It’s official: Large-scale Renewable Energy Target achieved more than a year early
The Clean Energy Regulator has confirmed it has approved enough capacity to meet the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET). While this is a great achievement for the renewables industry, the question remains what comes beyond 2020. Although analysts expect a slow down, ANU researchers find the record installation rates will see Australia surpass the scrapped target of 41,000 GWh of renewable energy generation around the end of 2020.
NSW gives “critical infrastructure” status to NSW-SA transmission line
The New South Wales (NSW) Government has declared TransGrid’s proposed 900km interconnector from South Australia (SA) to NSW to be a project of Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI). This signifies a strong boost to the dearth of transmission infrastructure revealed by the rapid growth of renewables, particularly solar PV.
AEMO’s 2019 ESOO Report forecasts a summer punctuated by ‘tail risk’ outages
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has today released its 2019 Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO), a forecast of the supply and demand conditions across the National Electricity Market (NEM) as the country moves toward the 2019-20 summer. AEMO warned that a dearth of short and longer-term investment in dispatchable resources and transmission will ensure real-world impacts this summer.
The Chinese solar market is changing shape
Two reports have described how the world’s largest renewable energy market is moving towards maturity. According to the Brookings Institution, the Chinese clean energy market could become more open to Western investors and tech. A report by Fitch claims projects are moving back to inland provinces from coastal regions.
RedGrid is empowering individuals, local communities in the energy revolution
RedGrid sees a future where energy is locally sourced by communities. Using its Internet of Energy and “holochain” architecture, RedGrid’s prosumers are rewarded through the connection of distributed devices, systems and people into micro-grids, effectively, self-sustaining energy ecosystems.
175 MW Finley Solar Farm reaches construction milestone
Stage 1 or an equivalent of 85 MW has been installed and tested at the Finley Solar Farm, one of the many large-scale solar developments in the Riverina region.
Stitching together the grid of the future
A vision of a decentralized, renewable-powered electricity grid is being brought a step closer by scientists at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Their project, Autonomous Energy Grids, aims to take an overarching look at the solutions that will power this grid of the future, and to fill any gaps that appear between them.
Using machine learning and cheap satellite data to design rooftop solar power
Researchers have built a tool to use cheap satellite imagery – like Google Maps – to automatically create solar designs with a 91% accuracy rate.
New US study finds renewable energy storage costs need to drop 90%
Researchers in the US have published a study that brings 20 years of renewable energy (solar PV and/or wind plus storage) generation into line with historical energy-demand profiles, to ascertain at what storage cost point renewables can cost-effectively consistently meet 100% demand.
AEMO: Demand down thanks to rooftop PV, coal generator outages up
The growing share of rooftop solar had a significant impact on Australia’s main grid in the latest quarter, both in terms of reducing operational demand and emissions intensity, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said. Looking ahead, AEMO is seeking to procure off-market emergency reserves to help protect the grid from potential summer blackouts the upcoming summer, as coal generator outages grow in frequency.
