You might feel despondent after reading news reports about countries doubling down on fossil fuels to cope with energy price spikes.

Electric planes might seem futuristic, but they aren’t that far off, at least for short hops. Two-seater Velis Electros are already quietly buzzing around Europe, electric sea planes are being tested in British Columbia, and larger planes are coming.

Australia last week moved to tackle the climate crisis when federal parliament passed Labor’s climate bill. But the new law is just the first step. Over the next eight years to 2030, we must get on a steep trajectory of emissions reductions.

Among the many similarities between California and Australia, both are impacted by bushfires and climate change, and both are home to larger cars and trucks than is the norm in developed countries. They are dissimilar, though, when it comes to electric vehicles and vehicle regulations. While California has been pursuing low-carbon and electric vehicles for decades, Australia has trailed most developed nations.

A crucial outcome of Australia’s jobs summit earlier this month was the commitment to review programs aimed at boosting the number of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers.

Global renewables contracting giant Sterling and Wilson Solar has warned Australia’s large-scale solar PV industry faces a significant workforce shortage as the nation shifts away from fossil fuels towards renewable power.

British analyst GlobalData has predicted residential and commercial rooftop panels will not return to a declining price trend until next year, with post-Covid logistics headaches the cause, rather than a polysilicon shortage.

BHP has started the year by signing a PPA that will halve emissions at its Nickel West Kwinana refinery and double its green cred as a supplier to environmentally conscious lithium-ion battery manufacturers.

Rooftop solar installation figures in Victoria have plunged dramatically in recent months but an easing of Covid-19 restrictions has provided a welcome boost for the state’s small-scale solar installers.

A report by Finnish company Wärtsilä has estimated the potential impact if every dollar committed to a non-renewables energy sector recovery was instead funnelled to clean power.

The software’s algorithms were found to boost output by leveraging Nextracker’s independent-row tracking system.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has launched a $62 billion energy and jobs plan, which includes the biggest pumped hydro scheme in the world. The government is also planning to convert publicly owned coal-fired power stations into clean energy hubs from 2027.

Western Australian developer Frontier Energy has shortlisted two EPC contractors for its Bristol Springs 114 MW solar and, eventually, green hydrogen project south of Perth.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced the state will now be targeting 70% renewable energy penetrations by 2032 – a significant increase in ambition and a teaser for “one of the biggest announcements our government has ever made” later today.


Australian startup H2X is finally launching its fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) Warrego Ute announced last year. The vehicle is currently undergoing final validation and verification with the company saying it expects to have the model on the market within nine months.

A new $8 million large-scale, network-connected battery at Tanby on Queensland’s Capricorn Coast is expected to help facilitate the continued integration of renewables, including rooftop solar PV, into the state’s energy system.

British renewable energy firm Harmony Energy’s plan to develop a 147 MW solar farm on the North Island of New Zealand has been fast tracked with the country seeking to accelerate the roll out of renewable energy generation projects as it strives to reach net zero by 2050.

South Australia resources company Oz Minerals has given the green light to a $1.7 billion copper and nickel project in Western Australia that is to be powered by a mix of solar PV and wind generation which the miner believes will become one of the largest, off-grid hybrid projects in the world.

Indonesia will have to get to work installing more than 24 GW of solar this year – and every year – if the region is to achieve the 2.1 TW to 2.4 TW of photovoltaics the International Renewable Energy Agency has estimated it will require to achieve a net zero carbon energy system by 2050.

ACEN Australia declared the first stage of the 720 MW New England Solar Farm is on track to commence commercial operations in 2023 while announcing it has secured a $140 million loan agreement that will help grow its renewables capacity in the Asia-Pacific region to 20 GW by 2030.

An international group of researchers has demonstrated an aqueous zinc battery with excellent performance in terms of capacity, rate capability, specific energy, and output voltage. The supercapacitor-battery hybrid device has also shown unprecedented cycling stability 99.2% capacity retention after 17,000 cycles at 100% depth of discharge.

Edify Energy has been awarded the contract to deliver a grid forming, lithium-ion big battery in Victoria, which will provide system support services for Victoria Murray River Renewable Energy Zone and contribute to the state’s new storage targets.

Google will be using Australian company Enosi’s technology to trace its energy use in Sydney, part of its journey towards time matched renewables – a far more ambitious and globally favoured standard.

Enel Green Power’s new solar panel has average efficiencies ranging from 22.6% to 22.9% and a temperature coefficient of -0.24% per degree Celsius. It is based on an n-type solar cell with G12 format and a power conversion efficiency of 24.6%.

A recent report by the International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA PVSP) reviews the current regulatory and industrial landscape for end-of-life PV management in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, and the United States.

The Northern Territory government has signed an agreement with Taiwanese battery company Aleees and Western Australia-based miner Avenira to develop a battery cathode manufacturing plant in Darwin.

The two batteries have a storage capacity of 13 and 19.5 kWh, respectively. Both lithium-ion systems use LiFePO4 as the cathode material and have a round-trip efficiency of over 86%.

The result, confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH), was achieved on a heterojunction solar cell based on an M6 wafer.

A new report published by the International Energy Agency shows solar PV provided employment for approximately 3.4 million people in 2021 with almost half of the workers employed in China, about 280,000 in North America, over 260,000 in Europe, and some 50,000 in Africa. The vast majority of workers were employed in manufacturing and installation of new capacity, with solar jobs paying lower wage premiums than the nuclear, oil, and gas industries.

United States-based engineering firm FTC Solar has unveiled a new self-powered solar tracking system which it says requires up to 36% fewer foundations than existing technologies and enables an estimated 5% greater energy output for a given parcel of land.

Victoria’s Labor government this morning announced it will target 2.6 GW of renewable energy storage capacity by 2030, and 6.3 GW by 2035.

United Renewable Energy has energised a 15 MW/15 MWh battery energy storage system connected to a 150 MW solar park located near the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan.

A Tesla Megapack battery caught fire at PG&E’s Elkhorn large-scale battery storage facility in Monterey County, California, in the early hours of Sept. 21. The fire was brought fully under control by the late afternoon, and its cause is under investigation.

Renewable energy investment fund Solar Bay and logistic company Logos have commenced construction of Australia’s largest roof-mounted solar PV system, airlifting in the first of more than 120,000 solar panels that will be installed atop an 800,000sqm industrial warehousing facility in south-western Sydney.

Power utility Alinta Energy expects work on a 45 MW solar farm and 35 MW battery energy storage system planned for Western Australia’s Pilbara region to commence before the end of the year following the signing of a large-scale renewable power purchase agreement with international mining giant BHP.