Markets & Policy

The WA Government has allocated funding from its Renewable Hydrogen Fund toward seven feasibility studies that could pave the way for significant renewable hydrogen projects around the state.

Queensland’s first community-scale battery is nearing completion after the delivery of its 4 MW Tesla battery. The battery, to be charged with excess solar power from Townsville’s residential rooftop PV, should connect to the grid by the end of the summer.

The Australia Institute (TAI) has criticised the Government’s $2 billion bushfire recovery fund, questioning why the taxpayer should foot the bill when a levy on fossil fuel producers would be a better way of funding the recovery.

Researchers at Sydney’s Macquarie University have developed a multi-functional device that can be easily installed in any EV to alleviate energy anxiety in the vehicle and the household. The Intelligent Charger could be the necessary bridge in the transition to EVs.

Australia’s bushfire crisis is beginning to expose a National Energy Market over-reliant on vulnerable individual elements. Does Australia’s changing environment necessitate a localised energy future?

Australia’s transition to electric vehicles (EV) is well and truly underway, so it is no wonder that state and federal governments are teasing out ways to tax its progress. Victorian and NSW governments already devising plans, but is the EV industry ready? And what is more, are governmental plans already out of date?

This cataclysmic bushfire season demonstrates the risk that climate change poses to Australia’s economic and social prosperity. Stanford’s international roadmap to freedom from fossil fuels by 2050 says Australia needs another 280 GW of solar PV and tens of billions of dollars of investment to turn down the heat.

As the energy landscape continues to evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century, digitalization is growing within generation, distribution and transmission. On the demand management side, Amber Electric is seeking to bring transparency to the market, passing wholesale prices directly to consumers for a $10 flat monthly fee. The Melbourne-based start-up is readying to expand its offering in 2020, as home batteries, EV chargers and other smart devices establish a firmer hold in the Australian electricity market, says Dan Adams, co-founder of Amber Electric.

Unnamed Queensland and Victoria solar businesses have been ordered to pay hefty fines, after being caught misclassifying solar mounting kits imported from China. Earlier this year, the Australian Border Force announced it was tightening screws on the dumping of aluminium extrusions, mostly used to mount solar panels.

In a newly published policy document, Hanoi has urged regional governments and the country’s state-run utility, EVN, to suspend authorizations for new solar parks until further notice. Around 8.93 GW of utility-scale solar capacity is already approved for development in Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.