Policy

The European Commission has presented the final version of its new rules for green hydrogen, with looser requirements to qualify hydrogen as “green.”

The Greens will back the government’s hallmark Safeguard Mechanism policy reforms, but only if the government agrees to a moratorium on new coal or gas projects. The Greens hold the balance of power on the policy’s fate and their resolution has sparked fears that Australia could see a repeat of the dreaded climate wars.

When US President Joe Biden signed the $500 billion (USD 369 billion) Inflation Reduction Act into law in August 2022, it was lauded as the most significant policy the world has yet seen to combat climate change and drive the transition to renewable energies. However, some international critics and competitors claim the landmark bill thwarts their slow-burning ambitions to foster green manufacturing at home. As governments scramble to respond to the scale of the IRA, Australia is one country realising it may have already been left behind.

If re-elected in March, the New South Wales Liberal and National coalition say they will fast track the rollout of public and private electric vehicle (EV) chargers by reforming strata and planning laws, and installing public facilities at transport hubs.

A surge of community battery trials in Australia is seeking to make better use of the country’s vast distributed solar resource. But the results so far have battered expectations. pv magazine Australia’s Natalie Filatoff and Bella Peacock explore the motivations, challenges, and outlook for sharing and monetising solar rooftop riches.

Large-scale wind and solar farm investment commitments grew nearly 50% in 2022, according to new data published by the Clean Energy Regulator.

Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, speaks to pv magazine as part of our Only5mins! series about the crisis threatening Adani Group with collapse, the “positive outlook” for Australian renewables, and the nation’s potential to become a clean energy superpower.

United States-based solar tracker provider Array Technologies is planning to set up manufacturing operations in Australia after being awarded a contract to supply trackers for a 102 MW solar farm being developed in Victoria’s northeast.

The federal government has opened industry consultations seeking to inform the country’s first national battery strategy with the goal of developing a globally competitive domestic battery manufacturing ecosystem in Australia.

Former solar installer Gavin Brady has been convicted by a Victorian magistrate after an investigation by the Clean Energy Regulator found he falsely claimed to have installed 11 solar systems. When converted to Small-scale Technology Certificates, those false claims were worth $50,000 (USD 35,500).