Policy

The Victorian government will repay, with interest, electric vehicle owners who paid a road-user charge later deemed unconstitutional by Victoria’s High Court.

Investment in Australia’s renewable energy sector is more than 10 times lower than where it should be to reach 2030 targets, according to the Clean Energy Council calculations. Australia’s “sluggish” large-scale segment is the result of a confluence of issues, and illustrates the urgent need for the federal government’s newly supercharged Capacity Investment Scheme.

Wood Mackenzie says in a new report that China could install 230 GW of PV and wind capacity and export more than 200 GW of solar panels in 2023. Unlike Europe and United States, the country is avoiding the high curtailment of PV and wind.

Cue, a town in Western Australia’s midwest, has installed 259 kW of solar and a 336 kWh battery system to wean itself off diesel. The installation is part of Horizon Power’s Midwest Solar Program and belongs within a much larger state-wide transformation.

Sunshine Hydro and project partner Energy Estate have signed an agreement to give First Nations stakeholders a 20% equity option in the companies’ Djandori Gung-i Superhybrid project at Miriam Vale, Queensland. The project proposes to deliver up to 600 MW of pumped hydro capacity and up to 300 MW of hydrogen electrolysers.

From the International Solar Energy Society’s perspective, and the vision of a world with 100% renewable energy for everyone used wisely and efficiently, PV module production should not become an oligopoly and should not be concentrated in one corner of the world.

Extreme weather is a growing risk to solar farms. Future-proofing through advanced technologies, leveraging data from novel sources, and by building both collaboration and acceptance of risk is vital, but rarely achieved today for a number of reasons. Insurers, lenders, developers, contractors and manufacturers come together here to discuss solutions to the intractable problem of weather risk.

Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced a major expansion of the Commonwealth-funded Capacity Investment Scheme that will now target 32 GW of renewable generation and storage capacity to support the nation’s clean energy transition.

More than 1 GW of firmed storage capacity is set to be delivered by the six winning projects from the New South Wales (NSW) tender combining state and federal schemes. Akaysha Energy’s 415 MW / 1660 MWh battery in Wellington and AGL’s 500 MW / 1000 MWh Liddell battery are the round’s two biggest projects.

Fortescue has announced three projects – two in Australia and the other in the US – have reached final investment decision (FID). The company held its annual general meeting today, where members voted down its contentious executive pay policy.