Policy

Australia can still achieve a net-zero energy transformation by 2050, in line with the Paris climate agreement, but new analysis from Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows there is no time to waste with a rapid scaling up of investment in solar, wind and energy storage required.

Acen Australia’s plan to develop a 600 MW solar farm and 600 MW / 1,200 MWh battery energy storage system in central west New South Wales has received a major boost with the state’s Independent Planning Commission giving its tick of approval.

A rapid uptake of consumer and distribution energy resources in Australia sets the stage for their role in the transition but if legacy operating systems don’t keep up the pace they risk falling short of delivering their potential, a new report finds.

A proposal to build a renewable energy hydrogen project including 26 GW of solar and wind capacity in Western Australia’s Pilbara region is to benefit from a streamlined approvals process after it was awarded major project status by the federal government.

Uptake of Victorian rooftop solar rebates sees five million individual solar panels installed across the state, doubling the output of the brown coal Yallourn power station to generate 2 GW of power to date.

Construction has commenced on a 300 MW / 1,200 MWh battery energy storage system being built alongside the coal-fired Stanwell Power Station in central Queensland as the state government looks to scale up energy storage capacity to support the transition to renewables.

Indonesia has moved to ease local content requirements for electricity infrastructure projects, including solar power plants, in a bid to attract more foreign capital and drive the development of renewable energy projects.

New modelling suggests that changing the way we use Australia’s existing electricity sub-transmission and distribution grid could unlock 5 GW of additional rooftop solar, an extra 7 GW of front-of-meter generation, and 5 GW of additional distribution-connected battery energy storage by 2030.

French-backed renewables and storage developer TagEnergy is a step closer to building a 300 MW / 600 MWh battery that is to help maintain grid stability in north Queensland after the local council provided a green light for the project.

Reconfiguring Australia’s residential off-peak hot water systems to consume electricity when renewable generation is at its peak could help minimise the more than 4,000 MWh of large-scale solar and wind generation that is being curtailed in the National Electricity Market annually.