Sustainability

A coalition of peak bodies has called on Australia’s energy ministers to work together to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and resist the temptation to focus only on short-term solutions when they meet today to discuss the “apocalyptic rises in energy prices” impacting Australian energy markets.

The Australian Capital Territory’s switch to 100% renewable electricity is providing electricity users in the nation’s capital with protection from skyrocketing energy costs as consumers in other parts of the nation grapple with rising energy bills.

With architects and construction companies across the world showing an increasing interest in building integrated PV, one Australian company has outlined plans to clad an eight-storey building being constructed in West Melbourne with a “solar skin” that will generate almost all of the building’s base power.

Australian supermarket giant Woolworths has marked a major milestone in its rooftop solar program with a store in the Canberra suburb of Conder becoming the retailer’s 150th outlet to be fitted with solar PV panels.

With industry figures warning Australia is on the “precipice” of an energy crisis, federal, state and territory ministers will meet next week to discuss the situation with skyrocketing gas, petrol and electricity prices being described as a “perfect storm”.

Western Australia’s City of Stirling has fast tracked its investment in an estimated $6 million solar PV program in a bid to maximise potential savings and reach its goal of sourcing 100% of the city’s electricity needs from renewables by 2030.

Australian power producer AGL Energy has abandoned its plan to split the company into two, conceding defeat in the face of “opposition from a small number of investors” including major investor Mike Cannon-Brookes.

A parliamentary committee has recommended the Victorian government explore options to allow greater integration of distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar PV into the grid as climate activists urge the state to ramp up its renewable energy ambitions.

It’s been just over 24 hours since Anthony Albanese was sworn in as the new prime minister of Australia and already his government is coming under heat for its longstanding refusal to block the 114 coal and gas projects under development in Australia, especially the recently approved Scarborough and Beetaloo projects. With a number of seats still in doubt, Labor may need to up its ambition with the ‘Greenslide’ election on Saturday leaving little doubt about Australian’s desire for climate action.

Incoming Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has promised to make the nation a “renewable energy superpower” in the wake of Labor’s federal election victory at the weekend.