AEG Power Solutions’ New Caledonian ecopx hybrid power station is now fully operational. The complete integrated solution was part of a contract signed with OPT (Office des Postes &Telecommunications) in New Caledonia last year. It combines solar and wind energy with batteries, and a genset as emergency back-up. [ + ]

Lend Lease Apartments’ luxury Convesso Concavo development in Victoria Harbour, Docklands, Melbourne, had to meet a number of design criteria to achieve an industry rating of ‘4 Star Green Star’ for Multi-Unit Residential buildings, as defined and audited by the Green Building Council of Australia. By adopting a cloud-based energy management solution, Lend Lease with Fujitsu and Switch Automation were able to integrate new networking, automation and monitoring technologies together to enable a solution that residents could easily use to manage and monitor their own energy usage. The design team at Lend Lease now has the potential to collate this data and make ongoing design refinements. [ + ]

To meet the drinking water supply demands of a regional population that is projected to grow from 70,000 to 120,000 by the end of this decade, the Tweed Shire Council needed to upgrade the 50 million litre per day (MLD) capacity of its existing Bray Park Water Treatment Plant in Murwillumbah, located on the far north coast of New South Wales, Australia.The council opted for GE ZeeWeed 500 immersed membrane filtration as a good way to achieve the water quality it desired for a new treatment plant. [ + ]

The days have long gone since salt was a valuable commodity and Roman soldiers were paid in it, but for Deakin University’s Research Professor in Public Policy, Professor Michael Porter, the issue of salt, more specifically desalination, will be worth $496,891 in research funding. [ + ]

Almost three-quarters (72%) of Australian firms believe the carbon price is here to stay, in one form or another, and 85% of firms directly impacted already have a carbon reduction strategy in place, according to a new business survey. [ + ]

Solar intermittency - the interruption of solar power due to cloud cover, night-time or the sun simply not shining brightly enough - has been a major factor in preventing Australia from fully embracing solar energy. Now, the CSIRO is working hard to understand how to manage this problem. [ + ]

Every year, New Zealand produces about 50,000 tonnes of chicken feathers. In the past the only options for these feathers were to process them into low-grade animal feed, incinerate them or store them in landfills. But the feathers are now being sought as extra support for biodegradable plastics. An example of this concept was announced in March 2011, when American scientists including Dr Yiqi Yang demonstrated that they could make chicken-feather-based thermoplastics which remained stable in water. A little over a year later, at the University of Waikato, a similar incident is occurring. [ + ]

Preparations for Australia’s carbon pricing mechanism shifted into high gear on 2 April when the Clean Energy Regulator came into being. [ + ]

The concept of using wastewater to create green energy is much more widely applicable than often realised. Any factory with a biological waste stream or wastewater with high COD (chemical oxygen demand) can easily use this model to generate energy. Some companies making the investment have achieved payback within a year. Most typically achieve it within two years. [ + ]

The second of the three little pigs built his house out of wood and although in the fairytale the wolf blew it down, the head of UniSA’s Zero Waste Research Centre - Professor Steffen Lehmann - says piggy number two may have been onto something. [ + ]

Thousands of organisations across Australia are missing out on potential financial aid that could help them combat the impact of the carbon tax, says Energy Action. The start of a new financial year provides an opportunity to review what funding options are available. [ + ]

Building rating tools have evolved and are not just about the building but the spaces in between - the entire communities. Adam Beck discusses this evolution and the Green Building Council of Australia’s (GBCA’s) recent launch of the Green Star - Communities rating tool to recalibrate Australia’s understanding of sustainability at the community scale. [ + ]

Nissan invited Sustainability Matters to test drive the Nissan LEAF - its purpose-built, all-electric car, which is now on sale in Australia. [ + ]

On 15 September 2011, Castle Hill RSL Club’s C2K Aquatic Centre turned on a new source of electricity and heat in order to improve energy efficiency while reducing its energy costs and its carbon footprint. After just five months of operation, the results prove that the cogeneration system installed by Simons Green Energy has significantly reduced energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. [ + ]

When Eurobodalla Shire council was looking to control blue green algae and improve dissolved oxygen and pH levels at Deep Creek Dam, it installed five SolarBee long-distance water circulators. [ + ]