Energy Management Systems

Smart metering services provider Intellihub cracked the million meter mark this week as the smart meter market in Australia and New Zealand surges off the back of continuing solar uptake.

Blue NRG, a business-only electricity retailer, has decided to partner with Melbourne-based energy management platform carbontrack in a union that Spiros Livadaras, carbontrack’s Managing Director, admits is somewhat surprising. “Obviously people are saying, why would a retailer join forces with an energy management technology company that helps them reduce their energy consumption – it’s kind of counterintuitive,” he told pv magazine Australia.

The Queensland Government-owned energy company, Stanwell Corporation, has announced it is from today seeking expressions of interest from renewable energy projects to incorporate into its fossil-fuel heavy portfolio.

Western Australia has officially extended the reach of its new darling: stand-alone power systems, or SAPS. In a state first, Government-owned network services provider Western Power has deployed units at two Perth Hills properties following bushfires earlier this month.

Scientists in Germany have estimated that roof and facade PV systems can cover almost 40% of the total requirements of a standard office building, assuming that no battery storage is installed.

In the middle of Australia’s most iconic natural landscape, the township of Jabiru has begun its transition from uranium-mine support community, to Indigenous cultural hub and tourism centre. The local arm of German renewable energy pioneer, juwi brings its deep experience in off-grid power systems to the project.

With a state election looming and a Liberal Opposition eager to embrace renewables, Western Australia’s McGowan government has announced a $259 million renewables-focussed package in a bid to retain power and primacy in the progressive space.

The ducks are lining up for the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone to break ground in 2023. With money in the bank, TransGrid today begins community consultation on the proposed transmission corridor to support this efficient approach to renewable energy development.

South Australia is leading the nation in terms of renewable energy penetration, with rooftop solar a major contributor. But the state’s hard-won ability to deactivate thousands of rooftop solar systems in response to grid voltage disturbances has caused significant disruptions to solar installers. With a deeper look inside the changes, it appears to be a good thing for solar in the state, as well as other markets in which distributed PV is growing rapidly.

Like a flight simulator for power system designers, the Hitachi ABB facility is now in the hands of the Northern Territory’s Charles Darwin University where it will help build knowledge and capability on the Territory’s road to 50% renewable electricity by 2030.