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The head of the country’s energy market operator has reiterated his call for the development of a mechanism that incentivises dispatchable capacity, saying it is critical to underpin the growth of renewables as Australia’s energy transition continues to accelerate.

South Korean solar and battery manufacturer Qcells has partnered with finance lender Plenti to launch a home solar, energy storage, and virtual power plant (VPP) solution for Australian customers. 

Bundelkhand Saur Urja Ltd. has opened bids from project management consultants for the 1.2 GW Jalaun Solar Park, which is now being developed in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Islandable microgrids are a growing niche, especially in remote regions at the end of electricity networks or parts of the world prone to natural disasters and outages. Renewably powered microgrids can provide a community with more stability and operate independently, so vulnerable regions are not reliant on distant sources of generation, as was the case during Australia’s Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20, when communities were left powerless. From California to Australia’s southern coast, the study and deployment of microgrids is on the rise. pv magazine’s Blake Matich takes a look.

Six new solar farm projects totalling 623 MW of renewable capacity and four big batteries delivering up to 365 MW and 600 MWh of new energy storage have been given the tick of approval by the Victorian government as it looks to meet its target of powering all its operations with clean energy by 2025.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences has switched on a 100 MW compressed air energy storage system in China’s Hebei province. The facility can store more than 132 million kWh of electricity per year.

India’s cumulative residential rooftop solar capacity may rise by 60% to reach 3.2 GW by March 31, 2023 driven by rising consumer demand coupled with strong government support.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis is calling for an independent inquiry into Australia’s electricity networks and their regulators claiming Australians have been overcharged $10 billion (USD 6.5 billion) in the past eight years by distribution and transmission network service businesses making “supernormal” profits from consumers forced to use their poles and wires.

Developers recently commissioned two different wine-related agrivoltaic projects in Europe.

Australian outfit BESS Research is teaming up with CellCube, owned by Austria’s Enerox, to target Australian commercial and industrial projects for the potential use of vanadium redox flow batteries.