Markets & Policy

Consultation is now open on the design of the federal government’s $2 billion (USD 1.33 billion) Hydrogen Headstart program that is aimed at bridging “the commercial gap for early projects” and placing Australia on course to develop 1 GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030 through two to three flagship projects.

A 325 MW/2,600 MWh pumped hydro project planned for the New South Wales central west faces an indefinite delay with developer Atco announcing it will hold off on the next stage of the regulatory approvals process until the state government’s policy frameworks “are close to being able to support financial investment decisions for large-scale infrastructure.”

An international research group has investigated the flow of iron, copper, aluminium, and other precious metals from source to end-use destination in the renewable energy infrastructure value chain. It found significant imbalances that can be attributed to the continuous outsourcing of metal demand for the renewable power sector to developing economies.

The Western Australian government has moved to fast track the approvals process for green energy projects with a new cross-agency pathway for environmental assessments forecast to reduce project approval timeframes.

China’s Sinopec has switched on the world’s largest solar-to-hydrogen project in Xinjiang, while India has unveiled a new plan to incentivize green hydrogen and electrolyzer production.

The federal government will establish a review into how renewable energy infrastructure projects are planned as it looks to smooth the way for the expansion of the grid that is seen as critical to Australia’s transition from coal to renewables.

Solar levelized cost of electricity will reach less than $45 (USD 30) per MWh in 2050 as global capacity grows 22-fold, said DNV.

Huang Haiyan, chief sustainability officer for Astronergy, spoke with pv magazine at the recent SNEC trade show in Shanghai about the company’s new TOPCon PV module line and its broader expansion plans.

A sharp rise in connection and terminal station charges is stalling storage from coming online, according to an Australian developer. While the price hikes could be attributable to a quagmire of complications the industry currently faces, the developer questioned whether Australia’s TNSP monopoly system is a contributing factor.

Australian renewable energy startup Green Gravity has teamed with underground mining contractor RUC to accelerate the commercialisation of its gravitational energy storage technology which rests on moving weighted objects through disused mine shafts.