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The Andrews Labor Government is delivering on last year’s election promise to boost renewable energy in Victoria and is seeking to legislate increasing its renewable energy target to 50% by 2030.

By considering use of the metal in charging infrastructure, analyst Wood Mackenzie has found higher demand from the mobility sector than is the case if only the volume of the material required for vehicle construction is examined.

Touted as the first green bond issued by a retail property landlord globally, the $300 million instrument will fund initiatives to enhance the environmental performance for three of the retail assets within the QIC Shopping Centre Fund portfolio. The green bond was five times oversubscribed and attracted new investors from across Asia and Australia, as well as a cornerstone investment from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

The growing share of rooftop solar had a significant impact on Australia’s main grid in the latest quarter, both in terms of reducing operational demand and emissions intensity, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said. Looking ahead, AEMO is seeking to procure off-market emergency reserves to help protect the grid from potential summer blackouts the upcoming summer, as coal generator outages grow in frequency.

The grant recipients for the fourth phase of the Next Generation Energy Storage program have been announced. Launched in 2016, the $25 million program is supporting the roll out of up to 36 MW of smart battery storage.

Western Australia’s government has announced two units at Synergy’s Muja Power Station will be retired from October 2022. The state government said the coal-fired units were only being used about 35% of the time thanks largely to rooftop solar reducing demand on the grid.

Australian renewables developer Windlab has connected and energized its landmark energy park in north Queensland, comprising 43 MW of wind, 18 MW of solar and a 4 MWh battery.

The Smart Energy Council has announced plans for a second rally to warn against the current Solar Homes scheme’s damaging effect on Victoria’s solar industry. This time, the protest will target Premier Daniel Andrews’ office.

Chinese module maker and project developer Canadian Solar has acquired another 25% share in the 189 MWp Suntop Solar Farm from Photon Energy and increased its stake to 76%. The balance of shares is held by Sydney-based Polpo Investment.

With more than 50 GW of new wind and solar projects in the development pipeline, the Australian Energy Market Commission is looking to give developers more detailed and up-to-date information about new generation projects. The new draft rule may help businesses make better investment decisions on where to locate new generators and assess project viability.