If you aren’t a long-term energy policy news junkie, you’d be forgiven for thinking the current crisis arrived fairly suddenly.

The Federal Energy Minister insists the Australian Energy Market Operator’s market intervention demonstrates that it is “more important than ever to manage the transition and get more energy into the system and more storage and transmission”.

The Tasmanian government is calling for registrations of interest from developers of new large-scale renewable generators and energy storage projects, and existing and proposed energy intensive load projects to participate in shaping the state’s first renewable energy zone.

Australian solar thermal specialist Vast Solar has partnered with storage development company 1414 Degrees to revive the long-awaited Aurora Solar Energy Project – which is to comprise a combination of solar thermal, PV, and battery energy storage technologies – at Port Augusta in South Australia.

As Australia battles an energy crisis, the United Nations secretary general has called for increased investment in renewables, saying it is the only “true path to energy security”, warning new funding from governments for fossil fuel exploration or production is simply “delusional”.

Australia’s uptake of rooftop solar is one of the highest in the world with more than 30% of free-standing households across the nation now fitted with a PV system but the Clean Energy Regulator has revealed a “steep decline” in the number of installations in early 2022 with deteriorating economics playing a major part.

Solar installers and resellers can now access up to $250,000 on interest-free terms to increase their stocks of Australian-made solar panels after PV module manufacturer Tindo Solar teamed with business financer Moula Pay.

The Queensland government has committed $48 million to progress two pumped hydro projects in the state, declaring energy storage will play a critical role in its push towards a renewable energy future.

The rollout of rooftop solar in the western suburbs of Melbourne is set to get a boost with Victorian network service provider Powercor identifying the site where it will install a community battery that is expected to unlock more than 129MWh of solar PV hosting capacity.

The New South Wales government has announced its single biggest investment yet in renewable energy infrastructure, committing $1.2 billion to fast-track priority transmission and energy storage projects as the energy sector continues its rapid transformation towards a decarbonised and decentralised future.