South Australia is closing fast on its target to be powered by 100% net renewables by the end of the decade with new data revealing a combination of wind and solar energy provided a daily average of almost 70% of the state’s electricity needs last financial year.

Oil and gas major bp Australia has teamed with gas and engineering company BOC to build what it describes as the first green hydrogen refuelling facility to be installed at an existing petrol station in Australia.

Renewable energy developer Epuron Holdings has abandoned plans to construct a 5 MW solar farm on a former landfill site in Western Australia after failing to secure a commercial agreement with an electricity retailer to purchase the power to be generated on the site.

Australia’s solar industry can expect to contend with elevated shipping costs and ongoing supply disruptions for at least another year before a ‘normalisation’ of the global ocean freight system.

Researchers from the Australian National University have declared a major roadblock to the electrification of the nation’s transport sector has been removed with a new study showing electric vehicles can handle the long distances required to travel to essential services in Australia’s remote and regional areas.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this week gave his first major climate change speech, touting Australia’s future as a renewable superpower and promising Labor’s ambitious new renewable target would “unlock $52 billion of private sector investment.”

With more models entering the Australian car market and high prices at the bowser, electric vehicles are garnering more attention from both cost-aware and environmentally conscious consumers alike.

Australia’s national science agency has reaffirmed integrated wind and solar PV remain the cheapest new-build electricity generation options but warned inflationary pressures and ongoing supply chain disruptions are likely to stall any further cost reductions for at least 12 months.

Australian renewables developer Edify Energy has secured more than $13 million in federal and state government funding to help finance the installation of a 25 MW/50 MWh battery energy storage system featuring advanced inverter technology next to its 275 MW Darlington Point Solar Farm in south-west New South Wales.

Porsche-backed HIF Global has lodged plans with Tasmania’s Environment Protection Authority to build a renewables-powered green hydrogen facility in the state’s north-west that would be used to produce a “highly competitive” e-fuel, or electricity-based fuel, that can be directly substituted for fossil fuels in conventional car engines.