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Category: Oceania

Australia gets the world’s largest battery

Australia gets the world’s largest battery

The largest lithium-ion battery pack ever constructed has been successfully deployed in the state of South Australia. The 100 MW battery aims to be the solution for South Australia’s problems with fluctuating energy demand which at times have been able to severely strain the state’s power grids.

The battery is constructed by Tesla and is one of its high-profile visionary man Elon Musk’s latest projects. He even went as far as vowing that it would be built within a 100-day period or the state could have it for free. And finished within the narrow time-frame it was.

Source: BBC News

Some atoll islands in the Pacific grow instead of shrinking

Some atoll islands in the Pacific grow instead of shrinking

Some small atoll islands in the Pacific Ocean seem to actually have grown in size over the last decades, contrary to what is commonly expected as a result of rising sea levels. As so often reality seems to be more complex than one-size-fits-all generalizations. Increasing frequency of storms however is still a major risk for atolls’ survival.

Source: New Scientist

New Zealand transfers ownership of large areas to the Maori

New Zealand transfers ownership of large areas to the Maori

The New Zealand government have in a historical decision transfered big land holdings valued to approximately 420 million NZD to the Maori as a reparation of their historical treatment and thereby confirming that the Waitangi Treaty of 1840 was breached by the British and New Zealand governments when they did not respect the Maori’s rights to their land.

Source: BBC World