Australian energy major AGL has announced that Victoria’s largest hydropower scheme will undergo a $40 million expansion in a move designed to improve energy security and help support the state’s continued uptake of renewables.

Italian utilities giant Enel Group is reportedly looking to sell a substantial share in its Australian renewable energy platform, Enel Green Power, to help fund an estimated 3.6 GW development pipeline in the country.

Australian renewable energy start-up Canyon Solar has unveiled a prefabricated solar PV shade structure for commercial carpark applications that it claims can be installed at least three times faster than traditional systems and outcompetes rooftop solar PV on a dollar-per-watt basis.

The Federal Government has moved to scrap controversial changes to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s mandate that allowed it to fund some fossil-fuel related and carbon capture storage technologies, signing regulations which make it clear the agency will focus on renewables and electrification.

The Energy Security Board has declared the impending electrification of Australia’s transport fleet has the potential to revolutionise the way consumers receive and use energy and has issued a call for input on how best to support the effective integration of smart charging for electric vehicles into the National Electricity Market.

New South Wales network operator TransGrid has completed a critical transmission upgrade designed to future proof the electricity grid in Australia’s largest city, securing the energy needs of more than 800,000 people living and working in Sydney’s CBD and surrounding areas.

With the International Energy Agency leading calls to diversify the world’s solar PV supply chain, Australia’s only solar panel maker Tindo Solar has released a video following the manufacturing process at its new $11 million production facility in Adelaide.

Last week, two influential environmental groups warned the Greens not to stymie progress on Australia’s climate policy. In an unusual intervention, Greenpeace and the Australian Conservation Foundation urged the Greens to “play a constructive role” with Labor or risk being blamed for holding climate policy back.

New South Wales has reached another milestone in its transition from coal-fired power generation to renewables-based electricity with the state government announcing the start date for a tender process expected to deliver at least 2,500 GWh of new annual generation and 600 MW of long-duration storage.

Former Australian prime minister Malcom Turnbull has joined the advisory board of resurrected American concentrated solar thermal energy company GlassPoint as it looks to target mining and manufacturing companies with its clean energy technology.