Yingli Solar has appointed Christian Bindel to the newly created role of technical manager for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. [ + ]

Lincoln Agritech, a subsidiary of New Zealand's Lincoln University, has conducted research into the impact of denitrification - the conversion of nitrate into gaseous forms of nitrogen - on catchment management. [ + ]

Auckland University of Technology (AUT) has been involved in a project which used radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to identify points of cross-contamination between sewerage and stormwater pipes in the Central Auckland region. [ + ]

For the past five years, Alice Springs has been one of seven areas taking part in the Australian Government's Solar Cities Program. The town's successes over this time have been captured in the report 'Alice Solar City: 2008-2013'. [ + ]

The new Pacific Technical Assistance (PacificTA) Programme is funded from the New Zealand Aid Programme and managed by Local Government New Zealand. It coordinates local government staff from across the country to share their expertise with Pacific Island authorities. [ + ]

The City of Sydney and Transport for NSW have signed an agreement setting out the standards under which the new Sydney light rail project will be built through the LGA. [ + ]

The winners of 'Antarctica: No Ordinary Place, No Ordinary Assignment' - an initiative which will take environmental enthusiasts to Antarctica to assist National Geographic photographer Jason Edwards - have been announced. [ + ]

Jacobs Engineering has completed its merger transaction with Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) - an agreement which was initially announced in September. Jacobs purchased SKM for approximately AU$1.3 billion in cash. [ + ]

Elemental Energy Technologies (EET), supported by ATSA Defence Services, has been testing a new type of turbine at its Endurance Testing Centre at the Eraring Power Station, Lake Macquarie, NSW. [ + ]

In an effort to consider the transport and packaging of stock when it comes to recycling waste products, the team at Source Separation Systems has launched upcyclable packaging. [ + ]

Water solutions company Total Eden has announced a new operating division, Total Eden Water Engineering Services, which will strengthen the company's involvement in wastewater treatment. [ + ]

The Australian Packaging Covenant (APC), a voluntary scheme aimed at reducing the environmental impacts of consumer packaging and litter from packaging, has released its 2013 annual report. The report finds that recycling rates in Australia have broken new records. [ + ]

Curtin's Sustainable Engineering Group (SEG) has found that red sand could be used as a viable and more environmentally friendly alternative to virgin sand and limestone in road construction. This would reduce the need for quarries to extract those materials. [ + ]

The '1200 Buildings, Melbourne Retrofit Survey 2013', released by the City of Melbourne last night, explores how Melbourne's older office buildings are upgrading to more sustainable systems and fit-outs. [ + ]

Northern European energy company Dong Energy has entered into a technological and commercial partnership with energy management specialist Schneider Electric. The aim of the agreement is to enable electric network operators of remote or isolated island grids to increase the share of renewable energy used while maintaining grid stability and reliability. [ + ]