Policy

New Zealand claims antipodean bragging rights yet again as parliament passes landmark bill setting a 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target. The bill, among its manifold components, further highlights the void of federal energy policy in Australia.

South Australia’s renewables, particularly wind, have received firm dispatchable back-up as Barker Inlet Power Station begins generating energy for the first time.

The Philippines is desperately hungry for rooftop solar PV as it seeks to alleviate itself of energy poverty. Pathways are finally opening up for the vast Southeast Asian nation with investors readying US$20 million to fund four new renewable projects.

Scientists at Princeton have found solar and wind energy offer the added environmental benefit of reducing water usage, by comparison with hydroelectric dams. Their findings, say the researchers, could have a positive impact on groundwater sustainability in drought-prone regions such as California, where they conducted a case study.

Chinese string inverter maker Ginlong has reported its best-ever quarterly revenue. The record highlights the shift in the global inverter market since Beijing’s U-turn on solar subsidies pushed Chinese companies abroad.

Four years ago in December 2015, every member of the United Nations met in Paris and agreed to hold global temperature increases to 2°C, and as close as possible to 1.5°C. The bad news is that four years on the best that we can hope for is holding global increases to around 1.75°C. We can only do that if the world moves decisively towards zero net emissions by the middle of the century.

Engie is readying a massive renewable investment fund as it looks to develop 2,000 MW of renewables in Australia over the next ten years. The move signals defiance at the retreat of renewable investment in the face of a federal energy policy vacuum.

L’Oréal Australia and Engie ANZ have agreed to a long-term energy supply agreement that will see the cosmetics company powered by 100% renewables.

Hydro Tasmania has released a white paper pushing the island state’s claims to become the Battery of the Nation via upgrades to the Victoria-Tasmania interconnector, an effort to unblock the backlog of solar and wind.

The Morrison government has extended an extra $1 billion to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in energy storage projects, transmission and distribution infrastructure and grid stabilizing technologies.