Markets & Policy

The grass below the 110 MW Beryl Solar Farm in central New South Wales caught fire on Monday, April 24, and was brought under control by emergency services that same afternoon. While the damage is still being assessed, a spokesperson said the unaffected areas of the solar farm will be brought back online today, April 26.

Chinese battery industry heavyweight CATL has unveiled a novel condensed matter battery technology with an energy density of up to 500 Wh/kg. The company said it can achieve mass production within this year.

The chair of a new think tank that is pushing for Australia to accelerate the rollout of renewables and become a global clean energy superpower believes the world’s shift towards green energy is a bigger opportunity for the nation than the resources boom.

With copper prices rising, inflation driving up the cost of living, and organised criminal gangs stepping up operations in the United Kingdom and across Europe, solar project owners need to be more conscious than ever of security, reports Max Hall.

The Australian Energy Market Operator will undertake a trial of real-time inertia measurement technology in Victoria as it looks to ensure reliability and stability across the electricity network as more renewable generators come online and coal-fired power continues to exit the nation’s energy mix.

Record solar production – from both large-scale and rooftop PV – helped drive average wholesale energy prices in the National Electricity Market down during the first quarter of this year according to the latest update from the Australian Energy Regulator.

All of the leading countries for per capita solar and wind generation are in Europe except for Australia, which is generating more solar electricity per capita than any other country. Per capita, it is also a leading producer of wind energy.

The federal government has followed the release of its first electric vehicle strategy with a flurry of funding commitments designed to drive an increase in the number of zero-emission cars on Australian roads and in turn decarbonise the nation’s transport system.

Since the passage of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) last August, the utility-scale clean power sector has announced USD 150 billion ($223b) in funding, 46 new manufacturing facilities, and nearly 20,000 new jobs, according to the American Clean Power Association.

Origin Energy will “within weeks” begin building the first stage of a planned 700 MW/2,800 MWh grid-connected battery energy storage system being developed at the site of Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant that is set to be shut down in less than 28 months.