March 2022

The New South Wales Government has outlined plans for another coordinated renewable energy zone which will deliver at least 2.5GW of new network capacity as the state’s transitions from fossil fuels towards renewable power accelerates.

Electric vehicle batteries are packed with energy, with additional battery density and efficiency working to quell range anxiety for drivers. But with that capability lingers a concern from some that EVs may pose a fire risk and a challenge for first responders in the event of accidents. Western Australia’s Professor Ray Wills from Future Smart Strategies bought his first EV in 2012 and argues that in terms of safety, EVs remain an easily superior vehicle, and even the tiny fire risk that exists is an ever-diminishing issue.

This week has been disastrous for Australia’s carbon market, with cascading criticisms of the federal government’s Emissions Reduction Fund coming to light, including the former chair of its integrity commission labelling it an “environmental and taxpayer fraud” and its own participants publishing an open letter to the minister saying its changes are jeopardising Australia’s pathway to net zero.

The National Electricity Market has always been a place of big data and high levels of automation, and the recent developments in the trading space are the next stage of that maturing.

The Australian arm of U.K.-based global fund manager Octopus Group and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation have added another renewable energy project to their joint venture’s portfolio, announcing they will work with the founders of the Blind Creek Solar Farm near Bungendore in regional New South Wales to deliver the 300MW agri-solar and battery project.

Electricity distributor Endeavour Energy has announced plans to deploy a solar-powered community microgrid featuring 3MW/3.5MWh of battery energy storage in a bid to improve the resilience and reliability of electricity supply for regional communities on the New South Wales South Coast.

AGL has committed to another big battery project as it seeks to add at least 850MW of new large-scale energy storage to its portfolio by 2024, confirming it will begin construction of a 50MW/50MWh battery at Broken Hill which will improve energy security in regional New South Wales.

Rystad Energy has joined BloombergNEF with a significant forecast for grey and blue hydrogen off the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to the analysts, the impact of the war has sent prices of fossil fuel-tied forms of hydrogen production surging, leaving the gradual but consistent downward price trend of green hydrogen now looking remarkably competitive.

Developed by researchers in Spain, the battery uses renewable electricity to melt low-cost metals such as silicon or ferrosilicon alloys to produce and store latent heat, which is in turn used by a thermophovoltaic generator to produce power. According to its creators, the device may store electricity at a cost of €10 per kilowatt-hour (AU$14.6/kWh) for a 10MWh system.

The New South Wales Government is advancing its plan to build the “biggest network battery in the southern hemisphere” by 2025 as it looks to shore up a reliable energy supply ahead of the impending closure of the coal-fired Eraring Power Station.