The World Energy Council, in partnership with PwC, has interviewed 39 top level management energy leaders to find out if blockchain is driving an evolution or a revolution in the energy ecosystem.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency announced it was partnering with Monash University and software provider Indra Australia to trial a microgrid on Monash’s Clayton campus in Melbourne. The microgrid will cover 100% of the campuses’ electricity needs with renewable energy.

The Chinese PV module maker has expanded its solar portfolio Down Under with the acquisition of what will be Western Australia’s largest solar farm. Construction is slated to begin this year.

South Australia’s largest water and sewerage services supplier is set to add a utility-scale PV project to its solar fleet, as part of its plan to achieve zero net electricity costs by 2020. The project will feature solar modules provided by Chinese module giant JA Solar.

The Victorian government has given the green light to a utility-scale solar farm north of Shepparton and released draft planning guidelines for the development of large solar farm projects across the state.

As part of its electricity market reforms, the Northern Territory’s government has announced plans to review its solar feed-in tariffs in order to encourage the existing solar households to add battery storage. It has also greenlit the 25 MW Katherine solar park, the state’s largest solar PV farm to date.

In addition to securing debt financing from a consortium of banks, the Australian-Chinese renewables developer has entered into a long-term equity partnership with global infrastructure investor John Laing for the investment and development of the Sunraysia Solar Farm. John Laing confirmed it will invest $108.6 million in the project, taking a 90.1% stake.

The Asian Renewable Energy Hub’s generation capacity has been boosted from 9 GW to 11 GW, as Macquarie Group has pledged to invest in the project that aims to export power to South East Asia, as well as supply big miners and green hydrogen projects in the Pilbara region, Western Australia.

The All-Energy Australia 2018 exhibition & conference kicked off in Melbourne today. Safety of products and quality assurance was prominent in discussions at the country’s largest PV conference and trade show in its early hours. Big funding announcements at the opening plenary made headlines.

Owing to its state-based renewable energy initiatives, Victoria is in the box seat to create more than 6,000 jobs annually, shows a new analysis released by Green Energy Markets. Overall, renewable energy generation managed to exceed 25% of power supply for the first time across Australia’s main grids.