The New South Wales Government is forging ahead with plans to bring 12 GW of renewable energy and 2 GW of storage online by 2030 with the formal declaration of Australia’s second coordinated renewable energy zone in as many months.

Remote power generation specialist Zenith Energy will build upon its renewable energy options at Western Australian miner IGO’s Nova nickel site to demonstrate it is possible to use 100% renewables to meet the demands of an operational mine site.

Australian oil and gas exploration and development company Elixir Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mongolia Green Finance Corporate to support financing for the first phase of a proposed green hydrogen project planned for the South Gobi region of the East Asia nation.

Victorian network utility AusNet Services appears certain to be entirely foreign owned after shareholders overwhelmingly approved the sale of the company to a consortium led by Canadian asset management group Brookfield.

Australian financial institution Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has turned to solar PV to improve its bottom line with a 200 kW rooftop system installed atop its major corporate site in Bendigo in regional Victoria.

Renewables have continued their rise in Australia’s energy market with a new report published by the Australian Energy Market Operator revealing grid-scale solar, wind, hydro and rooftop solar PV provided almost one-third of the National Electricity Market’s power needs during the December quarter.

Singapore’s trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund GIC has made a “strategic” investment in renewables developer InterContinental Energy, one of the major players behind mega solar and wind-powered green hydrogen projects planned for Western Australia’s Pilbara and southeast regions.

Hydrogen vehicle and fuel cell startup H2X has partnered with Indian automotive parts manufacturer and developer Advik Hi-Tech in a deal which will see the Australian company’s products delivered into India and the wider international market.

A proposed 900-kilometre electricity interconnector that will link power grids across three Australian states, unlocking gigawatts of new wind, solar PV and storage projects has progressed further with New South Wales network operator TransGrid confirming the Environmental Impact Statement for the project’s eastern section has been submitted.

Australian engineering firm UGL has secured the design and works contract for an 88 MW solar farm in outback Queensland and the engineering, procurement and construction contract for an 87 MW solar farm in South Australia as part of a works package expected to deliver a combined revenue of more than $296 million.