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Goldman Sachs sees solar panel prices stabilizing

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sees an end to the gloom for solar manufacturers as demand in China stabilizes and free-falling panel prices bottom out.




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In Illinois, storage is among the next hurdles for renewables expansion

ComEd sees a significant role for energy storage on Illinois’ electric grid as the state works toward realizing its ambitious renewable goals.




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Flow battery company joins Power Africa to help power renewable microgrids

On Monday, Portland-Oregon-based flow battery manufacturer ESS announced that it has joined Power Africa, a U.S. government-led partnership coordinated by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as a private sector partner. ESS is the program’s first flow battery partner.




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Oil companies join corporate lobbying push for U.S. carbon tax

Oil companies, automakers and consumer products manufacturers will unleash a campaign for a U.S. tax on carbon dioxide emissions even though it may lead to higher prices for their products.




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Companies explore how to make your home smart and 100% renewable-powered

Big Oil wants to put a box in your hall closet that works like a human brain, can cut the lights, stop the refrigerator and will know how you move about in the privacy of your home better than you do.




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Bermuda Electric Light Company installs 10-MW/5.5-MWh energy storage system

Yesterday, energy storage company Saft said it delivered and installed a turnkey Energy Storage System to Bermuda Electric Light Company (BELCO). The system provides up to 10 MW power for spinning reserves and frequency response to maintain grid stability and has a storage capacity of 5.5MWh, said the company. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on May 16.





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Power companies in New England tapping residential batteries to reduce peak demand

Here’s the latest wrinkle in the battery boom: National Grid Plc is paying consumers to tap electricity from their power-storage systems.




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AI-powered storage company enters Northeast market with “front-of-the-meter” solution

This week artificial intelligence (AI)-driven energy storage services provider Stem said that it had formed a partnership with New York-based private equity company Syncarpha Capital to build 28.2 megawatt-hours (MWh) of large-scale storage projects co-sited with solar in Massachusetts.




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Hawaiian Electric Companies issue largest clean energy procurement to date; aim to end coal use, replace oil

Last week, the Hawaiian Electric Companies began Hawai‘i’s largest procurement effort for renewable energy resources to end the use of coal and reduce reliance on imported oil for power generation, moving the state closer to its goal of using 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.




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Company trying to tackle renewable energy curtailment enters European market

This week, Scottish software company Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) announced that it will be expanding into Europe after completing successful trials with a utility company in Germany.




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EU Needs Low-Carbon Energy Union, Ministers’ Advisory Panel Says

The European Union needs an ambitious emissions-reduction goal, targets for energy- efficiency and renewables as well as tools to foster investment under its planned 2030 policies, an advisory panel to 14 ministers said.




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The Great Electric Company Growth Opportunity

Energy use in the U.S. can be split into two large (very, very large) pies. One is electricity for use in homes, buildings, and industry, and the other is transportation, which is powered primarily by liquid fuels (gasoline and diesel) from oil. There are some exceptions, and small overlapping fuel uses — direct industrial use of liquid fuel (a fairly significant quantity), some liquids burned to make electricity (this used to be a significant amount, but is now only a very small amount), and now a very small amount of electricity used to power electric vehicles (EVs).




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Demand Management to Aid Renewable Energy Expansion

As more intermittent renewable capacity is added to grid networks around the world, the need for greater system flexibility in order to cope with the variable supply is growing. In parts of the Europe, grid operators complain that balancing the system is becoming more and more difficult as new renewable sources are added, requiring ever more complex management techniques, as well as repeated use of polluting and inefficient standby capacity. Surges of solar and wind power are often not fully utilised, causing some to question the wisdom of adding further variable renewable capacity.




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Japan Should Continue Its Road Towards Renewables

The power sector crisis in Japan has entered a new stage. The recent refusal of Japanese utilities to grant grid access to new renewable energy projects should not be seen as a failure of Japan’s renewable energy policy, but as a consequential and necessary phase to extend Japan’s technological leadership into the power sector.




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Japan's Prime Minister Re-Election Risks Undercutting Clean Energy Push

Shinzo Abe’s re-election as prime minister risks undercutting Japan’s commitment to clean energy at a time when incentives are under review and the nation’s utilities say they can’t accommodate capacity already planned.




