ARENA Supporting Bright Ideas in Solar R&D
The Australian Government today announced $21.5 million funding for 12 cutting edge R&D projects that will keep Australia at the forefront of solar research. Parliamentary Secretary for Industry Bob Baldwin made the announcement at an Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) event held at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the projects from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the Australian National University (ANU), CSIRO and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) represented the vanguard of Australia’s solar ingenuity. “These are the top 12 projects from a very competitive round where 110 applications were received, peer-reviewed and ranked against one another,” Mr Frischknecht said.
Power Producing Roof Revamps Australian Homes
A clever new renewable energy solution combining COLORBOND® pre-painted steel sheet roofing with cutting-edge, thin-film solar panels is set to provide Australian homes with a streamlined, aesthetically pleasing rooftop energy system that captures the sun’s energy as both electricity and heat. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht joined Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry, Bob Baldwin, to launch the new technology at a home in Sydney today. The $5 million landmark project was undertaken by the Australian-based global building market supplier BlueScope, with $2.3 million support from ARENA. “Today we are witnessing an exciting new technology solution moving from the lab to be prototyped on everyday Australian rooftops for the first time,” Mr Frischknecht said.
