Policy

Indonesia is a coal-dependent country in which conventional power grids are problematic. The archipelagic nation is turning to floating PV (FPV) to help accelerate its energy transition. Sorta Caroline takes a look at the state of play for water-borne solar and the problems that still need to be overcome.

Investment in financially committed large-scale renewable energy generation and storage projects in Australia ramped up in the final three months of 2022 to its highest level in more than four years but the Clean Energy Council has warned the pace remains inadequate.

As the cost of living soars, many Australian households are turning to rooftop solar to cut their energy costs. A Pulse of the Nation survey last month showed about 29% of Australians have installed or are considering installing solar panels on their homes. The same survey shows one in five Australians can’t afford to adequately heat or cool their homes.

Executives from Gentari, the clean energy subsidiary of Malaysia’s state-owned oil company Petronas, and Japan’s biggest steelmaker, Nippon Steel, are eying Australia for future investments in renewables projects and green-steel manufacturing.

The Queensland government will acquire the $5 billion (USD 3.37 billion) CopperString transmission line project which is set to unlock 6 GW of renewable energy resources and connect Queensland’s North West Minerals Province to Australia’s national grid. The shovel-ready project, many years in the making, is hailed as the biggest expansion to Australia’s energy grid in decades.

The Queensland government will team with the Smart Energy Council to develop an industry-led solar panel recycling scheme and investigate a ban on the dumping of end-of-life panels as it prepares for a surge in the number of decommissioned PV modules coming off rooftops.

Two new green hydrogen projects in New South Wales will share in $64 million (USD 43.25 million) in support as the state government looks to accelerate the development of a hydrogen industry which is projected to attract more than $80 billion in private investment.

A new cohort of 18 New South Wales (NSW) public schools will receive solar and battery energy storage systems in the latest round of the NSW government’s Smart Energy Schools Pilot Project.

A report from consultancy Climate Energy Finance finds that Australia and New Zealand have a more than $10 billion (USD 6.7 billion) pipeline of investment proposals in resource value-adding critical minerals, including in lithium, nickel, cobalt, vanadium, rare earths, hydrogen electrolysers, green ammonia, and value-added downstream battery developments.

A huge renewable energy zone to be established on the New South Wales south coast has been formally declared, potentially unlocking more than 17 GW of solar, wind, battery storage, pumped hydro, hydrogen and new load projects, including green steel manufacturing.