Residents in the remote Northern Territory community of Marlinja are preparing to power up what is being described as Australia’s first 100% First Nations-owned and grid-connected solar microgrid.

Development of the Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone is predicted to now accelerate with the federal government’s green bank announcing a $490 million commitment to support the development of key grid infrastructure in the New South Wales central west.

The New South Wales government has confirmed the Eraring Power Station will remain open two years beyond its planned 2025 closure date, with the black coal-fired power plant to now remain in operation until August 2027, with the potential for a further extension until April 2029.

The CSIRO GenCost report shows renewables remain the cheapest new build electricity technology in Australia, with utility-scale solar emerging as the golden child, despite inflationary pressures, supply chain constraints and costs associated with additional storage and transmission.

Decarbonising the transport sector has taken to the skies thanks to Australian zero emission aircraft designer and manufacturer AMSL Aero, which is testing its hybrid electric hydrogen powered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft in central western NSW.

Registration is now open for the first national tender in the Australian government’s Capacity Investment Scheme that is seeking 32 GW of additional renewable energy generation and dispatchable storage capacity by 2030 to support the nation’s clean energy transition.

A New South Wales community group has launched a guide it says provides a framework that will enable solar farms developers to improve biodiversity on project sites and build trust in neighbouring communities without compromising PV generation capacity.

Access issues and time constraints prompted the developers of a 1.75 MW PV system that now sits atop an industrial warehouse in western Sydney to employ a helicopter to lift the thousands of solar panels onto the roof.

The South Australian and California state governments have signed an historic agreement that will see them work together on advancing the clean energy transition and the integration of renewable energies, including green hydrogen, into their respective grids.

With demand for power in Melbourne forecast to grow from its current peak of 470 MW in recent years to 700 MW, electricity distributor CitiPower has begun phase one of a major upgrade to the city’s high voltage underground cable network.