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Global Renewable Energy Status Uncovered

More than a fifth of the world's electrical power production now comes from renewable sources and in 2013 renewables accounted for more than 56 percent of all net additions to global power capacity. These remarkable conclusions come from this year’s Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) from REN21. This highly-regarded annual analysis — the 2014 edition was released this summer — concludes that renewable electricity capacity jumped by more than 8 percent overall in 2013, to produce some 22 percent of all global power production. Total global installed renewable electricity capacity reached a staggering 1,560 GW in 2013.




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UN Climate Summit Heats Up Discussion on Global Warming, Carbon Emissions

More than 100 world leaders converged upon New York City today to discuss international efforts to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. The list of speakers at the UN Climate Summit included U.S. President Barack Obama, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, French President François Hollande, and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli.




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SPI Slideshow Day One: Batteries, Policy, Awards, Oh My!

The Renewable Energy World team is at Solar Power International 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada gathering news, networking and taking in the show, which began with a flurry of excitement.




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Obama to Pledge $3 Billion for Climate Change Fund

President Barack Obama will pledge $3 billion to a United Nations climate-change fund that’s intended to help poor nations boost renewable energy and counter the ill effects of global warming.




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New Navy Smart Microgrid Project Will Test Vanadium Flow Battery Storage

The California Energy Commission (CEC) and U.S. Navy (USN) are teaming up to spur deployment of grid-integrated local renewable energy resources and advanced energy storage solutions. On December 1, Imergy Power Systems announced that its ESP30 series vanadium-flow batteries will be used in a CEC-sponsored Smart Microgrid project hosted by the Navy at its Mobile Utilities Support Equipment (MUSE) Facility in Port Hueneme, California.




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German Fossil Fuel Giant Jumps on Renewables Bandwagon

Germany’s biggest utility E.ON — long a pillar of the country’s fossil fuel and nuclear industry — dropped a bombshell on Europe’s business world with the announcement that the multinational was exiting the conventional energy market in favor of a new business model based on renewables, intelligent grid systems, energy management and other services. Indeed, the company seems finally to have drawn the logical consequences from the Energiewende, Germany’s renewable energy transition, after years of resisting the ambitious transformation of the nation’s energy supply.




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China Expected to Launch Subsidy for Electric Vehicle Lithium Batteries

China is mulling a policy to provide a subsidy for lithium batteries deployed in electric vehicles. This new favorable policy is expected to propel the development of the country’s electric vehicle sector. China has existing subsidy policies for the sector, but higher prices for the parts used in electric vehicles, in particular lithium batteries, prevent many consumers from purchasing the vehicles.




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Climate Change: The Need for a More Consistent Baseline and Immediate Action

The UN climate conference in Lima set the stage for Paris in 2015. Next year’s accord is to provide a working, albeit not a final, answer to the question: Is it possible to keep global warming at or below the 2 degree Celsius limit? This limit is considered the boundary beyond which the negative climatic, economic and social consequences of climate change are thought to become intolerably severe and potentially irreversible.




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Brazilian Bank Raises $408 Million for Renewable Energy and Water Projects

The Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco Holding SA raised 1.05 billion reais ($408 million) to finance renewable energy and water treatment projects.




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Carbon Nanoballs Can Transform the Renewable Energy Supply

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have discovered that the insulation plastic used in high-voltage cables can withstand a 26 per cent higher voltage if nanometer-sized carbon balls are added. This could result in enormous efficiency gains in the power grids of the future, which are needed to achieve a sustainable energy system.




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Obama Orders US Agencies to Cut Carbon Emissions 40 Percent by 2025

President Barack Obama ordered the federal government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 2008 levels over the next 10 years by shifting to renewable energy sources such as solar power.




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Cheap Batteries Under the Hood Add Power to Cut Fuel Consumption

Next-generation hybrid cars combining electric and gas power in new ways are emerging as a low-cost alternative for consumers as batteries get cheaper and more efficient.




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The Dark Horse in the Global Solar Race: India’s 100-GW Solar Ambition

A "dark horse" is defined as a little-known entity that emerges to prominence in the face of competition — a contestant that seems unlikely to succeed. I borrow the term from a conversation last week, wherein India was referred to as the dark horse in the global race to go solar.