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Iberdrola Agrees to Buy UIL for $3 Billion to Expand US Renewable Business

Iberdrola SA, Spain’s largest electricity company, agreed to buy UIL Holdings Corp. in a deal valued at about $3 billion in cash and shares to create a U.S. utility with about 3.1 million customers.




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Important Update Regarding the TSCA Fees Rule and Your Company

By Kelly Scanlon, director, environment, health and safety policy and research, IPC Over the past month, IPC has brought to your attention that the TSCA Fees Rule may apply to your company beginning in 2020 and that there could be several challenges for those who need to comply. Challenges include the requirement to self-identify as […]




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Important Advocacy Opportunity: How Is Your Company Affected by US EPA Action on High-Priority Substances?

By Kelly Scanlon, director, environment, health and safety policy and research, IPC The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released “scoping documents” for its upcoming reviews of certain high-priority chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6(b). Your review of these documents is important because scoping is the foundation of the risk evaluation […]




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Coronavirus and Supply Chains Disruption Panel

Join us today, May 5 — Coronavirus and Supply Chains Disruption Panel Broadcast at: 7:45 am PCT, 10:45 am EST, 3:45 pm BST and 4:45 pm CET COVID-19 has caused severe supply chain disruptions and has affected almost every facet of our daily lives. What will the landscape look like after this disease passes and […]




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Australian companies set their sights on Polish defence and aviation opportunities

Austrade recently held a number of roundtables in Melbourne, Brisbane, Newcastle and Perth to update Australian SMEs and industry groups about the export opportunities in Poland’s defence and aviation sectors.



  • 2019 Latest from Austrade

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Digital transformation flows into success for water company in China

An Australian water treatment company is winning business in China amid the COVID-19 outbreak.



  • 2020 Latest from Austrade

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May 6, 2020 - M-EXPO Wire Processing Technology Event Postponed Due to COVID-19 Pandemic




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Hawaiian Electric Companies achieve 27 percent renewable energy in 2018 despite loss of geothermal

In late February, Hawaiian Electric Companies announced that they have achieved a consolidated 27 percent renewable portfolio standard in 2018, even with the loss of Hawaii Island’s geothermal resource for most of the year following the Kilauea volcanic eruption. Hawaii has a goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.




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Can this online startup change how companies buy renewable power?

It was a milestone deal, not for its size but for the number of parties. In January, five big companies, each with differing energy requirements and renewable strategies, agreed to pool their investment and collectively purchase 42.5 megawatts from a North Carolina solar project.




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GE expanding Turkish wind turbine blade factory; hiring 300 workers

This week LM Wind Power, a subsidiary of GE Renewable Energy, announced its plan to recruit 300 additional employees at its wind turbine blade manufacturing site in Bergama, Turkey.




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In Illinois, storage is among the next hurdles for renewables expansion

ComEd sees a significant role for energy storage on Illinois’ electric grid as the state works toward realizing its ambitious renewable goals.




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Two companies align to help wind project owners maximize energy output with machine learning

This week global engineering company Emerson announced that it had formed a 3-year alliance with Vayu to combine Emerson’s Ovation automation platform with Vayu’s cloud-computing wind energy optimization technology. The new technology will optimize wind farms in the Americas, Caribbean and Europe.




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Oil companies join corporate lobbying push for U.S. carbon tax

Oil companies, automakers and consumer products manufacturers will unleash a campaign for a U.S. tax on carbon dioxide emissions even though it may lead to higher prices for their products.




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Bermuda Electric Light Company installs 10-MW/5.5-MWh energy storage system

Yesterday, energy storage company Saft said it delivered and installed a turnkey Energy Storage System to Bermuda Electric Light Company (BELCO). The system provides up to 10 MW power for spinning reserves and frequency response to maintain grid stability and has a storage capacity of 5.5MWh, said the company. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on May 16.




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Builder of Saudi Aramco oil rigs plans to expand into wind power

An Abu Dhabi-based company that builds drilling platforms for oil giant Saudi Aramco plans to diversify into renewable energy by supplying gear for offshore wind farms.





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Artists donate free, uplifting images to the UN in pandemic response

The internet is a scary enough place as it is, and now with the added misinformation and panic surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, it's even scarier. Thanks to the United Nations and dozens of artists, however, the internet just got a little more beautiful. 

