was well attended by consulting engineers, water utility companies, government departments and system integrators, and topics discussed included innovations for automation, information, power and safety solutions for the water industry.
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