For most of us, transmitting power is an invisible part of modern life. You flick the switch and the light goes on. But the way we transport electricity is vital. For us to quit fossil fuels, we will need a better grid, connecting renewable energy in the regions with cities.

Modular solar array manufacturer 5B will work with researchers from the University of Sydney to optimise the design of large-scale solar farms in a bid to minimise temperature-induced panel efficiency losses. The research project secured funding support in the latest round of the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Project Grants program.

Australian modular solar manufacturer 5B’s rapidly deployable Maverick technology is to be installed as part of a 95 MW hybrid power plant featuring solar, wind and battery energy storage. The plant will help power Liontown Resources’ Kathleen Valley Lithium Project being developed in the Goldfields region of Western Australia

United States-based solar tracker provider Array Technologies is planning to set up manufacturing operations in Australia after being awarded a contract to supply trackers for a 102 MW solar farm being developed in Victoria’s northeast.

Queensland government-owned CS Energy has inked its first 100% renewable energy contract in a move that the state government says highlights the accelerating transformation of the utility’s generation fleet from fossil-fuel fired power plants to renewable sources, including wind and solar.

The federal government has opened industry consultations seeking to inform the country’s first national battery strategy with the goal of developing a globally competitive domestic battery manufacturing ecosystem in Australia.

The New England and Stubbo solar farms in regional New South Wales are now 100% owned by ACEN after the Philippines-based energy company, through its subsidiary ACEN Renewables International, completed its acquisition of the development platform UPC/AC Renewables Australia.

Australian renewable hydrogen company Infinite Green Energy is targeting first commercial-scale production of green hydrogen by the end of 2024 after finalising the $8 million (USD 5.65 million) acquisition of an 11 MW solar farm in Western Australia and penning its first offtake agreement for the project.

Australian-headquartered solar data specialist Solcast has been acquired by Norwegian energy assurance and risk management company DNV as it seeks to strengthen its solar forecasting services to help maximise the value of PV power plants globally.

Queensland government-owned network provider Energex will partner with Australia’s largest energy retailer Origin Energy to deploy 35 neighbourhood batteries across the city of Ipswich as part of an $10 million (USD 7.1 million) initiative designed to better manage the increasing penetration of rooftop solar PV in the region.