Australia’s biggest battery project changes shape as Equis reaches FID, begins construction
Through a co-funding deal with Victoria’s newly revived SEC, Equis Development has reached financial close and begun construction on phase 1 of its giant 1.2 GW Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub. Plans for the hub, which includes gigawatt hours of storage, seem to have shifted somewhat, with phase 1 now three independent batteries of 200 MW with either two- or four-hours of storage.
Solar productivity negatively impacted by emissions and aerosols, study finds
A study by engineers at UNSW, published in the Renewable Energy journal, shows that aerosols and greenhouse gas emissions reduce the productivity of photovoltaic installations and that this differs according to the global region.
The extraordinary story of rooftop solar in Australia’s National Electricity Market
The sun is shining, the weather is sweet. In this Opinion and Analysis piece, Lumi Adisa, Director of Energy Market Analytics at NEOM and ex-Investment Director of Energy Markets at Octopus Investments Australia, presents a deep dive into the unprecedented impact of rooftop solar in the NEM. As rooftop solar continues to drive changes in the intraday demand and price trends, it is evident that customers will remain a significant part of the energy transition for years to come.
Performance parameters for residential heat pumps linked to PV, storage
German researchers measured a PV-powered heat pump with battery storage in a single-family home in Freiburg, Germany, for a period of a year. It features smart grid-ready tech that adjusts operations based on the grid.
Another WA town transitions to solar and batteries
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 signs 20% First Nations equity deal on flagship Queensland project
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.
Sparc selects Adelaide site to pilot photocatalytic hydrogen production following CSIRO demo
Having completed first prototype testing outside the lab for its green hydrogen photocatalytic water splitting technology, joint venture company Sparc Hydrogen has been working on its pilot plant study, selecting a site “proximal to Adelaide.”
New research claims PV outperforms afforestation in combating climate change
Scientists from Israel have calculated how long it would take for PV plants and afforestation projects to offset their warming impacts caused by the darkening of land. The results showed that in drylands, PV fields could be over 50 times more efficient than afforestation.
Thermal storage company breaks ground on its renewable agriculture facility in NSW
Australian thermal storage company, Graphite Energy, has broken ground on its Lake Cargelligo facility in New South Wales which aims to demonstrate how renewable energy and agriculture can coexist through agrivoltaic and green house systems.
Weekend read: Connecting HJT
The application of busbarless cell interconnection approaches could unlock the potential of heterojunction (HJT) technology, primarily by reducing the historically high silver usage of negatively-doped, “n-type” cell technology. As HJT production increases, a wave of applications may very well be on the horizon.
