Australia’s power grid was built to transport power from coal-fired power stations or the Snowy Hydro scheme to large cities and industrial precincts. The large transmission lines were designed with generation supply and demand, the shortest routes, and cost in mind.

Construction activities at renewables developer Neoen’s 200 MW/400 MWh Blyth Battery project site in South Australia’s mid-north will be powered by solar with off-grid power solutions specialist Commodore Australia deploying a hybrid PV and storage system at the remote location.

Resources giant Rio Tinto will team with Japanese industrial heavyweight Sumitomo Corporation to build a green hydrogen production plant on Queensland’s central coast as part of a $111 million (USD 74.64 million) ‘world first’ project which aims to lower carbon emissions from the alumina refining process.

An international consortium planning to build a 50 GW renewable energy hub in Australia’s southwest has signed an early agreement with Korea’s largest electricity utility to advance the development of what would be one of the world’s largest green hydrogen production facilities.

The Queensland government has identified a dozen regions across the state for renewable energy zones that will form the backbone of its $62 billion (USD 41.5 billion) energy transition plan that calls for an additional 22 GW of new wind and solar projects by 2035.

Discount supermarket giant Aldi plans to add another 34 MWp of PV to its rooftop solar network in Australia within the next 18 months after announcing that its transition to 100% renewable electricity has received the stamp of approval from the federal government’s Clean Energy Regulator.

Western Australian government-owned utility Synergy will offer free electricity to eligible customers in a move that is designed in part to help counter challenges the state’s main power grid faces when rooftop solar generation is high and demand for energy in the system is low.

Victorian network operator AusNet Services’ independent subsidiary Mondo Power has completed the installation and commissioning of 17 stand-alone power systems featuring PV and battery energy storage as part of its inaugural trial of the off-grid technology.

The 150 MW/300 MWh Ulinda Park battery project planned for Queensland’s Western Downs region is a step closer to a final investment decision with battery and renewable energy developer Akaysha Energy inking a hedging deal designed to manage revenue-related risks for the estimated $150 million (USD 100 million) project.

Australian startup Allume Energy’s SolShare platform, that allows multiple energy consumers to share the benefits of a single rooftop solar array, has been deployed in New Zealand for the first time with the technology installed at a three-storey public housing complex in Christchurch.