A European research team has created 'black diamond' — a material capable of absorbing solar radiation by maintaining the same physical properties of diamonds. [ + ]

UNSW is hosting the Leadership Forum on Energy Transition for Australia — an initiative that brings together leaders from business, academia and the community to develop a clean energy blueprint for the nation. [ + ]

ARENA is providing Victorian company RayGen with a $2.9 million recoupable grant towards a project aimed at developing a utility-scale solar system utilising PV Ultra technology. [ + ]

ACT Minister for the Environment and Climate Change Simon Corbell has dropped a bombshell, stating that the ACT Government is committing to a target of 100% renewable energy by 2020. [ + ]

Over 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide have been injected 1.5 km below ground at Nirranda South, Victoria, in a CO2CRC project which is said to prove the safety and long-term viability of CO₂ storage. [ + ]

UNSW researchers have achieved the world's highest efficiency for a full-sized thin-film solar cell using a competing thin-film technology known as CZTS. [ + ]

The Caltex Soil Remediation Facility has won a Gold award for innovation at the prestigious Edison Awards — an annual competition honouring excellence in new product and service development, marketing, human-centred design and innovation. [ + ]

It seems that Australian climate science is refusing to die, with the announcement that CSIRO is establishing a national climate research centre to be based in Hobart. [ + ]

Momentum Energy has paid penalties totalling $54,000 following the issue of five infringement notices by the ACCC, accusing the company of misrepresenting itself as a generator and supplier of renewable electricity during a recent advertising campaign. [ + ]

NAB has launched Australia's first Green ABS securitisation transaction for financial services group FlexiGroup. It represents Australia's first AUD-denominated, publicly offered asset-backed green bond note. [ + ]

Up to 60 Canberran households will be offered discount rates on what are claimed to be the world's most advanced solar batteries under the ACT Government's Next Generation Energy Storage Pilot. [ + ]

The Melbourne Renewable Energy Project has announced a competitive tender to purchase large volumes of renewable energy through a group purchasing model. The successful tenderer will build and operate a new renewable energy plant in regional Australia. [ + ]

The City of Hobart has awarded utility company Veolia a contract for a new fortnightly kerbside green waste collection service. [ + ]

Edge Environment is partnering with the SMaRT Centre at UNSW to demonstrate how timber from office fit-outs can be converted into a new recyclable product, potentially keeping tonnes of waste out of landfill. [ + ]

Today marks the official launch of a new supplier in Australia's power transmission and distribution market with the arrival of TGOOD Australia, the local branch of TGOOD Electric. [ + ]