In the absence of a national carbon-emissions target and a long-awaited EV policy, Origin and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (on behalf of the Australian Government) are forging ahead with research that will show how coordinated smart-charging of an eventual surge of EV battery storage will benefit consumers and the grid.

Known as iron-ore central, the town of Newman in the far north of Western Australia is also the regional centre for a large Indigenous population which has just opened a health care hub dedicated to its own needs. Solar on the building’s broad, gently arcing roof will significantly reduce the costs of running this much needed facility.

COVID-19 has enhanced the conviction that Australia will benefit from advanced manufacturing and sovereign supply. Homegrown battery manufacturer Energy Renaissance is poised to drive home that advantage.

A Perth-based innovator has designed a secure solar-panel mounting system that enables super-fast installation of medium-to-large-scale projects, and lets them be relocated as needed.

Trials of large-scale battery capabilities in Australia are showing great promise; behind the meter, households are buying into state-based battery programs and subsidies. Here, ANU’s Dr Lachlan Blackhall talks about the exciting potential for mid-scale community battery storage, future EV storage capacity, and more.

Atlassian Co-Founder, Scott Farquhar, says the company’s new headquarters in Sydney’s planned tech precinct will host thousands of workers and embody “the best new ideas”, including a solar-energy-generating facade — inspiration for a post-COVID, yet still warming world.

“Accelerating the uptake of renewable energy for the industrial sector is a critical part in Australia meeting its long-term emissions reductions commitments,” said ARENA CEO Darren Miller at the announcement of $300,000 funding to support a collaborative industrial transition initiative.

Many charities might find it a stretch to allocate the capital for their organisations to become solar powered, but Australian startup Allume Energy, with the help of funding from ARENA, is set to test an everyone’s-a-winner solution.

You might think public hospitals have a duty of care to protect the community and reduce emissions by applying a warm blanket of solar PV to their many hectares of rooftop space. The NSW Government is fulfilling that prescription.

Commercialisation of hydrogen production is a Government priority. Today seven applicants for ARENA funding of large-scale hydrogen proposals made it through to the next round, in which they will submit full applications for projects that will be expected to commence construction in 2022.