Since 1752, the Wenning family in Germany has run a successful agricultural business and distillery. Thirty years ago, they took the first pioneering steps towards on-site biogas production. Together with the help of Atlas Copco, they now have evolved into an award-winning energy producer, using 50% less power than other, comparable plants. [ + ]

The Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo (AWRE) is supported by the Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA), plus several other key waste and recycling industry bodies. The trade show will be held from 21-22 November 2012 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour. [ + ]

Autonomous Energy has designed, installed and commissioned a 60 kW Solar PV system at Pymble Ladies’ College. The system was installed in two phases, the first phase (16 kW) was commissioned in July 2011 and the second phase (60 kW) went live in February 2012. [ + ]

Xylem, a global water technology company focused on addressing the world’s most challenging water issues, has been placed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index in its first year as a standalone company. [ + ]

Taking place at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre from 8-9 November 2012, Australian Sustainability combines a diverse exhibition with an interactive multistreamed conference and seminar program. [ + ]

Albury City Council has adopted a non-conventional approach to the provision of water and sewer infrastructure for Nexus, the city’s new 187 hectare precinct for large and heavy industry. [ + ]

The labour-intensive process of dismantling e-waste places economic limits on how much material can be recycled. To help solve this problem, Buyequip has partnered with prison industries at the Southern Queensland Correctional Centre near Gatton. This partnership is boosting material recovery rates while providing important employment opportunities for prisoners. [ + ]

Footprint is an online monitoring tool developed by Melbourne-based iota. Using the tool, organisations can monitor and quickly review every aspect of their environmental footprint.The City of Greater Dandenong uses Footprint to monitor water and electricity usage across meters in 18 locations. [ + ]

Now in its third year, World Green Building Week (17-21 September) showcases green buildings and communities and the role they play in reducing the global carbon footprint and saving money, while also creating jobs, boosting productivity, health and learning, and improving lives. This year, green building councils in 92 countries, representing more than 30,000 organisations, will participate - hosting events, running campaigns and more. [ + ]

Vodafone is introducing an Eco Rating scheme for mobile phones to provide its customers with information on the environmental impact and ethical performance involved in the manufacture and life cycle of many mobile phones. The ratings will be displayed alongside the phones participating in the ratings in its stores from 12 September. The scheme was also launched in New Zealand by Vodafone. [ + ]

While extreme weather events will inevitably impact water quality, the biggest risk to public health is not the intensity of these events but their increasingly close proximity to one another, UNSW researchers warn. [ + ]

An advanced processing technology being pioneered at UNSW to improve the efficiency of first-generation silicon solar cells has turned two solar manufacturers into unlikely collaborators. The School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering has signed a collaborative research agreement with Suntech Power and Hanwha Solar, the first such agreement between the school and two competing companies. [ + ]

The Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is claimed to be the largest wastewater treatment plant in the Adelaide region, processing almost 70% of Adelaide’s metropolitan wastewater. The South Australian Government has approved a $25.8 million project for SA Water to optimise the energy utilisation on the site. This project will provide a major upgrade to the WWTP power supply by the installation of on-site electricity generation fuelled with the digester gas produced during the treatment plant process.  The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and support for renewable energy projects are aligned with the state’s strategic plan. [ + ]

The first offset projects under the national Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) have been approved, with four landfill sites set to reap environmental rewards by capturing harmful greenhouse gases from waste. [ + ]

Simons Green Energy has designed, and is supplying and installing, the 1200 kWe of natural gas fired cogeneration at the soon to be completed Little Creatures Brewery in Geelong. The installation of the cogeneration system will provide a large portion of the brewery’s electricity demands and will use the waste heat generated by the engines to provide hot water for the numerous process heating applications. The units will be configured to run parallel to the grid, meaning that the only energy to be purchased from the grid will be that over and above what the engines can supply, which is expected to be very little. [ + ]