Western Australia’s City of Stirling has fast tracked its investment in an estimated $6 million solar PV program in a bid to maximise potential savings and reach its goal of sourcing 100% of the city’s electricity needs from renewables by 2030.

Australian redox-flow battery specialist Redflow has upped the ante on its plans to expand into the United States market, announcing it has completed testing that will pave the way for its battery energy storage system to be used in conjunction with hybrid inverters manufactured by United States solar engineering company Sol-Ark.

With some of the highest rooftop solar PV penetration in Australia the outback town of Alice Springs will soon play host to the Northern Territory’s first resident Virtual Power Plant with the project partners exploring how best to bolster the reliability of the local grid and pave the way for the increased penetration of renewable energy.

Australian engineering firm UGL has begun building the 125MWp Glenrowan Solar Farm in Victoria’s northeast after solar-focused developer Esco Pacific announced it had finalised the sale of the project to Australia-based contractor Cimic Group.

New South Wales transmission network owner Transgrid has commenced construction on its section of the $2.3 billion Project EnergyConnect, the high-voltage electricity transmission interconnector that will link power grids across three states, unlocking gigawatts of planned renewable energy projects.

The Australian Hydrogen Council is calling on the newly elected Federal Government to provide policy certainty, new investment and “targeted transition deadlines” to help create a market for green hydrogen and allow Australia’s emerging industry to thrive.

Australian software company OpenSolar has teamed with renewable energy engineering consultancy, education and training provider Global Sustainable Energy Solutions to launch an online “academy” that offers solar installers a one-stop shop for running their business while securing and maintaining Clean Energy Council accreditations.

Australian power producer AGL Energy has abandoned its plan to split the company into two, conceding defeat in the face of “opposition from a small number of investors” including major investor Mike Cannon-Brookes.

Community solar developer Komo Energy is describing it as an “Australian first” after launching a crowd equity funding campaign to help finance the construction of the planned 1.7MW battery ready Grong Grong Solar Farm being developed in the Riverina region of New South Wales.

United States-based data company Global Energy Monitor has launched a new open-source tool that lists Australia’s large-scale solar plants alongside those from another 147 countries.