Employment

Australian EPC contractor ACLE Services has broken ground on a 5 MW / 10 MWh battery energy storage project in northern Victoria that is the first in a planned pipeline of 27 batteries that will be rolled out across regional Australia delivering a combined capacity of 270 MWh.

Western Australia is on track to become home to the nation’s first clean energy training centre of excellence with the state and federal governments investing $70.5 million over five years to address labour shortages in Australia’s renewable energy transition.

The Queensland state budget will deliver the nation’s largest yet green energy investment with a record $26 billion outlay over the next four years, with $8.6 billion ready to go in the next financial year.

A team of researchers from the University of Queensland has detailed five key recommendations needed to accelerate Australia’s transition to electric vehicles and ready the country’s infrastructure for an ‘influx’ of EVs.

Spending on building renewable energy infrastructure is forecast to peak at $20 billion in 2026, stimulated by the Australian government’s target of 82% electricity from renewables by 2030, but caution remains over workforce capability.

The federal and state governments are stepping up their investments as they seek to deliver the army of skilled workers required to build the solar and wind farms, rooftop solar, battery storage and transmission infrastructure needed to achieve Australia’s renewable energy and emissions targets.

State-owned energy utility Synergy has awarded the construction and balance of plant contract for the 500 MW / 2,000 MWh Collie battery energy storage system being built in Western Australia’s southwest.

A Victorian solar installation company that “repeatedly” put workers at risk when working at height has been convicted of failing to provide or maintain a safe workplace and fined $40,000.

As the Australian authorities launch rolling tenders for 32 GW of renewables and storage by 2030, it has become clear that some communities have not been brought onside. Heated debate on social media and a frenzy stoked by concerns about the impact on the natural environment are throwing up hurdles for renewables development.

The Queensland government has entrenched the transformation of the state’s energy grid by passing laws locking in 80% renewable energy generation by 2035, a move it expects will create more than 100,000 new jobs in manufacturing, renewable energy generation, power transmission and industries of the future.