Markets & Policy

Hydrogen transportation and submarine power lines have been compared by an international research team to find out which may be the cheapest option to connect for energy exchange regions separated by the sea. According to their findings, the hydrogen shipping alternative does not present very good prospects of applicability in the future, unless some disruptive technological breakthroughs are made. What makes compressed and liquified hydrogen ships still attractive, however, is that they can export energy almost anywhere, and that electrolysis and liquefaction plants are relatively easy to expand compared to marine cables.

Canadian Solar is pivoting towards energy storage and is preparing to IPO its manufacturing and Chinese solar project activity in China, under the CSI Solar operation, by July.

MinterEllison’s second annual ‘Renewables Investment Report’ finds that over the past year Australia has become a safe haven for investment… The maturity of its renewable opportunities seems to outweigh existing challenges. 

Battery capacity in the distributed and large-scale sectors continues to grow, according the annual reckoning of the SunWiz oracle. Although still a complex proposition, for homeowners, battery potential is beginning to be utilised in the hundreds of megawatts by governments and utilities, with some interesting side hustles in the mid-sized energy-storage category.

Hydrogen offers so much potential to decarbonise industry and transport, and the race is on to resolve the complexities of cost and supply. How can German-Australian collaboration integrate existing and emerging technologies for accelerated outcomes?

When coupled to gigawatt-scale solar and wind generation, green hydrogen could be the clean fuel to unlock hard-to-electrify sectors of the economy. But first it must be transported cost-effectively to where it’s needed.

The largest Australian-owned gases company, Coregas, has received funding from the New South Wales Government to develop a hydrogen refuelling station at the Port Kembla site of BlueScope Steelworks. The station will work to support the introduction of zero emission hydrogen fleet vehicles in the region and greater New South Wales.

Experts from the Australian National University have published a technical paper in which they argue a doubling of the rate of deployment of solar and wind would cut Australia’s carbon emissions 80% by 2040.

Renewable electricity will be linked to 90% of the actions needed to remove carbon emissions in 2050, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, and the biggest volume of generation capacity will be provided by solar.

Here are the brand-new stats and forecasts from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie.