ANU wins $4.7 million for renewable energy research
The Australian National University (ANU) has won $4.7 million in new funding for renewable energy research, and more than any other university, in the latest round of industry-researcher collaboration funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The funding will support two projects from the College of Engineering and Computer Science and one from the Fenner School of Environment and Society.
The projects will help develop a system to estimate the power produced by rooftop solar PV in a given area, examine how robots could capture data for solar PV installation diagnostics and examine how consumers can take charge of their energy use through batteries, while simultaneously being rewarded for helping manage the electricity grid.
“Capturing a third of the ARENA grants in this area recognises the groundbreaking work that is being done at ANU,” said the director of the ANU Energy Change Institute, Professor Ken Baldwin.
“As electricity from renewable energy continues to grow, integrating renewables into the grid becomes more and more vital.
“Australia already leads the world in the take-up of residential rooftop solar, and there is massive potential for growth in large-scale solar power stations given our vast solar resources.”
ARENA Chief Executive Ivor Frischknecht said the funding would create clear pathways for renewable energy technologies to move from the laboratory to the field by fostering collaboration between research institutions and industry.
“Each successful project is focused on delivering commercially viable solutions, aimed at solving a current industry challenges,” Frischknecht said.
“The rich array of industry partners shows the breadth of sectors that will be involved in the transformation of Australia’s energy networks and systems.”
The successful ANU projects are:
- Consumer Energy Systems Providing Cost-Effective Grid Support, ANU Research School of Computer Science
- A Robotic Vision System for Automatic Inspection and Evaluation of Solar Plant Infrastructure, ANU Research School of Engineering
- Real-time Operational Distributed PV Simulations for Distribution Network Service Providers, ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society
For more details on the announcement, visit the ARENA website.
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