Finance

The federal government’s plan to deploy 400 community batteries across the nation to soak up excess solar generated on neighbourhood rooftops has reached the Australian Capital Territory with sites for three new battery energy storage systems unveiled.

Australian solar and storage technology firm RayGen has secured more than $51 million in new funding to accelerate the commercialisation and deployment of its concentrated PV and thermal hydro long-duration energy storage technology.

Embattled Australian electric vehicle fast-charger company Tritium is on the lookout for buyers after its directors declared the company to be insolvent and called in administrators.

Renewable energy advocates and investors have urged the federal government to pursue its commitment to the ambitious Future Made in Australia Act by backing it – and the country’s decarbonisation – with strategic budget support.

New South Wales-based clean energy company MGA Thermal has raised $5.7 million to prove the scale and industrial capabilities of its thermal energy storage technology that stores heat in blocks made largely from aluminium and graphite and dispatches it to generate electricity.

Two major critical minerals projects in Queensland and South Australia are to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal government loans as the Commonwealth seeks to deliver the building blocks for a ‘future made in Australia.’

Ireland-headquartered smart energy company GridBeyond plans to expand its operations in “key market” Australia as part of a broader global growth strategy after securing more than $86 million in new funding.

A volunteer-based community group is using profits generated by commercial and industrial rooftop solar installations to help build a “bridge to the future” as the Illawarra region on the New South Wales south coast transitions its workforce into new employment.

The Silicon to Solar report, partly funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, outlines ways to restore solar manufacturing to the nation with a little help from the country’s major trading partner – China.

Australia’s largest energy retailer Origin Energy Limited (Origin) has entered into an agreement with Belgian company Virya Energy to acquire the Yanco Delta renewables project that comprises an 800 MWh battery energy storage system coupled with a 1.5 GW wind farm in southern New South Wales.