AIRAH gets a new CEO
HVAC&R association AIRAH has internally appointed Sami Zheng as chief executive.
Zheng has worked for the association for seven years – most recently as chief operating officer and previously worked for six years at commercial linen and laundry supplier South Pacific Laundry.
AIRAH president Paul Jackson said Zheng has the qualities to lead the industry into a new era.
“Sami has a deep understanding of the organisation and its members, as well as a clear vision of how AIRAH can lead Australia’s HVAC industry towards a more sustainable future.”
The formula to building our own solar panel industry
With ample silica quartz resources and clean energy resources to manufacture high value-added solar module materials domestically, how does Australia start building its own solar panels?
A new white paper launched on Thursday evening by revealed that the introduction of a circular economy could make Australia’s solar industry the greenest in the world.
According to the report by Brinson & Associates Sun Cable (the report’s sponsor) had received enough demand to sufficiently consider a domestic giga-scale green fab supply chain.
The paper goes into deeper investigation of the size and technical detail of the main plants that would support such a supply chain as well as details on the science and procurement of each material.
Digital Restart Fund open for applications
The NSW government has refocused the $100 million Digital Restart Fund to address what they say is state’s biggest challenges: housing supply, frontline service delivery and climate change.
The five areas of priority include:
- projects targeted at driving more efficient energy use and supporting biodiversity and the natural environment
- projects with outcomes targeted at speeding up the supply of housing and acceleration of the housing planning cycle
- projects which make it easier, safer, and simpler for frontline and essential workers to deliver services
- projects which increase accessibility of government services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, regional, remote, and rural communities, seniors, people with a disability, and people experiencing social issues and disadvantage
- projects aimed at reducing cyber security risk
In the past, funding had supported projects such as the artificial intelligence program used to irrigate and cool Sydney Olympic Park and mitigate urban heat island effect and smart sensors which detects types of rubbish entering waterways and when rubbish collection points need to be emptied.
Project tracker for First Nations Clean Energy Network
First Nations Clean Energy Network has launched a project tracker to track clean energy projects benefitting First Nations groups .
So far the tracker shows 14 significant clean energy announcements and memorandum of understanding (MOU)s however, the projects are yet to be operational.
This is in stark contrast to Canada, where First Nations groups are said to be the second largest asset owners of clean energy infrastructure with nearly 200 significant clean energy projects with Indigenous involvement.
Chris Croker, co-chair of the First Nations Clean Energy Network said “First Nations communities have decided they will no longer be passive hosts or merely stakeholders of energy projects. First Nations voices, interests and rights on their land can no longer be ignored.
“That means companies, governments, and investors’ terms of development on First Nations lands must change.
“First Nations people aim to proactively exercise First Nations rights, protect community interests, ensure control and a boardroom role in decision making, and to share in resource development planning and the economic benefits derived from a project through mechanisms including preferential contract bidding, co-ownership, equity stakes, and revenue sharing.
University green news
The Green Gown Awards
Winners of the 2023 Australasian Green Gown awards earlier this month saw 12 universities and one TAFE being named winners or highly commended across 10 award categories. Notable winners include:
- Western Sydney University, winner of the climate action award for co-designing towards climate positive initiatives
- University of Queensland, second year winner of the next generation learning and skills award, recognising its Masters of Sustainable Energy program.
- University of Wollongong, winner of the benefitting society award for its RISE program to build hope and long-lasting sustainability in businesses
- University of Tasmania for, winner of the creating impact award for its ongoing species hotel project to creating homes for little creatures.
Macquarie University’s space tech deal could lead to bushfire detecting technology
Macquarie University has signed a new agreement with space technology company Gilmour Space Technologies to branch out to non-astronomy applications of its satellites and telescopes. The partnership is said to potentially help with water quality monitoring, bushfire detection, weather quality monitoring and more.
Griffith study shows we are running out of water
With a drought-imminent this summer, a new Griffith-led study looked into whether human consumption of water can be met with surface water alone and if not, how much groundwater do we need to sustain ourselves. And the results? Not pretty.
The study found that 1.4 billion people live in river basins where groundwater is needed because they have exceeded surface water earth system boundaries (ESBs) and a further 1.5 billion people live outside ESBs, and still has insufficient surface water to meet minimum demands.
That’s 2.6 billion people – almost a third of the world’s population said lead author Dr. Ben Stewart-Koster, who is a senior research fellow at the Australian Rivers Institute.
On top of that, with and consumption of surface water, especially by irrigation and dams are destroying the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems worldwide.
“Saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers and reductions in water quality from groundwater pollution also reduce water availability for domestic and agricultural use,” said Stewart-Koster.
“Given pressing challenges to Earth system stability associated with population growth, overconsumption, and the hydrological impact of climate change on aquatic ecosystems, we must make these necessary transformations to ensure a safe and just future for all people and planet.”