Utility Scale Storage

Planning and transmission delays top the list of development challenges for renewable energy investment in Australia with a new survey showing almost 50% of investors rate the country as only “somewhat attractive” for future projects.

Australian resources company Graphinex has officially launched its battery anode manufacturing hub in north Queensland, a facility capable of taking graphite from mine to battery-ready material using full-scale commercial equipment.

Another big battery project has been unveiled for New South Wales with the state and federal governments receiving a proposal for a 1 GW / 4 GWh battery energy storage facility to be developed at Kiar, on the Central Coast.

New large-scale solar farms in Australia’s southeast could be forced to curtail up to two thirds of their power generation by 2027 due to delays in energy transmission infrastructure projects, according to new analysis from the Australian Energy Market Operator.

Australian renewables developer Edify Energy has unveiled plans for a major 2.4 GWh solar and integrated battery energy storage facility in northwest Victoria, adding to its growing portfolio of power generation and storage projects.

Community Power Agency has released a guide for regional communities hosting multiple renewable energy projects to promote benefit sharing strategies that ensure a stake over the next 25 years in an estimated $1.9 billion opportunity.

Seven regional Victoria battery storage projects, all at the commissioning phase, will be the first to connect to Victorian distributor Powercor’s high voltage distributed energy resource management system, adding stability to the grid.

AGL Energy has acquired the 150 MW solar, 90 MW thermal, and 720 MWh of storage Yadnarie Project from Dutch developer Photon Energy, and follows the project’s development approval received in June.

Zen Energy’s plan to build a 100 MW solar project and 200 MW battery with up to eight hours of storage capacity in southeast Queensland has been waved through the federal environmental approvals process.

In grids increasingly dominated by renewables, grid-forming technology is emerging as critical tool for maintaining stability and ensuring reliable power system operation. In this interview with ESS News, Rui Sun, Sungrow’s Deputy General Manager-Grid Technology Center, explains how grid-forming works, why it matters, and where the technology is already proving its value. He elaborates on technical challenges, regulatory gaps, and why grid-forming could soon become the new industry standard.