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In Redflow
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Delta Electrics General Manager Andrew Boller with a Redflow ZCell batteryDelta Electrics General Manager Andrew Boller with a Redflow ZCell batteryRedflow’s latest partner, Darwin-based Delta Electrics, believes that zinc-bromine flow batteries are ideally suited to deliver energy storage in the hot, demanding conditions of the Top End.

Founded in 1969, Delta Electrics is a leading supplier of power-related products and services to some of the largest organisations operating in the Northern Territory including Power Water, Territory Generation, the Australian Department of Defence, Telstra, McArthur River Mining/Xstrata and Energy Resources Australia. Delta's client base spans an extensive range of industry sectors such as telecommunications, power utilities, agriculture, local councils and remote Aboriginal communities.

Delta Electrics General Manager Andrew Boller said the Northern Territory was increasingly seeking the benefits of new-generation batteries. “With years of experience with batteries, Delta Electrics understands the challenges and limitations of working with lithium-based battery chemistries within the NT: Unless they are installed in an air-conditioned environment. the operating temperatures of lithium batteries are always in the high 30s or more, which can significantly impact their life,” he said.

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In CitrusAd
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CitrusAd co-founders CMO Nick Paech (left) with CEO Brad MoranCitrusAd co-founders CMO Nick Paech (left) with CEO Brad MoranAustralian digital ad platform CitrusAd has announced the signing of five major international retail clients, including Groupon in the US and Sainsbury'sbury's in the UK, as revenues more than double to AUD$1 million a month thanks to a COVID-inspired online shopping boom.

Brisbane-based Citrus, which has also opened its third office in the US, currently supports 40 retailers in 22 countries, serving 28 billion ad requests annually. It has achieved 2000 per cent growth compared to this time last year.  To this, Citrus will add Sainsbury'sbury's, one of the two largest supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, and Chicago-based Groupon, the American global e-commerce marketplace which connects subscribers with local merchants by offering activities, travel, goods and services in 15 countries.

Following a spate of recent deals, CitrusAd will now also be used globally by Ocado (the world’s largest dedicated online grocery supermarket), PC Components (Spain’s leading digital e-tailer), UK retailer Argos and leading international technology distributor Tech Data.

In Australia, the CitrusAd digital advertising platform is already used by major retailers including Coles, Woolworths, Officeworks and Dan Murphys. Launched in 2017 by former Adelaide Crows footballer, Brad Moran, CitrusAd is a retail SaaS (Software as a Service) company that turns retailer websites into revenue-generating digital advertising platforms.

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In Denise Goodfellow
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Gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus) is a tall (4 metres high), multi-stemmed plant introduced to Australia in the 1930s as cattle fodder (Csurhes, 2005).   The potential danger this grass posed was recognised early on, but despite assurances that it could be safely contained within paddocks heavily grazed by stock, gamba quickly escaped into surrounding savannah woodland (Petty, 2013) and elsewhere via “wind, water, animals and vehicles” (Beaumont, Keily & Kennedy, 2018).    Now a weed of national significance gamba infests more than 1.5 million hectares of the Top End.  The Top End is fast becoming a monoculture of gamba, and a ‘field of nightmares’ (Petty, 2013) for all concerned.

Gamba devastated the flora of woodland and even wetlands by crowding out trees and other plants, changing the nutrient status of the soil so that it better suits gamba than native vegetation, and fuelling wildfire so hot that even trees cannot survive - one study from Adelaide River 120 kms south of Darwin found 140 dead trees per hectare (Brooks, Setterfield & Douglas., 2010).  A property near us lost 50-60% of it mature trees in one fire.

Gamba carries high-intensity crown fires more like those seen down south than the cool low fires once typical of the north.  But unlike southern fires these Top End conflagrations can occur annually or ever more often (Kurucz, 2019).  Every year our property southwest of DarwinGamba won’t grow under these trees because of the saponins in their leaves is threatened at least once.    Landholders have expressed both despair and fear at the amount of gamba grass infesting their land.  We’re actually putting in a firegate at the east end of our property so that neighbours have an escape route should their property go up in flames.  Tourists and locals alike have nearly died in gamba-fuelled fires.

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In Denise Goodfellow
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Black Wattle 2 WBlack wattle (Acacia auriculiformis) - ‘soap’ plants that have been long-used by Bininj

A few months ago, a message appeared on Facebook.  Posted by a family member living in Arnhem Land it told of the electrocution of a child.  The women present did not administer CPR or call for medical assistance.  Rather, they prayed over him.  

When the coronavirus pandemic threatened there was another message from the same person, but the tone was more anxious this time.  It consisted of a photograph of a woman praying and below the message in large letters that God and prayer would protect people from the coronavirus.  As before several other women supported her post and they all sounded scared. 

The juxtaposition of these two messages led me to fear that if COVID-19 did make it to Aboriginal settlements, prayer would be the first port of call, at least for some.  An infectious diseases specialist friend has described the potential ramifications as ‘horrifying’. 

More News...

  1. Redflow receives subsequent order of flow batteries for New Zealand’s RCG (27 April 2020)
  2. Swansea University chooses Redflow flow-batteries for its renewable energy Active Building demonstrator (26 March 2020)
  3. Off-grid WA orchard beats bushfire blackouts with Redflow batteries (25 March 2020)
  4. Redflow batteries deliver 24-hour power and save $10,000 in diesel per year for off-grid WA station (05 February 2020)
  5. Fire flights over Adelaide Hills and KI create 3D maps of fire grounds for recovery and future safety planning (04 February 2020)
  6. Rural Connectivity Group chooses Redflow for off-grid energy storage in New Zealand (11 November 2019)
  7. Birds of Australia's Top End 2020 calendar raises money to fight gamba grass fuelled bushfires (10 November 2019)
  8. DDACL boosts productivity, patient care and staff morale after moving IT systems to Acurus (06 November 2019)
  9. New Redflow partner predicts battery boom as WA solar tariffs end (26 September 2019)
  10. Redflow receives order for ZBM2 batteries to power rural microgrid in North West Tasmania (29 August 2019)