Policy

Construction has begun on a manufacturing pilot project to see battery-grade nickel, cobalt and manganese for precursor battery cathode materials (PCAM) in Perth. The facility is expected to be completed in early 2022 and is one of a number of developments that will look to establish Western Australia (WA) as a materials supplier to the growing battery manufacturing industry.

With the transformation of Australia’s power system accelerating, the Australian Energy Market Commission has unveiled a raft of reforms to improve system strength in the national grid, predicting the changes will smooth the way for new energy resources including large-solar PV and batteries to connect to the grid.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has been on the back-foot since its destruction of 46,000-year-old sacred indigenous sites last year, costing one chief executive his job and one country a timeless piece of its cultural heritage. Along with the impacts of Covid-19 and stock price decline, the company is seeking to rebuild its brand with improved emissions reduction targets, which will see multi-gigawatt solar and wind installations.

A report from Australia’s Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre which analysed the development of battery hubs in the U.S., Germany and Japan, has found that co-location and cooperation between industry and government were key to hub success. For Australia to play the same game, it will have to leverage its wealth of resources, and clean up its act along the way.

Renewable generation is now the cheapest source of electricity, but for many C&I users accessing green energy is a complex proposition. The Victorian Government wants to retain and attract more businesses, build more renewable energy, create more jobs — is a market facilitation platform the next piece of the puzzle?

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed he will travel to Scotland for the United Nations COP26 international climate conference later this month, signalling an about-turn after he had previously indicated he might not attend the talks.

With Prime Minister Scott Morrison under increasing pressure to back a 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target before the United Nations’ COP26 climate conference in Glasgow at the end of the month, a new report indicates the federal government can capitalise on state and territory efforts to keep the global 1.5°C goal in play.

Australia’s largest wholesale solar distributor is expecting shortfalls of supply coupled with 20% to 30% cost increases as a result of the energy crisis in China. The situation in Australia is particularly fragile, pv magazine Australia was told, with our low pricing and the comparable size of our market not playing to our favour in the global battle for solar supplies.

The New South Wales government at long last released its hydrogen strategy today. The wait, according to hydrogen expert Andrew Horvath, has been worthwhile. He described the strategy as clever in its approach to drawing longterm hydrogen investment into the state. “It’s a little bit different the way [NSW] looked at it,” he told pv magazine Australia, refuting the strategy’s branding as less ambitious than other states.

China’s president has detailed plans to accelerate the planning and construction of large-scale wind and PV projects in desert areas, while Wuxi Shanghai announced new granular silicon and nano-silicon production capacity expansions.