Policy

Sector coupling may be somewhat of a buzzword, but it also points to opportunities for PV beyond the power markets, which may quickly reach limitations during peak hours of irradiation. Combined energy, food and clean water production presents one such opportunity, with benefits for developers, utilities and communities.

Korea Zinc Company Ltd., parent company of Townsville-based Sun Metals, has entered into a $17 million financing agreement with the 1,100km CopperString 2.0 transmission line project across North Queensland. The project, which received an $11 million boost from the Federal Government recently, would open up enormous tracts of land for the development of renewable projects and minerals.

Australia’s most powerful business lobby has thrown its support behind independent MP Zali Steggall’s proposed climate change legislation, saying it provides a high-level policy framework that can serve as a starting point to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 in Australia.

Last year the Western Australian Government called for Expression of Interest into its potentially 1.5 GW solar and wind hydrogen hub at Oakajee Strategic Industrial Area on the state’s Mid-West. This week it has been revealed that 65 companies from around the world have submitted serious interest in making it happen.

One environmental group said the new president’s actions make “the United States once more part of the global climate solution—not the problem.”

Unlike other nations with more limited land and faster growing populations, Australia has not yet understood the symbiotic benefits which accrue when solar PV and agriculture are combined. This week, the Victorian Government announced its Horticulture Solar Energy program and $5 million in funding for the Tatura SmartFarm to experiment with solar atop a pear orchard.

Two outages at coal fired power generators in Victoria last weekend failed to faze the energy market as strong solar uptake ensured wholesale prices actually fell into the negative despite major units going offline at the height of summer.

Governments around Australia are hustling to transition their bus fleets to cleaner fuels such as green electricity or hydrogen. Companies around the world are hustling to ready their hydrogen buses to meet the demand.

The Australian Capital Territory’s latest Feed-in Tarrif report found that Canberrans are increasingly contributing to their territory’s 100% renewable energy supply thanks to the increasing uptake of rooftop solar.

Looking back over years of research into the topic of hybrid systems based on different combinations of solar, wind, hydro and other renewables, an international group of scientists found strong potential for strategies to exploit complementarity between the different sources integrate more intermittent renewables onto regional and national grids. The scientists present a series of conclusions and recommendations that aim to push research in hybrid renewables forward.