This article shares some insights about curtailment for semi-scheduled solar and wind farms in the National Electricity Market and is a more in-depth follow-on to an earlier article about the issue.

Despite a rapidly evolving electric vehicle market, myths that they are unsuited to Australian roads have persisted. According to the Electric Vehicle Council, there remains a misconception that EVs are unsuited to Australian conditions due to low battery ranges, the landscape and the country’s immature EV charging infrastructure.

As Australia’s rapid renewable energy rollout continues, so too does debate over land use. Nationals Leader David Littleproud, for example, claimed regional areas had reached “saturation point” and cannot cope with more wind and solar farms and transmission lines.

China’s energy landscape is undergoing a staggering transformation propelled by its leadership in cleantech innovation, declining costs in renewable energy technologies and a massive acceleration of its renewables build out, underpinned by central policy support that sees decarbonisation as a key economic goal.

In 2023 solar photovoltaics and wind comprised about 80% of global net generation capacity additions. Four times as much new solar and wind electricity generation capacity was installed in 2023 as compared with all other electricity sources combined.

New data from market firm SunWiz shows Australian households and businesses installed a further 262 MW of solar on their rooftops during the month of April, pushing the year-to-date total up 7% on the corresponding time last year.

Also on the rise: California crosses 10 GW battery storage threshold; Philippines set to add almost 2 GW of new solar in 2024; CATL unveils Ev with 1,000km range; and more.

Data from international consultancy Rystad Energy shows that 82 new renewable energy generation and battery storage projects corresponding to more than 20 GW of capacity were proposed across Australia’s National Electricity Market in the first quarter of 2024, with developers largely focused on Queensland and New South Wales.

Western Australia’s rollout of solar-based standalone power systems is set to continue with the state government announcing a $26.4 million funding package to drive local manufacturing of components needed for clean energy projects.

The federal government’s 32 GW Capacity Investment Scheme is already bearing fruit with a competitive tender seeking 600 MW of energy storage capacity in Victoria and South Australia attracting 19,000 MW of project proposals.

A team of Australian researchers has developed multi-stage algorithms they say can remotely detect and accurately diagnose underperforming solar panels in residential and commercial PV systems.

Australian-headquartered real estate group and fund manager Dexus has commenced the roll out of more than $25 million worth of battery energy storage systems coupled with rooftop solar at its new warehouses as it looks to future-proof its investment portfolio.

State-owned energy utility Synergy has awarded the construction and balance of plant contract for the 500 MW / 2,000 MWh Collie battery energy storage system being built in Western Australia’s southwest.

Victorian electricity distributor Powercor is seeking a licence to build new transmission infrastructure in a move it claims will provide faster grid connections for major projects such as solar and wind farms within its current distribution network area.

An Australian research group has used an SMA inverter to switch the operating point of a PV array and has demonstrated its ability to create photoluminescence images for both rooftop and large-scale solar installations.

A group of Australian engineers claim to have discovered a new material to make power-pole insulators resistant to electrical sparking and fire, promising to prevent dangerous pole-top fires, reduce blackouts and lower maintenance costs.

Queensland battery tech company Li-S Energy claims to have taken a significant step towards proving the safety of its semi-solid-state lithium sulfur batteries with the third-generation technology successfully passing a series of nail penetration tests.

West Australian regional energy provider Horizon Power has plugged in a vehicle-to-grid technology test in the northern resort town of Exmouth to trial the potential of bidirectional electric vehicle charging to optimise the use of renewable energy while maintaining network reliability.

Taiwanese manufacturer Winaico says its new 430 W glass-glass tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) modules have a power conversion efficiency of 22.02%.

Queensland flow battery company Redflow has won a second deal with the United States Department of Defence to supply a non-lithium energy storage solution that will be deployed to improve energy security at a major naval base in Italy.

The Chinese manufacturer said Germany’s TÜV SUD has confirmed the results.

Australian National University researchers will put their heads together with Queensland tech company CQSola to find ways to accelerate commercialisation of a direct solar-to-hydrogen system as part of a newly funded project.

Vietnamese solar manufacturer Vsun’s new facility produces n-type silicon wafers and is expected to be ready for full production by the end of the month.

Australian battery materials technology company Sicona has confirmed it will develop its first commercial manufacturing facility in the United States as part of its ambition to become the biggest producer of silicon-carbon battery materials in the world.

The consultation process has commenced on the design of the $1 billion Solar Sunshot program that aims to boost the development of Australia’s solar manufacturing industry and increase the nation’s role in the global solar manufacturing supply chain.

French renewable energy and storage developer Neoen has initiated construction of the next stage of what will be one of Australia’s largest battery energy storage systems after securing a second four-hour capacity services contract for Western Australia’s main electricity grid.

Australian clean energy developers Atmos Renewables and Nomad Energy have received the green light for a 100 MW, four-hour battery energy storage system to be built near Merredin in Western Australia’s central Wheatbelt region.

The International Energy Agency has issued its first report on the importance of battery energy storage technology in the energy transition. It has found that tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 would require 1,500 GW of battery storage.

As rising renewables penetration and electrification place ever more strain on the world’s grids, the use of grid-forming inverters, rather than grid-following models, will play a vital role in network stability.

Singapore-based renewables developer Vena Energy has launched commercial operations of a 125 MW solar farm in Queensland’s Western Downs region that is backed by a long-term offtake agreement with global tech giant Amazon.