Markets & Policy

Australia’s only solar panel manufacturer, Tindo Solar, has announced a doubling of sales for both solar panels and battery storage in recent months. The manufacturer attributes the boom to the concatenation of rising energy costs, a potential recession, and increasing consumer awareness about the importance of buying quality products.

Electric vehicle and stationary energy storage companies have experienced battery cell shortages this year. InfoLink predicts overcapacity in 2024, but the concentration of production in China means customers elsewhere are mulling deals with miners.

With Australia’s energy system rapidly transitioning from a traditional dependency on coal-fired power generation towards a future built on renewables, the market operator has detailed the engineering roadmap required for the country’s main power systems to operate on 100% renewable energy more frequently and for longer periods.

A holiday house in New South Wales is thought to be the first residential property in Australia to make the switch to a hybrid solar and green hydrogen standalone power system with network service provider Essential Energy trialling the off-grid technology.

Woodside says it has secured an agreement with the traditional owners for land on which it plans to build the first 50 MW stage of what could eventually expand to be a 500 MW solar power plant in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Australian renewables developer Energy Estate has signed a consortium of “globally recognised partners” to accelerate the development of a large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia production and export facility in north Queensland.

In a decidedly confusing announcement, Swedish molten aluminium storage startup Azelio says it has secured a conditional order from relatively unknown Australian company MPG Built. Azelio says the order will see it provide “energy-as-a-service” using five of its TES.POD storage units combined with solar power.

Environmental approval from the government of South Australia means Renascor Resources is now a step closer to realising its integrated graphite supply chain. Graphite is a key component in lithium-ion battery production and Renascor’s South Australian deposit is considered the largest outside of Africa.

Woodside has won out over Fortescue Future Industries to deliver the proposed Southern Green Hydrogen megaproject in New Zealand’s Southland. The 600 MW project intends to produce green hydrogen for export using power from partner Meridian Energy’s hydroelectric plant.

New provisions in the Philippines define interconnection standards, the certification of compliance requirements, and pricing methodologies, among other matters.