Chief Executive of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Darren Miller, says he envisions a future where Australia will produce up to ten times more clean electricity than the country requires to become a “shining example of what is possible if you have the right ingredients and the right ambition.”

Western Australia-based oil and gas company Prominence Energy has become the latest fossil fuel company to enter the hydrogen market by acquiring a 20% stake in Patriot Hydrogen.

The New South Wales government has today launched a renewable Renewable Gas Certification Pilot, with the aim of sparking a new energy market for clean gas in Australia.

Western Australia’s Minister for Hydrogen Industry, Alannah MacTiernan, said her state plans to be producing 10 GW of green hydrogen in the next decade, with aspirations of getting to 200 GW by 2040. A parade of other state ministers followed MacTiernan addressing the Australian Hydrogen Conference, each eager to assert that their region will become the country’s hydrogen capital.

Larry Marshall, Chief Executive of the CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, told Australia’s Hydrogen Conference that he was “highly optimistic” about Australia’s future, saying the country is currently at the “forefront” of hydrogen – a position not often held by our island state and one we must “dig our teeth into.”

A new study commissioned by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation has indicated renewable hydrogen is already approaching cost competitiveness with that produced using fossil fuels but some in the industry have declared the government-owned green bank’s figures are much too conservative.

In the twelve months since its solar systems were installed, Wagga Wagga City Council saved over $46,000. Given the success, the Council tells pv magazine Australia it is now planning an additional 500 kW system.

A new program has launched on the New South Wales south coast enabling solar generated on residential rooftops to be consumed locally by hot water systems through smart meters alone, helping manage the growing problem of variable electricity in the grid without requiring new infrastructure.

As Australia’s hydrogen hype is substantiated by a pipeline of real projects backed by real money, questions around how to design Australia’s ‘future fuel’ industry so it doesn’t become a fossil fuel lifeline grow increasingly urgent. Nicky Ison, WWF Australia’s Energy Transition Manager, shares the four focal points she believes are key to ensuring Australia’s hydrogen economy is cleanly built.

Victoria’s state government has introduced new rules for solar businesses and energy retailers banning on door-to-door sales of products and announcing penalties of up to $1 million for retailers that wrongfully disconnect the electricity of vulnerable Victorians.