Australian energy regulators have called for urgent investments in renewable energy capacity and the transmission infrastructure needed to connect new projects to the grid as they look to ensure an orderly transition as coal-fired generation exits the National Electricity Market.

Australia’s largest electricity generator AGL Energy is accelerating its exit from coal, announcing it will shut down the Loy Yang A power plant in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley a decade earlier than planned, with the company aiming to abandon coal completely by 2035.

The release of Queensland’s $62 billion energy and jobs plan which would shift the state away from coal power by 2035 has been broadly welcomed but the resources sector has warned the government has plenty of work to do to attract the large-scale investment required to implement the strategy.

A new $8 million large-scale, network-connected battery at Tanby on Queensland’s Capricorn Coast is expected to help facilitate the continued integration of renewables, including rooftop solar PV, into the state’s energy system.

New South Wales’ largest electricity user, Tomago Aluminium, is accelerating its plan to abandon coal-fired power, revealing it is looking to collaborate with key industry partners to develop new and innovative renewable power generation and energy storage projects.

British renewable energy firm Harmony Energy’s plan to develop a 147 MW solar farm on the North Island of New Zealand has been fast tracked with the country seeking to accelerate the roll out of renewable energy generation projects as it strives to reach net zero by 2050.

South Australia resources company Oz Minerals has given the green light to a $1.7 billion copper and nickel project in Western Australia that is to be powered by a mix of solar PV and wind generation which the miner believes will become one of the largest, off-grid hybrid projects in the world.

ACEN Australia declared the first stage of the 720 MW New England Solar Farm is on track to commence commercial operations in 2023 while announcing it has secured a $140 million loan agreement that will help grow its renewables capacity in the Asia-Pacific region to 20 GW by 2030.

The Northern Territory government has signed an agreement with Taiwanese battery company Aleees and Western Australia-based miner Avenira to develop a battery cathode manufacturing plant in Darwin.

The U.S. Department of State has suggested companies including Google, Unilever, and Amazon could invest billions of dollars in Australia’s renewable energy sector as a result of a newly inked clean energy initiative.