Finance

From July 1, if it is run by the City of Adelaide, it is being powered by wind and solar electricity under a landmark power purchase agreement inked electricity retailer Flow Power.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has called for more renewable investment and Federal government backing to help create and support more jobs in more industries, but gas is not out of the picture.

As Australia continues to battle horrific bushfires, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a renewed focus on gas-fired electricity to reduce emissions and lower energy prices. This is a dangerous and completely unnecessary route.

Encouraging money to chase firming of renewables is expected to be just one positive byproduct of a proposed new financial derivatives platform that will allow industry players to hedge against volatility in the pricing of renewable energy.

An energy deal struck between the Morrison and Berejiklian governments that will see more than $2 billion invested to increase gas supply and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector has prompted a flurry of reactions that boil down to two conflicting interpretations of its purpose.

In yet another confirmation of a dramatic drop in spending on large-scale renewables in Australia, a new analysis by the Clean Energy Council reveals a fall from 51 projects worth $10.7 billion in 2018 down to 28 projects worth $4.5 billion in 2019. Mounting regulatory risks, under-investment in transmission and policy uncertainty are the main reasons behind investment slow-down, which is set to put greater pressure on reliability and power prices as Australia’s old coal-fired power stations continue to close.

Dozens of hospitals across Victoria and New South Wales are installing solar to slash their greenhouse emissions and electricity costs. In NSW, another four hospitals have received government funding to install solar panels, while the number of Victorian solar-powered health centers continues to rise.

Resources giant Fortescue Metals will invest $US450 million ($668 million) in the next stage of its Pilbara Energy Connect program to combine 150 MW of gas-fired generation, 150 MW of solar PV and a grid-scale battery. The hybrid generation project will provide low cost power to the Iron Bridge magnetite project currently under construction.

The internet’s favorite energy company installed 530 megawatt-hours of battery storage in Q4, beating out the previous record, set last quarter, as well as showing continued improvement in solar installations.

Corporations contracted a record amount of wind and solar energy through power purchase agreements in 2019, up more than 40% from the previous year’s record, says a new report from BloombergNEF. The bulk of this purchasing occurred in the U.S. with tech companies and oil and gas majors leading the charge. In Australia, onsite solar projects delivering power to corporations nearly doubled to 1GW.