Grids & Integration

Large energy consumers will be allowed into the wholesale market and paid for reducing their power usage at times of peak demand under a new rule that will be introduced next year.

Who says that upgrade of energy transmission need march across the landscape as massive metal towers strung with buzzing electricity lines? One battery energy storage system provider is offering an alternative vision — fast deployment, scaleability and flexible application of assets that can’t be stranded…

As utilities, networks and governments get their distributed-resource ducks in a row, the time is ripe for VPPs and microgrids to play a more powerful role in Australia’s energy system. The latest? SwitchDin, a DER innovator with globally acknowledged capabilities has attracted investment from Q Cells a PV manufacturer with chops and channels.

One of Australia’s first utility-scale PV projects, the 53 MW Broken Hill Solar Farm in New South Wales, has emerged as a top solar performer in the National Electricity Market in May.

The federal government has announced funding for a series of microgrid feasibility studies that will seek to unlock more secure, affordable, and reliable energy for regional and Indigenous communities.

A new report from the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) shows that the renewable energy sector in Australia has exhibited resilience with 1.3 GW of new installed capacity despite the economic challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. While rooftop PV continued to thrive in the first three months of this year, the construction of large-scale projects was generally on track with minimal delays.

The continuing dominance of the small-scale solar sector and the great potential for regional and rural jobs are just some of the findings in the Clean Energy Council’s “Clean Energy At Work”, a first-of-its-kind extensive report into the current renewable energy workforce and its potential over the next 10-15 years.

Okra Solar, the Aussie startup we last saw delivering solar mini-grids to remote communities via a shared ping-pong table, is emerging from Covid-19 lockdown with new investors and two new pieces of tech that will better enable solar energy access to the 900 million people around the world still lacking power.

Australia’s latest greenhouse gas figures released on Friday show national emissions fell slightly last year. This was by no means an economy-wide effort – solar and wind energy did most of the heavy lifting.

In a major reform of the energy rules, distribution businesses across Australia will be allowed to service remote areas with stand-alone power systems and avoid costly network upgrades.