Newcastle Airport has signed a new long-term power purchase agreement with Australian energy retailer Flow Power that will allow it to achieve its 100% renewable energy strategy this year, seven years ahead of schedule.

Remote power system specialist Circular Solutions is poised to begin work on a new solar farm and battery energy storage system that will more than double the PV generation capacity at the small community of Wurrumiyanga on Bathurst Island off Australia’s northern coastline.

Australian clean tech company Graphene Manufacturing Group plans to scale up the development of its battery energy storage technology that it claims charges 70 times faster than a lithium-ion battery and has three times more battery life.

Ahead of the impending closure of the coal-fired Eraring Power Station, the New South Wales Government has given the planning green light for the largest committed battery energy storage system in the southern hemisphere.

A combined 60 MW of solar and 25 MWh of energy storage will be deployed at military sites across Australia as part of a government strategy to increase energy independence and security at the country’s Department of Defence facilities.

The Australian Energy Market Operator this week released an update to its annual assessment of reliability, the so-called Electricity Statement of Opportunities. This has been reported as the market operator forecasting “power shortages”, or the network being “at risk of supply shortages”.

Australian nanotechnology company Nanoveu has developed a multifunctional anti-soiling coating for solar glass that is designed to inhibit surface debris and algae growth from forming on PV panels.

EnergyAustralia’s growing appetite for grid-scale energy storage shows no signs of abating with the gen-tailer announcing it has received approval to construct a 350 MW four-hour battery in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley where its Yallourn coal mine and power station are set to close in 2028.

International oil giant Shell has provided New South Wales startup MGA Thermal with “gamechanger” funding to accelerate the completion of a commercial-scale pilot plant designed to demonstrate the role the company’s energy storage technology could play in the Australian energy market.

The Victorian government has provided its seal of approval to accelerate the development of a new high-capacity transmission line that will facilitate the increased flow of electricity between the Victorian and New South Wales grids, helping to maintain power supply reliability as coal-fired generation declines and retires.