With solar panels already installed on dozens of its buildings, the City of Sydney has upped the ante with the goal to source 100% of its electricity needs from solar PV and wind. The commitment has been endorsed by Council this week, and a new 100% renewable electricity contract will be negotiated in the coming months.

The Norwegian solar panel manufacturer says Hanwha Q Cells did not provide full particulars of its allegations despite REC Group’s requests and went ahead to commence proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia.

Solar has grown so much that its output exceeded brown coal and gas over the summer months, between 9am to 5pm. New analysis by Green Energy Markets shows that across the whole of summer, renewable energy produced 128% more megawatt-hours of electricity than gas and 23% more than brown coal.

Green hydrogen has been exported from Australia to Japan, under a trial executed by researchers from JXTG, Japan’s largest petroleum conglomerate, using Queensland University of Technology’s cutting-edge solar cell facility at the Redlands Research Facility on the Gold Coast. On top of that, the Queensland government has announced $250,000 in funding towards the establishment a renewable hydrogen production pilot plant.

The Coalition government has announced funding to support up to 50 off-grid and fringe-of-grid feasibility studies investigating whether building a microgrid can be a cost-effective solution. The studies will also look at whether existing off-grid capabilities can be upgraded with more up-to-date technology.

New polling from The Australia Institute shows that almost 70% of South Australian voters regardless of political leanings want to see the state transition to 100% renewable energy by the year 2030.

Mining and metals company Element 25 has obtained funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to evaluate manganese production powered by wind and solar energy. By increasing renewable energy penetration potentially up to 90%, the company is set to improve the economics of its production process.

A 1.2 MW solar array has been powered up at Western Australian “spy station” near Geraldton. The array aims to take pressure off the region’s ageing power grid.

The Coalition government has shortlisted 12 projects that could be eligible for taxpayer underwriting, and allocated $10 million to study the best way to meet the demand of energy-intensive industries in north and central Queensland. While there is no new coal among the shortlisted projects, the feasibility study promises to examine whether a new coal plant is viable in Collinsville.

Proposed marginal loss factors (MLFs) will result in six utility scale solar projects receiving a 10% or more reduction in revenues, at current prices and if imposed as proposed by AEMO. Worsening MLFs add to mounting pressures for large scale PV project developers in 2019.