The Queensland government has signed into law a controversial regulation for solar farms larger than 100 kW, which requires mounting, locating, fixing and removal of PV panels at solar farms to only be undertaken by licensed electricians. The move comes despite warnings that the new rules will put hundreds of local jobs at risk and could bring some projects to a standstill.

One of the major providers of aged care in Australia has turned to solar PV and LED lighting to reduce its environmental footprint and energy costs.

With a capacity of 5.725 MW, the solar array spread across Brisbane Airport is Australia’s largest commercial and industrial PV system to be installed at an airport site.

The German energy storage provider has begun shipping batteries produced in the former Holden factory in Adelaide’s north to New Zealand. Sonnen batteries will be available exclusively through the manufacturer’s local partner, Taspac Energy.

The Australian government’s green bank continues to invest in energy efficient homes for low income families with a new funding granted for solar and battery-powered dwellings in regional New South Wales.

The latest figures from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) show that solar continues to eat into the share once firmly held by coal on the back of a dramatic increase in installations over the past 12 months. The trend was backed by energy storage facilities which continued to gain foothold as providers of frequency control and ancillary services, lowering overall costs in the first quarter of 2019.

Echoing a growing appetite for corporate renewable power purchase agreements in Australia, Ascham School has become the first school in New South Wales to ink a long-term deal with commercial electricity retailer Flow Power.

The Brisbane-based solar and storage developer has placed Lyon Solar, Lyon Battery Storage and Lyon Infrastructure Investments 1 into voluntary administration after being embroiled in a court case over a wind up notice issued by one of its investors.

Only a month after it signed up to the global initiative RE100, Bank Australia has announced it made the switch to 100% renewable electricity one year ahead of its 2020 target.

A grant of nearly $1 million has been announced for a 100% renewable energy project which will see the World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest reduce its reliance on diesel fuel to generate power.