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New World Bank Report: Chinese Clean-tech SMEs Embrace Opportunities

The World Bank indicated in its new report "Building Competitive Green Industries: The Climate and Clean Technology Opportunity for Developing Countries" that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries are set to undergo significant growth and create more jobs in the field of clean technology. Anabel Gonzalez, senior director for the World Bank's Global Practice on Trade and Competitiveness, said developing home-grown clean-tech industries will help developing countries more effectively increase the adoption of low-cost clean energy and drive sustainable economic development.




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Australia shines at Mining Indaba 2020

Australian miners had a strong presence at this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba, the world’s largest mining investment event, now in its 26th year.



  • 2020 Latest from Austrade

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Cultivo™ Global Immersion Program, Iowa USA - POSTPONED

IOWA AgTech 2 week immersion program 24 August – 4 September.




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Webinar: E-commerce opportunities in Bangladesh - A new platform for Australian products

Join Austrade's webinar to gain insights on the Bangladesh E-commerce market, emerging trends, growth drivers, regulations, route to market and opportunities for partnering with Bangladesh online companies.




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PG&E Likely Seeking Bankruptcy by Jan. 29

The San Francisco-based utility is under investigation for any role its equipment might have played in the deadly wildfires of late 2018, only one year after getting blamed for an earlier, devastating rash of blazes.




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Global Clean Energy Spending Dips in 2018 But Installations Rise on Lower Prices

Global funding for clean-energy projects sagged in 2018 after China’s decision to curb subsidies dragged down installations in the world’s biggest solar market.




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How Will PG&E’s Bankruptcy Impact the CleanTech Industry?

On January 14, 2019, California’s largest utility, PG&E, filed a bankruptcy notice stating that it plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the month end on January 29th. Given its business situation, PG&E must proceed with the bankruptcy process unless lawmakers step in because PG&E’s current liabilities from California’s 2017 and 2018 fires are about 10 times PG&E’s current market cap of $3.5 billion, which is down 90% since last Fall. Obviously, this is a big issue for the cleantech industry since PG&E covers a territory that runs from Eureka to Bakersfield, including 106,000 miles of electric grid.




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FERC takes a firm stand in PG&E bankruptcy filing

The California-based utility requested that a federal bankruptcy court prevent FERC from enforcing the conditions of the more than 380 power purchase agreements (PPAs) that the utility may want to exit under its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.




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New report shows Baltic States ahead of western EU counterparts in renewable energy targets

Findings in a recently published European Union report showed that the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia make up over 30 percent of the EU countries that have already met their 2020 renewable energy targets.




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Phasing out coal in Denmark via bioenergy-based CHP

Denmark in many ways is the poster child for the generation mix of the future. It led the way for decades in wind generation. It has continued to set ever-more ambitious targets for renewable penetration. And it has shown in the real world how to make a grid work that includes a heavy presence of renewable assets. Along the way, though, it has faced many challenges.





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Ball Corporation plans 100 percent renewable push; purchases 388 MW of wind and solar

This week global energy and infrastructure group, Eversheds Sutherland, announced that it helped Ball Corporation secure two virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) – one wind and one solar – for a total of 388 MW of new renewable energy. According to Ball, these agreements will allow the company to power 100 percent of its corporate, packaging and aerospace operations electricity load in North America with renewable energy by the end of 2021.




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EU corporates want renewable energy but bureaucracy and regulations are holding them back

This week energy developer BayWa r.e. published its Energy Report 2019, which surveyed 1,200 European corporations about their attitudes toward renewable energy.




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CellCube to bring grid scale vanadium battery to South Australia

Renewables firm Pangea Energy and vanadium battery producer CellCube have signed on to build a 50MW storage system alongside a solar farm in South Australia.




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In quest for bigger batteries, California mulls pumped hydro

As the sun sets on California’s solar farms, a backup energy source deep in the Sierra Nevada Mountains springs to life.





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Global offshore wind installed capacity up 21 percent since 2013

This week the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) launched the first edition of its Global Offshore Wind Report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the prospects for the global offshore wind market, including forecast data, market-level analysis and review of efforts to lower costs.





