The New South Wales infrastructure planner of renewable energy zones EnergyCo has formally updated the amount of renewable generation and storage that can connect to the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone transmission network from 5.8 GW to 7.7 GW.
China’s REPT Battero has revealed plans to build a lithium-ion battery plant in Indonesia, targeting 8 GWh of annual production capacity in the first phase.
Envirostream Australia, a subsidiary of chemical company Livium, has signed an exclusive recycling agreement with Hithium Energy to recycle lithium-ion batteries supplied by Hithium to Lightsource bp’s Woolooga solar farm in Queensland.
RACV has added virtual power plant (VPP) services to its catalogue of membership offerings and follows integration of the FCAS-friendly PowerSync platform with solar and battery installations at RACVs Torquay and Inverloch resorts in Victoria.
After tumbling to record lows in 2024 on the back of lower metal costs and increased scale, lithium-ion battery prices are expected to enter a period of stabilisation.
The scope of Zen Energy’s fledgling collaboration with Taiwan’s HD Renewable Energy has expanded with the two parties launching a joint venture that is targeting the development of 400 MW of solar and 1 GW of energy storage capacity in Australia.
Big BESS is booming in Australia, with almost 5 GW of projects under construction last year, according Rystad Energy. While encouraging, the analyst reports that the volume remains insufficient to overcome growing rates of renewable curtailment. “We have around 3 GW operational at the moment, but about half of that is still in commissioning. So you still only have 1.5 GW on the market where the average load is 23 GW,” Rystad Energy’s David Dixon said.
Australian Vanadium Limited’s plan to establish a major vanadium mine in Western Australia’s mid-west have firmed up with its proposal receiving the tick of approval from the state’s Environmental Protection Authority.
Renewable energy developer Acen Australia is seeking federal government approval for a 100 MW solar facility and an 180 MW battery energy storage system to be built near Cooma in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains region.
The Australian Energy Market Commission has released a final determination to allow virtual power plants to compete directly with large-scale generators in the energy market, scheduled to begin in 2027.