As the sun sets on the small Indonesian island of Sumba, Danga Beru Haba begins weaving under the glow of a single incandescent lightbulb, the only one in her home. Although she is tired from working dawn to dusk in the fields surrounding her village of Kampung Kalihi, the sarong she is weaving to sell locally will provide extra income for her family.
While the lights probably won’t go out in Tasmania, the state’s energy crisis is really starting to pile on the pressure and has devolved into a war of words.
Political parties of all stripes take heed – new survey findings indicate support for solar power and battery storage could well be a vote-shifter in the next Australian federal election.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) will provide up to $9.1 million in finance to the University of Melbourne to assist it in accelerating adoption of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies.
The money will go towards projects including the installation of solar photovoltaics, solar thermal and micro-turbine electricity generation.