Utility Scale PV

Queensland project developer the Hydrogen Collective has announced it will have green hydrogen available for supply to commercial customers from late 2023 with construction to begin in the coming weeks on a solar-powered production facility to be built at Goondiwindi in the state’s southwest.

Australian green hydrogen proponent Fortescue Future Industries and French renewables major Total Eren are among five project developers provided with exclusivity over land in the Northern Territory government’s Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct on Darwin Harbour.

The Queensland government has awarded two key contracts for what it says will be the largest pumped hydro energy project in the world, with the proposed 5 GW/120 GWh Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro energy storage system to form a cornerstone of the state’s energy transition.

ASX-listed nanotechnology company Nanoveu will look to expand into the United States market with the establishment of a demonstration site for its anti-soiling coating for solar glass following trial deployments in the Philippines and Malaysia.

With less than 60 days remaining until the next raft of clean energy incentives outlined in the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act take effect, former Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Guy Debelle has warned the legislation poses a “material threat” to Australia’s push to become a green hydrogen superpower.

The government of the Philippines is set to hold the country’s second renewables auction on June 19.

Octopus Australia has acquired a 175 MW solar and 400 MWh battery project in Queensland’s Western Downs region. It plans to integrate these assets with its newly commissioned 180 MW Dulacca Wind Farm to create one of Australia’s largest multi-technology renewable energy parks.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a new report that solar will remain the main source of global renewable capacity expansion in 2023, accounting for 286 GW. In 2024, the figure is set to grow to almost 310 GW, driven by lower module prices, greater uptake of distributed PV systems, and a policy push for large-scale deployment.

Queensland has laid out an ambitious vision for the state’s energy future, releasing draft legislation that calls for an additional 22 GW of new wind and solar projects by 2035, supported by at least 12 GW of storage, firming and dispatchable technologies including grid-scale batteries and pumped hydro storage.

Australian energy major AGL is pushing ahead with plans to transform its Loy Yang power station site in Victoria into a clean energy industrial hub, announcing it has signed a deal with Solar Recovery Corporation to explore the feasibility of establishing a PV panel recycling facility at the site.