In late March, the UN put a call out to artists to help combat the spread of COVID-19. They sought creatives to create content around six areas of WHO and UN priority actions: personal hygiene, social distancing, knowing the symptoms, spreading kindness, myth-busting, and doing more/donating. Tens of thousands of artists answered the call in two weeks, and now the COVID-19 Response Creative Content Hub is available for browsing.  Read more...

More about Art, United Nations, Activism, Coronavirus, and Covid 19




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Insight – Austrade and Export Finance Australia help defence companies go global

Government support for Australia’s defence industries is on the increase, as two government agencies extend collaboration.




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Insight – Japanese defence market seeks international collaborators

Like many countries, Japan is undertaking a significant renewal and upgrade of its defence and security capabilities. The Japanese Government is spending just under A$370 billion on defence up until early 2024. With the industry gradually opening to collaborations with overseas partners, this presents many opportunities for Australian businesses.




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Leading talent recruitment company seeks online internship program partner

A leading overseas talent recruitment platform in China is seeking to partner with Australian universities for its online internship system. Successful partners will work with established companies in China to provide online internship opportunities to graduates.




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Digital transformation flows into success for water company in China

An Australian water treatment company is winning business in China amid the COVID-19 outbreak.



  • 2020 Latest from Austrade

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[Ticker] Panama to be added to EU money-laundering blacklist

Panama, the Bahamas, and Mauritius are to be added to an EU blacklist of countries on Thursday that "pose significant threats to the financial system of the [European] Union" on money-laundering grounds due to lax legislation at home, Reuters reports, citing a draft EU document. Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe are also on the list, meaning EU banks must do enhanced due diligence on transactions.




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Wood-Pellet Bonds Show US Biomass Market Expanding Worldwide

A Louisiana lumber town has become the crossroads for an unusual buyer and seller in the U.S. municipal market: private-equity firm KKR & Co. and the world’s biggest manufacturer of wood pellets.




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Renewable Energy Generation to Expand UK Waste-fired Bioenergy Plan

Renewable Energy Generation Ltd., a British low-carbon asset developer backed by BlackRock Inc., will build six waste-to-power plants with Caterpillar Inc. and Finning U.K. Ltd. in an expansion of plans published last month.




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Japan Energy Policy Stops Short of Setting Renewables Targets

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government stopped short of setting goals for renewable energy in the final version of a draft plan that reinforces atomic power’s role in Japan’s energy future, calling it a vital source of generation.




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Post-Fukushima Japan Taps Coal Over Renewables

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing Japan’s coal industry to expand sales at home and abroad, undermining hopes among environmentalists that he’d use the Fukushima nuclear accident to switch the nation to renewables.




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Global Renewable Energy Should Triple to Save Climate, UN Panel Says

The world needs to triple the energy it gets from renewables, nuclear reactors and power plants that use emissions-capture technology to avoid dangerous levels of global warming, United Nations scientists said.




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Japan Calls US Emissions Plan a Bold Step Away From Coal

Japan said the U.S.’s proposed cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions from its power plants is a bold step to tackle climate change.




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EU Needs Low-Carbon Energy Union, Ministers’ Advisory Panel Says

The European Union needs an ambitious emissions-reduction goal, targets for energy- efficiency and renewables as well as tools to foster investment under its planned 2030 policies, an advisory panel to 14 ministers said.




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Japan Bank Sets Aside $2 Billion for Clean Energy

Shinsei Bank Ltd., a lender for Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s clean-energy projects in Japan, plans to provide as much as 200 billion yen (US $2 billion) in loans for renewable developments.




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Japan Utility to Suspend Grid Access for New Renewable Energy Producers

Kyushu Electric Power Co. will suspend responding to applications from renewable-energy producers applying to access its grid while it reviews how much more clean energy it’s capable of handling.




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Japan Installs 11 GW of Renewable Energy in Two Years

Japan has added 11,090 megawatts of clean energy capacity since July 2012, when it began an incentive program to encourage investment in renewables, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.




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Renewable Energy Expanding in South Africa

South Africa plans to triple electricity production from renewable-energy sources to help alleviate power shortages that caused rolling blackouts throughout the country in recent weeks.




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Japan's Prime Minister Re-Election Risks Undercutting Clean Energy Push

Shinzo Abe’s re-election as prime minister risks undercutting Japan’s commitment to clean energy at a time when incentives are under review and the nation’s utilities say they can’t accommodate capacity already planned.