Researchers are using organic materials to develop a new generation of photovoltaic cells that produce more power and cost less to manufacture than what’s available today. [ + ]

At the recent BICSI Conference in Melbourne, ICT engineering consultant Lawrence McKenna stressed the costly ramifications of inadequately skilled ICT cabling designers in Australia, calling for the industry to ‘raise the bar’ or suffer further financial losses. [ + ]

The electrical industry is constantly evolving. With new products popping up on the market and ever-changing energy-efficient options, the industry is always looking for the next big thing. This means businesses need to constantly be improving to keep up with the rapidly growing industry. [ + ]

A major milestone in tackling the growing problem of noncompliant product in the electrical industry was reached recently when the Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS) was launched in Queensland. [ + ]

Have you ever seen an arc flash incident? Feel the unbelievable force and potential destructive power firsthand? I have. It was in a controlled, protected setting, from a safe distance, but I never met anyone who experienced one live and in person until I met an electrical contractor after one of my recent arc flash information presentations. [ + ]

Philips’ latest Hue upgrade adds geofencing functionality, which means your smart device can detect when you or your family are approaching and trigger bulbs to turn on/off, change colour or change the light setting accordingly. [ + ]

Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron facility, located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. By accelerating electrons to near light speed, Diamond generates brilliant beams of light from infrared to X-rays which are used for academic and industry research. [ + ]

Scientists have produced the largest flexible, plastic solar cells in Australia - 10 times the size of what they were previously able to - thanks to a new solar cell printer that has been installed at CSIRO. [ + ]

When a natural disaster or major incident occurs, it is vitally important that emergency services personnel have a safe and secure base from which to manage their response and recovery operations. With this requirement in mind, the Queensland Government has constructed a new emergency operations centre to provide front-line staff with enhanced capacity to meet increasing operational demands and to support large-scale disasters. [ + ]

An iconic destination known by surfers the world over as the home of Bell’s Beach, Torquay is now also setting the standard around the world for green buildings with the Surf Coast Shire Civic Building. Born out of a desire to reflect the Surf Coast community’s environmental conscience, the building has been awarded a 5 Star Green Star - Office Design V3 rating by the Green Building Council of Australia as well as gaining international acclaim from the KNX Association, receiving an International Best Project Award at the 2012 KNX Awards held in Frankfurt, Germany. [ + ]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued proceedings against P & N (Euro Solar) and Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing (Australian Solar Panel) over allegedly false or misleading claims about the country of origin of the solar panels they supply. [ + ]

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing novel technology that would facilitate close monitoring of structures for strain, stress and early formation of cracks. Their approach uses wireless sensors that are low-cost, require no power, can be implemented on tough yet flexible polymer substrates and can identify structural problems at a very early stage. [ + ]

Solar engineers from UNSW have developed an innovative method to dramatically improve the quality of low-grade silicon, which will lead to a significant increase in electrical efficiency and reduce the cost of solar panels. [ + ]

Any industrial machine that may cause accidents must be safeguarded. The addition of electrical equipment such as electromechanical sensors and switches that can activate safeguarding mechanisms - to keep operators at a safe distance or halt operation automatically in case of danger - can prevent accidents occurring or reduce their severity. [ + ]

Automation and technology group ABB has won an order worth around $25 million to supply electrical and control systems for a new 75 MW photovoltaic (PV) power plant in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. [ + ]