Highlights

A massive solar+storage project nearby Uralla in the New England region of New South Wales has locked in a grid connection agreement with Transgrid.

A very small number of PV systems installed on Australian rooftops are considered to be potentially unsafe, the Clean Energy Regulator’s new report finds. Water entering DC isolators is identified as the greatest risk and the most common cause of PV system failures.

The New South Wales government’s plan to deliver a 3 GW renewable energy zone in the state’s Central-West has been met with overwhelming investor interest and project proposals valued at $38 billion. To support the development of the REZ, the state government has quadrupled its funding support, while ARENA has allocated funding for TransGrid’s scoping study that will deliver a business case of the Central-West Orana REZ and provide a template for a national approach.

The road to cheap hydrogen production is riddled with potholes and energy losses. One Australian team of researchers has shown that rethinking solar technology and skipping electrolysers holds great promise for attaining the hydrogen grail.

An Australian government-backed trial of peer-to-peer (P2P) solar trading has demonstrated the potential of localized two-sided energy markets and blockchain technology to improve the energy system. However, current electricity tariff structures would need to be modified to realize the full stack of values that this technology has to offer.

Under a new plan to stabilize its grid, the South Australian State Government is providing $10 million to upgrade its voltage management and giving the green light to the Australian Energy Market Operator to stop its rooftop solar from feeding in when needed. The plan also highlights the importance “smart” PV and stronger network interconnection, primarily the new SA-NSW line a.k.a. Project EnergyConnect.

According to new research from Wood Mackenzie, Australia is set to add 1.2 GWh of energy storage capacity in 2020, more than double the 499 MWh installed in 2019.

A new Battery Performance Standard for residential and small-scale commercial applications has finally been submitted to Standards Australia. If adopted, the standard could clarify consumer confusion around which energy storage system is right for them.

A high-powered new company has based itself on the NSW south coast with the twin-turbo intentions of driving hydrogen adoption in heavy vehicles and the passenger market, while putting the wheels back on Australia’s decimated automobile-manufacturing industry.

Monash University researchers have developed an energy exchange framework to better manage distributed energy resources, which they say will help consumers lower their power costs. The applicability of this perspective is demonstrated through the university’s landmark on-site microgrid.