Australian company Vast Solar’s plans to expand into the rapidly growing North American renewable energy market have received a multi-million dollar boost after the United States government announced more than $38 million (USD 24 million) in grants to advance the development of concentrated solar thermal power technologies.

A 2.8 GW solar-powered green hydrogen export project being developed on the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory has taken the next step towards securing environmental and planning approval with developer Provaris Energy lodging an assessment referral with the federal government.

Australian minerals explorer Allup Silica aims to target the booming solar panel industry after independent tests confirmed the presence of premium silica sands – a key component of high-end glass manufacturing – at its Sparkler project in Western Australia.

The head of the country’s energy market operator has reiterated his call for the development of a mechanism that incentivises dispatchable capacity, saying it is critical to underpin the growth of renewables as Australia’s energy transition continues to accelerate.

The battle of the billionaires has become the stuff of headlines. The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has gone head-to-head with Australia’s richest man, billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest.

Queensland-based energy company Line Hydrogen is to develop a gigawatt-scale renewable energy facility and green hydrogen production plant in Western Australia after joining forces with mining services contractor Blue Cap Mining.

United States-based engineering firm FTC Solar has won the contract to supply its Voyager solar tracker technology for the 128 MW Cunderdin hybrid solar PV and battery energy storage project being developed in Western Australia.

Former Northern Territory chief minister Michael Gunner plans to focus on developing “world-changing, economy building” clean energy projects in Australia’s north after accepting a new role with mining magnate Andrew Forrest’s renewable energy company Fortescue Future Industries.

Plans to build one of the world’s largest renewable energy powered electrolysers in Queensland continue to gather pace with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency awarding $13.7 million (USD 8.8 million) to the proponents of the project to help finance a $38 million front-end engineering and design study.

Six new solar farm projects totalling 623 MW of renewable capacity and four big batteries delivering up to 365 MW and 600 MWh of new energy storage have been given the tick of approval by the Victorian government as it looks to meet its target of powering all its operations with clean energy by 2025.