Investors register 17 GW of renewable energy projects for Illawarra REZ
Renewable energy investors have proposed more than 40 new clean energy projects totalling more than 17 GW of generation and storage capacity for a coordinated renewable energy zone to be established in the Illawarra region on the New South Wales south coast.
Researchers explore rooftop PV for pre-cooling of residential, commercial buildings
A team of Australian researchers have developed a way to use rooftop solar PV to run air conditioners to pre-cool residential and commercial buildings. They have identified several factors that could help reduce a building’s energy costs.
Territory targets more solar as work begins on $45 million big battery
Construction has commenced on a $45 million grid-scale battery storage system that will support further uptake of solar PV among households and businesses in the Northern Territory and help the government achieve 50% penetration of renewables into its energy supply by 2030.
Weekend read: Strong case for energy storage, despite rising costs
Unprecedented volatility in global commodity markets, disruption to logistics and supply chains, and unrelenting growth has driven up the cost of Li-ion batteries since the middle of 2021. Sam Wilkinson and Oliver Forsyth of IHS Markit expect to see rapid manufacturing expansion that will still struggle to keep up with demand, and ultimately lead to the establishment of a smaller group of battery-makers specialized in supplying stationary energy storage systems.
Queensland’s biggest battery reaches full commercial operations
The biggest battery yet connected to the grid in Queensland has commenced full commercial operations with developer Vena Energy announcing it has flicked the switch on the 100 MW/150 MWh Wandoan South battery energy storage system in the state’s south-west.
Qcells Australia reports 194% jump in battery sales in July
South Korean solar and battery manufacturer Qcells says its Australian arm has seen 194% growth in energy storage system (ESS) sales in July 2022 compared to the first quarter of the calendar year.
Melbourne startup to forecast entire region’s solar output using real-time satellite data
Combining satellite images of Australian rooftops with those of real-time cloud cover to create accurate forecasts of distributed solar output for suburbs and perhaps even whole regions and states is the focus of a new Australian startup, Solstice AI. “We’re kind of at a point now where there’s so much solar that it’s causing all these issues but, if we can forecast it, many of these issues can be alleviated or managed much better,” the company’s cofounder and CEO, Julian de Hoog, tellspv magazine Australia.
PV with gravity storage, redox flow batteries in buildings
Indian researchers have developed a new hybrid system featuring a conventional rooftop PV system, a solar tree, two gravity power modules for building (GPMBs), and a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), with power exclusively provided by the two solar installations.
Community solar and storage project wins NSW grant
Regional New South Wales will soon be home to a new solar PV and battery energy storage project with construction beginning on the community-owned Latitude Solar Farm being developed at Boggabilla in the state’s far north.
Weekend read: Hype and hope for solid-state batteries
Hype and hope for solid-state batteries (SSBs) continues to grow as industries from automotive to storage bet big on the technology. Leading battery manufacturers and a roll call of start-ups are jostling to get from lab to fab. The reality of SSBs is in question though. As Marija Maisch reports, the window of opportunity for the decades-old technology to make the next big step toward commercialisation is now.
