Highlights

While the solar industry has shown great resilience in the face of Covid-19 shutdown, installations are set to decline sharply over the next year. While the residential segment looks set to bounce back, the small-commercial segment will be slow to recover.

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has decided to give energy businesses an extra three months to prepare the IT overhaul necessary for the five-minute settlement market reform. The decision comes in response to concerns that the unprecedented impacts of Covid-19 necessitated extra breathing space.

ARENA is putting $2.4 million into a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) trial in the ACT, which is looking to demonstrate the ability of EVs to provide grid ancillary services. The consortium of research and industry project proponents hope to show how EVs can help regulate grid function and provide a revenue stream for electric-fleet owners.

The Commonwealth Government has OK’d the first phase of 600-1000 MW worth of developments that will feed into Tasmania’s 200% renewables by 2040 target; as well as the Marinus Link project; and the state’s ambitions to attract high-energy industries to its shores.

In its annual State of the Energy Market report, the Australian Energy Market Regulator has suggested that solar households should be asked to pay a network fee to be allowed to export energy to the grid.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has announced a major step forward in the West Murray Zone after it granted registration to one of the biggest solar farm in that troubled part of the grid.

From today, the City of Sydney will run entirely on renewable energy generated from wind and solar farms in regional NSW.

While investor appetite for large-scale battery storage is rapidly growing, market arrangements need to be amended to streamline the integration and operation of big batteries on the National Electricity Market, finds an analysis by the Clean Energy Council.

The University of New South Wales Sydney and Providence Asset Group are teaming up to form the Hydrogen Energy Research Centre, a university-to-industry institute toward the translation of hydrogen research into commercial production as Australia looks to become a world leader in hydrogen exports.

The Western Australia government has installed the state’s sixth grid-connected community PowerBank battery, taking the total number of shared battery storage systems on the Western Power network to 13.