Markets & Policy

The Australian arm of French renewable energy developer Neoen has lodged an application to build a 1000 MW /4000 MWh big battery in Western Australia as the state government looks to ramp up energy storage capacity to support its planned transition from coal-fired power to renewables.

A 3 GW solar installation will be built in the Tengger Desert, in northern China. It will require an investment of around $3.18 billion (CNY 15.25 billion).

Australian battery minerals company Liontown Resources will install what is shaping to be the nation’s largest off-grid renewable energy hybrid power station at its $545 million Kathleen Valley Lithium Project in Western Australia, allowing the mine to be powered by 100% on-site renewables during periods of high wind and solar resource.

The New South Wales government’s plans to develop a renewable energy zone in the state’s central west is one step closer to fruition following the release of the scoping report for the transmission infrastructure required to connect at least 3 GW of new renewable energy generation capacity to the grid.

German investment management company Aquila Capital has expanded its Antipodean asset base, inking a deal to buy a 220 MW/440 MWh portfolio of battery energy storage projects in South Australia from Spanish renewables developed Gransolar Group.

Transmission network operator Transgrid is counting on technology developed in the United States to increase the capacity for the bidirectional flow of energy between Australia’s most populous states with works on the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector upgrade project nearing completion.

Mining magnate Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries continues its campaign to be one of the world’s largest clean energy companies, announcing plans to develop a 9.2 GW wind and solar facility in Egypt that will power green hydrogen production in the Arab republic.

The developer of a planned 1.3 GW renewable energy hub in South Australia has agreed to partner with India-based PV solar cell and module manufacturer Websol Energy to produce up to 1.2 GW of cells and modules to help it to better control the supply chain of critical components.

Solar-wind hybrid plants are rapidly becoming mainstream, and in booming markets like India and the US these hybrids are increasingly preferred to singular projects despite the higher installation cost. There is no shortage to the benefits of hybridisation, from a smoother power output profile to the cost saving of grid connection. But getting the balance right for new projects and retrofits remains a challenge. Blake Matich reports on this growing trend.

The Australian Energy Market Commission has called for changes to be made to the national energy rules to allow for the injection of hydrogen into the existing gas distribution grid to support the needs of a transitioning energy market.