Markets

Hydro Tasmania has released a white paper pushing the island state’s claims to become the Battery of the Nation via upgrades to the Victoria-Tasmania interconnector, an effort to unblock the backlog of solar and wind.

While it seeks to build one of Australia’s biggest coal mines, Adani has grown more cautious on solar investment after suffering connection delays on its first renewables project in Australia.

AGL, Australia’s biggest power producer, has inked a deal that will see the development of four large-scale batteries in NSW. The agreement is an attempt to secure against fluctuating prices during peak periods.

The Morrison government has extended an extra $1 billion to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in energy storage projects, transmission and distribution infrastructure and grid stabilizing technologies.

The Federal and the New South Wales governments will jointly contribute $102 million to increase the capacity of an existing interconnector between New South Wales and Queensland in the run-up to the planned closure of the Liddel coal generator in 2023.

With ARENA’s help, Mirvac is set to trial a net zero energy community of townhouses in the Melbourne suburb of Altona North.

With 2019 already a record year for utility solar, wind and storage project proposals, Norwegian-based energy analyst Rystad Energy predicts Australia’s renewables boom could see coal-fired generation extinct by 2040. According to the Australian National University (ANU), the unprecedented growth in generation from wind and solar can slash Australia’s carbon emissions by 4% over the next few years, but the Clean Energy Council sees things differently.

New data on the Victorian government’s Solar Homes program show the demand for rebates for solar panels, solar hot water, solar batteries and no-interest loans has been well spread across the state.

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has made a final rule to improve publicly available information about new utility-scale projects, making it easier for wind and solar developers to decide on where to locate new generators and avoid cost blowouts amid grid congestion and connection challenges.

The Clean Energy Council (CEC) has released an extensive report on the benefit of sharing options for renewable energy projects. In addition to highlighting the benefits of sharing for both project proponents and local communities, the report provides pathways to models of benefit sharing.