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Foreign firms look to make India a global wind turbine export hub

Global wind turbine makers are expanding manufacturing capacity in India to boost exports from the South Asian nation even as the country’s domestic industry faces headwinds.




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Energy industry mourns the death of Global Wind Energy Council’s Steve Sawyer

Steve Sawyer, 63, Senior Policy Advisor and former Secretary General of the Global Wind Energy Council, passed away on July 31, 2019 of a sudden and aggressive lung cancer.




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Democratic debate 2019 takeaways

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders stuck together, Pete Buttigieg took the middle path, Marianne Williamson took on racism and Beto O’Rourke faded into the background.




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In battle to break up utilities, Arizona steps to the front line

Of all the efforts to break up utility monopolies in the U.S., the one unfolding in Arizona may be the most important to watch.




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Virginia looks to New York green bank for possible clean energy financing

Virginia’s energy office is exploring whether to align the state with a billion-dollar New York clean energy financing program.




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Australia in planning for multiple massive battery projects

France’s Neoen SA has outlined plans to build a giant renewables complex in South Australia, including battery storage with up to nine times more capacity than the Tesla Inc. design at its nearby Hornsdale plant, which is billed as the world’s largest lithium-ion battery.




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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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Australian agtech startup SwarmFarm wins global accolade

Australian agtech innovation was in the spotlight recently when SwarmFarm Robotics founder Andrew Bate was awarded third place in the Agripreneur of the Year contest at the 2019 Future Agro Challenge Global Championships, beating competitors from more than 60 countries.




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Insight – New routes to market for Australian brands in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

With e-commerce accelerating in cities across India, it’s easy to miss how consumer behaviour is changing right across the South Asia region.




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‘Study with Australia’ to open doors to education globally

The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) has partnered with social learning platform, FutureLearn.com to provide free online courses and help students stay ahead of the learning curve.



  • 2020 Media releases

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Bangladesh CIRT to Build Sensor Network for Banks

The Bangladesh eGovernment Computer Incident Response Team, or CIRT, is taking several steps to strengthen cybersecurity, including building a sensor network to help enable all banks to share threat intelligence, says Tawhidur Rahman, CIRT's head of digital security and diplomacy.




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RBI: Anti-Money Laundering, Combating of Financing of Terrorism Standards

The Reserve Bank of India on Sept. 22, 2011, issued a letter to financial institutions regarding anti-money laundering and the combating of financing of terrorism standards.




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Bangladesh CIRT to Build Sensor Network for Banks

The Bangladesh eGovernment Computer Incident Response Team, or CIRT, is taking several steps to strengthen cybersecurity, including building a sensor network to help enable all banks to share threat intelligence, says Tawhidur Rahman, CIRT's head of digital security and diplomacy.




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RBI: Anti-Money Laundering, Combating of Financing of Terrorism Standards

The Reserve Bank of India on Sept. 22, 2011, issued a letter to financial institutions regarding anti-money laundering and the combating of financing of terrorism standards.




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Bangladesh CIRT to Build Sensor Network for Banks

The Bangladesh eGovernment Computer Incident Response Team, or CIRT, is taking several steps to strengthen cybersecurity, including building a sensor network to help enable all banks to share threat intelligence, says Tawhidur Rahman, CIRT's head of digital security and diplomacy.




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Bangladesh CIRT to Build Sensor Network for Banks

The Bangladesh eGovernment Computer Incident Response Team, or CIRT, is taking several steps to strengthen cybersecurity, including building a sensor network to help enable all banks to share threat intelligence, says Tawhidur Rahman, CIRT's head of digital security and diplomacy.




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FDIC: The RiverBank, Wyoming, Minn., Closes

The RiverBank, Wyoming, Minn., was closed by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver.




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FDIC: Sun Security Bank, Ellington, Mo., Closes

Sun Security Bank, Ellington, Mo., was closed by the Missouri Division of Finance, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver.




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Bangladesh CIRT to Build Sensor Network for Banks

The Bangladesh eGovernment Computer Incident Response Team, or CIRT, is taking several steps to strengthen cybersecurity, including building a sensor network to help enable all banks to share threat intelligence, says Tawhidur Rahman, CIRT's head of digital security and diplomacy.