The second phase of the proposed 250 MW virtual power plant will see Tesla Powerwall batteries and solar panels installed on 1,000 South Australian households.

Infradebt has provided a $22.2 million senior debt facility for Epuron’s portfolio of operating solar assets in the Northern Territory with the accumulated capacity of close to 7 MW.

The German energy storage provider has begun assembling batteries at the former Holden site at Elizabeth in Adelaide’s north. The company has already hired 50 full-time employees.

With the Coalition in Victoria punished by voters and the Federal Government slipping further into minority, the muddled energy policy agenda of the conservative Liberal and National parties is starting to receive an electoral backlash. Long-reported public support for renewables can no longer be ignored.

One of the nation’s largest vineyard owners, Australian Vintage, has announced a major hybrid renewable corporate PPA, based on which it will ensure 90% of its power at its Buronga Hill Winery is met by solar and wind for the next 10 years.

The South Australian state government has launched a $50 million fund to support construction of new energy storage projects, seeking to address intermittency in the state electricity system and make electricity more affordable and reliable. There will be one round of applications, with a closing date of Thursday, 7 February 2019.

Iron ore giant Fortescue Metals Group will invest $20 million into hydrogen research at Australian national science agency CSIRO’s Brisbane laboratories. The partnership aims to develop new technologies, create jobs, and capitalise on the economic opportunities associated with hydrogen.

The 10 MW Northam Solar Farm has begun feeding electricity into the grid. According to Carnegie Clean Energy, full commercial operations is expected in the coming weeks once the required tests are completed successfully.

After it entered the second trading halt in a matter of months a week ago, Perth-based engineering company RCR Tomlinson has failed to secure additional funding and went into administration. Earlier this year, the company managed to raise $100 million in capital from its shareholders, after which it took huge write-downs on two Queensland solar farm.