Utility Scale PV

The Victorian government has signed off on a preferred development plan for the contentious VNI West transmission project that will connect the Victorian and New South Wales electricity grids and promises to unlock upwards of 3.4 GW of new renewable generation capacity.

A consortium led by tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures and including green energy investment manager Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has been successful in acquiring the giant $35 billion Sun Cable renewable energy project.

Solar has been described as the “star performer” by the International Energy Agency which has forecast that global investment in clean energy is on course to rise to $2.61 trillion (USD 1.7 trillion) in 2023, with spending on solar set to eclipse outlays on oil for the first time.

Australia’s push to become a green hydrogen superpower has gained new momentum with the federal and Queensland governments teaming with consortium partners to deliver $117 million (USD 76 million) to progress a 3 GW renewable hydrogen project being developed near Gladstone on the central Queensland coast.

The numbers behind headlines of billion dollar cost blowouts and delays to New South Wales’ energy transformation appear foggy at best, with unexamined sources seemingly leading to widespread misreporting.

To reach net zero by 2050, Australia will need 300 GW of wind and solar, and $413 billion (USD 2.72 billion) of investment, according to BloombergNEF. To reach hydrogen superpower status, that figure balloons to 812 GW of renewables and $739 billion of investment.

As part of its long-term plan to transition from coal-fired power generation to clean energy New South Wales has launched another renewable energy tender seeking at least 950 MW of wind and solar capacity and 550 MW of long-duration storage.

Australia and the United States have signed a landmark agreement with the two nations vowing to work collaboratively towards accelerating and expanding clean energy supply chains, renewable energy technologies manufacturing, and critical minerals supply.

British-headquartered oil and gas giant BP is a step closer to establishing a large-scale integrated renewables and green hydrogen project on Western Australia’s mid-west coast after outlaying $23 million for an almost 23,000-hectare property.

Australian renewable hydrogen company Infinite Green Energy has expanded its relationship with Samsung C&T, teaming with the South Korean industrial conglomerate to progress its flagship Arrowsmith project which is anticipated will produce more than 300 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per day using wind and solar energy.