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The New South Wales government has invited registrations of interest from renewable generators, energy storage and network developers, and existing and proposed energy loads, to participate in shaping a renewable energy zone to be established in the Illawarra region on the state’s south coast.

Resource sector heavyweight Rio Tinto has called for proposals to develop an estimated 4GW of large-scale wind and solar farms and firming capacity in central and southern Queensland as it progresses plans to power its aluminium operations in the state with renewable energy.

Australian federal and state governments have agreed to a suite of reforms designed to tackle soaring energy prices, including creating a national transition plan to phase out fossil fuels, financing projects to boost the nation’s electricity grid, and progressing designs for a new capacity mechanism.

The International Renewable Energy Agency’s latest annual report on the progress towards the United Nation’s sustainable development goal seven estimates 670 million people will still lack electricity in 2030, and more than 2 billion will be reliant on unhealthy, polluting cooking methods.

While many solar manufacturers are as yet undecided about which PV cell technology they will choose for their next high efficiency expansions, for Singapore-based REC, the future is HJT. pv magazine spoke to Cemil Seber, the managing director at REC Solar EMEA GmbH at the Intersolar Europe 2022 trade show, to dig deeper into these manufacturing plans.

New South Wales has topped the charts for large-scale renewable energy generation in May but Queensland has dominated the solar stakes with the top six utility PV assets for the month all located in the sunshine state.

After a decade of under-delivering on its potential, there are changes afoot in Southeast Asia’s renewable energy development, says Assaad W. Razzouk, the CEO of Singapore-based developer Gurin Energy. Razzouk points to success stories in the region and notes that political will and clear regulations for developers are needed.

Brisbane-based Line Hydrogen is seeking $2 million in crowdfunding investment from Australians who want to contribute to the green energy revolution at the ground level by getting its Tasmanian and Queensland green hydrogen projects off the ground.

With industry figures warning Australia is on the “precipice” of an energy crisis, federal, state and territory ministers will meet next week to discuss the situation with skyrocketing gas, petrol and electricity prices being described as a “perfect storm”.

Newly elected Prime Minster Anthony Albanese has announced Chris Bowen as the new Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Entering office with a climate crisis, surging energy prices and an electricity grid in transition, Bowen has his hands full.