Installations

Australia’s solar and wind generation surged in March, according to Rystad Energy’s latest Watts Generating report, and perhaps most importantly a new wave of solar PV — primarily in energy-hungry NSW — is in the commissioning phase to come fully online in coming months.

Call it “latent energy” – Australia’s renewable resources are expected to help some of the world’s greatest polluters to reach their net-zero emissions targets, writes Natalie Filatoff, senior editor at pv magazine Australia.

Giant PV and wind projects are taking shape in Australia’s north, with the aim of supplying Asia with the clean energy it needs for decades to come. The Asian Renewable Energy Hub is one such project, as it targets green hydrogen production at a cost of $1.50/kg. Sacha Thacker, chief strategy officer at InterContinental Energy – one of the companies trying to the get the ambitious initiative off the ground – says that while the scale of projects today boggles the mind, the coming demand is more boggling still.

Concerned that a lack of understanding in the community is hindering the uptake of rooftop solar, a New South Wales local council has struck an agreement with the Australian Energy Foundation in a bid to demystify solar PV and battery energy storage systems.

Commercial installation and service provider Solar Professionals will install almost 3 MW of solar PV across the rooftops of more than 800 homes in New South Wales after landing a new contract with the Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO).

Victorian-based property developer Beulah has announced its soon-to-be-completed Paragon tower in the heart of Melbourne will be home to the nation’s largest and most efficient vertical solar PV system.

Mining company QEM is exploring the potential of solar PV and wind energy as part of the company’s broader ambition to produce green hydrogen on site at its Julia Creek vanadium and oil shale project in North Queensland.

Public transport operator Transdev will use a ‘green mobility megawall’ comprising 250 solar modules and 10 Tesla Powerwall units to charge two new electric buses which are set to be rolled out onto the streets of Brisbane.

Tasmanian Labor believes Premier Peter Gutwein and his Liberal Party have dropped the ball on solar in a big way. Tasmanian Labor Leader Rebecca White is therefore promising $20 million to fund loans for residential and commercial solar and battery storage installations, as well as solar for state schools and social housing.

The latest set of clean energy statistics compiled by the International Renewable Energy Agency signal a changing of the guard when it comes to clean power, with legacy hydropower facilities overtaken by new intermittent renewables.