Australia & Oceania

Solar farm

New Zealand’s biggest solar farm secures finance to go ahead at Christchurch Airport

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Leading global renewable energy developer Lightsource BP has secured $NZ267 million in financing for its 168MW Kōwhai Park solar project planned to be built at the Christchurch Airport, which will be – for a time – the largest in the country. The solar farm is expected to begin construction later this year and begin operations some time in 2026. Once operational, the Kōwhai Park solar farm will generate over 275GWh per year, equivalent to the annual demand of approximately 36,000 homes.

Kim Coco Iwamoto

Kim Coco Iwamoto to become Hawaii’s first trans lawmaker

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Iwamoto is known for her progressive stance, having been recognized by former President Barack Obama for her work. She’s also been supported by groups mirroring U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) politics. She supports the Green New Deal, wants to increase funding of public education in the state, promotes mass reform of the criminal justice system, and aims to invest in affordable housing.

New Caledonia’s endangered cagou now thriving after conservation push

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The flightless bird is considered endangered and experts estimate there are about 2,000 in New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific. A “massacre” by predators in 2017 killed about three-quarters of the population in the area. A similar incident three years later further hurt its numbers. But efforts to preserve and grow the population are paying off. A series of steps to protect the birds – including managing threats and tracking behavior – have seen their numbers triple since 2017.

Ocean Energy grid-scale wave energy generator Hawaii

Revolutionary grid-scale wave energy generator deployed in Hawaii

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Ocean Energy has deployed its 826-tonne wave energy converter buoy OE-35 at the US Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site off the coast of the island of Oahu ahead of it being hooked up to Hawaii’s electricity grid. With a potential output of 1.25 MW, OE-35 harnesses energy from the waves using a remarkable double-flow air system.

Ocean water

Island states win historic climate case in world oceans court

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Nine small island states have won a historic climate change case at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which ruled that all signatories to a United Nations treaty on marine activities must do more to protect the world’s oceans from climate change. The tribunal found that signatories to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea’s responsibilities to prevent marine pollution extend to greenhouse gas emissions, which harm oceans by altering the earth’s atmosphere.

Elderly person smiling

Global life expectancy increased by 6.2 years between 1990 and 2021

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A new study from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation found that the super-region of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania had the world’s largest net gain in life expectancy between 1990 and 2021 (8.3 years), largely due to reductions in mortality from chronic respiratory diseases, stroke, lower respiratory infections, and cancer.

Whale jumping

In move to protect whales, Polynesian Indigenous groups give them ‘personhood’

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Indigenous leaders of New Zealand, Tahiti, and the Cook Islands signed a historic treaty that recognizes whales as legal persons in a move conservationists believe will apply pressure to national governments to offer greater protections for the large mammals. “It’s fitting that the traditional guardians are initiating this,” said Mere Takoko, a Māori conservationist who leads Hinemoana Halo Ocean Initiative, the group that spearheaded the treaty. “For us, by restoring those world populations we also restore our communities.”

Satellite over Earth

New satellite pinpoints global methane pollution in real-time

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MethaneSAT, developed by the Environmental Defense Fund in partnership with the New Zealand Space Agency, is the size of a washing machine and cost $88 million to build and launch. While part of its mission is to spot polluters, the other side of the coin is that it can verify that others are indeed managing those emissions in a responsible fashion. Stemming methane leaks is the fastest single way to curb the escalation of average global temperatures, according to The Guardian.

Vast solar farm

Utility solar dethrones coal as the cheapest power source in Asia

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According a new analysis from Wood Mackenzie on the levelized cost of electricity for the Asia Pacific region, the cost of renewables reached a historic low in 2023. Renewable energy costs in Asia last year were 13% cheaper than coal and are expected to be 32% cheaper by 2030. Utility solar is now the cheapest power source in 11 out of 15 APAC countries. New-build solar project costs are expected to fall by another 20% by 2030.

Aerial view of large electrical power plant with many rows of solar photovoltaic panels for producing clean ecological electric energy in morning

South Australia fast-tracks 100% renewables target to 2027

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The South Australia state government says it has fast tracked its target of “net 100%” renewables to 2027 – rather than 2030 – as a result of the state’s new wind and solar developments and its ambitious hydrogen plans. “Net” 100% renewables means producing enough wind and solar to meet the annual demand figure.

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