Chinese technology giant Huawei has introduced its series of modular off-grid systems primarily targeting Australia’s agricultural sector, Huawei’s Solution Director, Kenneth Loh, told pv magazine Australia.

The Victorian government has allocated $1.1 million in funding to Indigenous groups to determine how they want to be part of Victoria’s renewable energy boom. Fortescue has likewise awarded $350 million to a majority-owned Aboriginal business in Western Australia, its single largest contract under its Billion Opportunities program.

Global infrastructure developer AECOM has run analysis on every petroleum fuel refinery and storage & import terminal in Australia and New Zealand as a novel means of locating sites well suited to future renewable development and hydrogen industries. “Some sites that were really suited to a wide range of end uses and those were our so-called ‘unicorn sites,’” AECOM’s Craig Bearsley told pv magazine Australia.

The federal government has awarded $5 million to the CSIRO to deliver a hydrogen research, development and demonstration program aimed at strengthening hydrogen knowledge both domestically and in cooperation with our international partners.

To truly seize on the opportunity afforded by the imminent battery boom, Australia needs to look beyond its historic role as a supplier of raw materials and broaden the horizons by adding value with downstream products and manufacturing, according to a recent Future Battery Industries report. Pv magazine Australia caught up with Vincent Algar, managing director of Australian Vanadium Limited – a company operating in this promising yet thorny realm.

Lumea is planning the first big battery to be financed without any government support at Melbourne’s Deer Park Energy Hub.

Gannawarra Solar Farm, Victoria’s first large-scale solar farm integrated with a big battery, has forayed into the world of agrisolar by integrating sheep grazing on site. The sheep are reportedly loving the shade offered by the panels, which has allowed them to graze even during the hottest parts of the day, with the animals unperturbed by the solar farm’s tracking devices.

Victorian company Commodore Australia has evaluated how much customers save by using solar water pumps compared to diesel or mains-connected pumps. Based on its calculations, the smallest solar water pumps save customers between $480 to $610 per year, with that figure growing to a staggering $35,117 to $44,837 for the largest pumps.

Australia’s second ‘solar broker’ has entered the market, essentially aiming to link customers with reputable solar installers. With a keen focus on regional Australia, the Solar Saviour startup is looking to grow by engaging country communities and building after-care based referrals schemes, a method its Head of Partnerships, David Cobb, told pv magazine Australia Australia’s solar industry has under-utilised.

Deakin University has received funding for two multi-million dollar facilities, one devoted to advanced battery research and the second for the development of hydrogen technology. The projects’ aims will be to overcome hydrogen’s hurdles and, for batteries, to improve existing technologies while also investigating sustainable alternatives like sodium batteries.