The New Zealand government will further investigate the viability of establishing a pumped hydroelectric facility on the South Island that would provide up to 8.5 TWh of annual generation and storage capacity to support the nation’s transition to 100% renewable electricity generation.

Australian battery technology startup Relectrify has been given the tick of approval by the International Electrotechnical Commission for its ReVolve energy storage product, opening the way for the company to scale up the global rollout of its cell-level control technology.

Australian solar tracking distributor and renewable energy project developer Skylab has unveiled ambitious plans to build an almost 1 GW solar farm and battery energy storage facility in regional Queensland.

Chinese module manufacturer DAS Solar has marked its entry into the Australian market with the release of an all-black n-type bifacial solar panel featuring an output of 410 W to 430 W and efficiencies of up to 22%.

Australian materials technology developer Kinaltek has unveiled a one-step production process that it says can convert common silica powders into battery-grade nanosilicon for less than 5% of the cost of existing technologies, paving the way for the use of silicon nanoparticles in high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

As Synergy prepares to switch on its first big battery, the state-owned utility has revealed it plans to build a new 200 MW/800 MWh battery energy storage system at Kwinana to support the state’s main grid and enable the uptake of more renewables in Western Australia.

Australian battery designer and manufacturer PowerPlus Energy will look to accelerate its growth plans after technology investment company PPK Group announced plans to acquire a large stake in the company.

Canada-headquartered Solmax will seek to build its presence in the Australian utility scale solar sector having developed a reflective membrane which it claims can increase the energy yield of a bifacial PV project by between 5% and 20%, depending on the plant configuration.

Australian battery company Gelion Technologies has revealed its ambition to “build the world’s best battery” after acquiring an intellectual property portfolio of more than 450 lithium sulfur and silicon anode patents.

The largest solar farm yet developed in New South Wales has been officially opened with clean energy company ACEN Australia confirming the 400 MW first stage of its planned 720 MW New England Solar Farm is now progressing through the commissioning process.