Following a sod-turning ceremony that took place without much fanfare in south-east Queensland two weeks ago, Sunshine Energy Australia CEO Anthony John Youssef provides some detail on a 1.5 GW solar PV and 500 MWh energy storage project. While light on details about the financing structure, Youssef sets out the proposed construction timeline that, he hopes, will not be thwarted by two appeals lodged against the development.

Under the new planning mechanism adopted by the Victorian government, permits will be required for the power lines that connect new large-scale wind and solar generators to the grid. The public will be involved in the process of deciding power line routes.

While it managed to gain past financial backing from the state government despite uncertainty surrounding its landmark wave energy project, the troubled WA-based renewable energy developer has suffered another blow last week. Trading of Carnegie shares has been suspended from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

According to the 2018 data from the Clean Energy Regulator, the LGCs surrender shortfall stood at 13.9% of total liability as 17 entities failed to meet more or equal to 10% of their renewable energy target obligations, including major electricity retailers – Alinta, Lumo Energy, Simply Energy and EnergyAustralia.

In a flurry of funding announcements, the Coalition government pledged to underpin two major pumped hydro projects, an interconnector and an energy efficiency program, and tried to move forward a hydrogen export roadmap and a national strategy for electric vehicles. However, if it truly wants to refashion itself on climate and energy policy and realize any of these massive new opportunities, the government will need to reshuffle the nation’s energy mix towards a greener future .

U.S.-based hedge fund Magnetar Capital, a 25% investor in a Lyon subsidiary, is seeking to wind up the group’s solar and storage unit, in a case before the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Lyon is looking for ways to buy out Magnetar’s share.

From 1 July this year, the single minimum price Victoria’s solar households will receive for the power they export to the grid will increase by two cents per kilowatt hour. However, under the time-varying tariff introduced last year, the peak rate tariff has been slashed by half.

The latest report from The Australia Institute corroborates solar’s pivotal role in shaving peak demand, particularly in the event of extreme conditions as seen in January. Renewables performed the best of all energy sources during the record-breaking summer of heatwaves, while coal clunkers were operating well below capacity, the findings confirm.

The establishment of Queensland’s state-owned renewable energy corporation CleanCo has reached another milestone with the legislation presented to the parliament.

Maoneng Australia, John Laing and Decmil have hosted a sod-turning ceremony on-site in Balranald, NSW. The developer has confirmed the solar farm will be co-located with a large-scale grid connected battery, and stated its plans for an additional 500 MW of solar and energy storage to be added in line with the proposed SA-NSW interconnector.