A guided tour of Australia’s solar and storage market; Part 1: Victoria
Abundant sunshine, favorable policy settings and high power prices have long placed Australia at the cutting edge of rooftop solar uptake. The more recent utility-scale boom has further enhanced its status as a PV leader. Battery adoption, microgrids, EVs and green hydrogen are all taking shape, yet what should be an Aussie smart energy no-brainer continues to be dogged by mounting investment uncertainty and a toxic debate on the national level.
Long read: Australia’s top end eyes mega PV export
A number of massive PV projects have been proposed for Australia’s north, with the concept built around clean power exports to Southeast Asia. Is it Desertec Down Under? Proponents are certainly hoping for more success.
Green hydrogen to reach cost parity by 2030
Recent analysis from Wood Mackenzie predicts green hydrogen, produced primarily by solar electrolysis, will reach cost parity in Australia, Germany and Japan by 2030.
New tool to assess costs and benefits of switching to green hydrogen
A result of a collaboration between global accounting and financial services firm KPMG, Canadian gas giant ATCO, Australia’s national science agency CSIRO and Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), H2City can be used to assess the costs and benefits of regional town or municipality switching to hydrogen.
Australia could fall apart under climate change. But there’s a way to avoid it
Four years ago in December 2015, every member of the United Nations met in Paris and agreed to hold global temperature increases to 2°C, and as close as possible to 1.5°C. The bad news is that four years on the best that we can hope for is holding global increases to around 1.75°C. We can only do that if the world moves decisively towards zero net emissions by the middle of the century.
QUT at the forefront of Australia’s hydrogen push
As the momentum is building behind hydrogen in Australia and abroad, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is leading the way in research and development with a range of initiatives on the ground.
Siemens backs 5 GW solar and wind plans to produce green hydrogen
A massive green hydrogen production project has been unveiled for Western Australia with Siemens on board as technology partner. The project location is touted as Australia’s best for combined solar and wind generation potential.
Monash University researchers make electrolysis breakthrough
Researchers at Monash University have managed to find a way past one of the few remaining roadblocks to producing industrial quantities of hydrogen gas through electrolysis via solar energy.
Workers’ union calls for regional jobs in renewables, li-ion batteries, green hydrogen
The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union is recommending an overhaul of policies to promote manufacturing in regional Australia along with a major push to create new jobs in a range of industries, including lithium batteries, green hydrogen and renewables.
Two major ammonia plants powered by green hydrogen planned for Queensland
As part of a broader push to develop a domestic hydrogen industry, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing $2.9 million for two studies into using solar and wind-powered hydrogen for ammonia. Both project are located in Queensland and presently use natural gas as feedstock.
