Policy

Think-tank Climate Council of Australia has found of all the state’s and territories, the Northern Territory has the most work to do to achieve its renewable energy target of 50% by 2030.

The first battery energy storage project has been approved under the Victorian government’s streamlined renewable energy planning process, with the state signing off on a 350 MW / 700 MWh project being developed by ACEnergy in the Wimmera region.

Battery storage developer Akaysha Energy says it has completed the first stage of energisation for the 850 MW / 1,680 MWh Waratah Super Battery that will help stabilise the New South Wales grid during the state’s transition from coal-fired power.

The first $550 million of the federal government’s Solar Sunshot program has been launched to support the development of Australia’s solar manufacturing industry and help local businesses capture more of the global solar manufacturing supply chain.

The Queensland government has launched a solar panel recycling scheme with the launch of the first of 15 sites collection sites that are to be established across the state. The program is expected to save 26 tonnes of broken or end-of-life solar panels from landfill annually and will inform the possible rollout of a nationwide scheme.

Mildura Rural City Council has completed a 99 kW rooftop solar system at a sporting precinct in the Victorian regional centre that is expected to generate more than 114,000 kWh of clean electricity per year, enough to satisfy 15% of the facility’s annual demand.

Coal and gas-fired energy workers and their communities are closer to being guaranteed support during Australia’s energy transition following the Australian Senate’s passing of the Net Zero Economy Authority Bill 2024.

SunCable’s flagship Australia-Asia Power Link renewables and storage project in the Northern Territory has passed another major regulatory milestone, securing the green light from the federal government.

New South Wales power grid owner Transgrid has pinpointed a trio of sites in the state’s far west that could host remote renewable energy zones that it said could help address the challenges posed by an energy transition that it is in “vertical take-off.”

The Victoria Energy Policy Centre has issued a call for new policy to drive the deployment of large-scale rooftop solar backed by batteries on Australia’s commercial and industrial properties not just for self-consumption but also so power can be exported to the grid at times of peak demand.