Technology

Victoria’s Andrews Government has launched a battery aggregation pilot program which seeks to build an “approved aggregation provider list” alongside the Solar Homes battery rebate. The Victorian Government sees the future of virtual power plants and microgrids and this is an opportunity for both consumers and providers to benefit.

Elvin Group Renewables has constructed a 5 MWh Tesla Megapack to help ensure stability of energy supply in Canberra’s new northern suburbs and the wider grid. Its plans to proliferate the model are audacious.

In efforts to improve PV performance by helping modules keep their cool, the Martin Green team is going for 10 degrees lower operating temperatures. Cherry-picking the most practical approaches could deliver 50% extended project life.

New South Wales network operator Ausgrid has unveiled its new community battery in Bankstown, south west of Sydney. The battery is the second of three to rollout as part a government trial to allow solar customers to store their extra energy at no additional cost.

Indonesia-focused oil company, Lion Energy, today announced it had raised $2.8 million to explore opportunities in green hydrogen in Australia and Indonesia.

The Dutch consortium has achieved the record result by combining, in a four-terminal tandem configuration, an 18.6% efficient highly near-infrared transparent perovskite with a prototype of a c-Si interdigitated back contact (IBC) silicon heteroJunction (SHJ) cell developed by Japanese electronics manufacturer Panasonic. The perovskite cell was also combined with other kinds of solar cells and other remarkable record efficiencies were hit.

South Australian company Renascor Resources this morning confirmed it had raised $15 million from institutional investors in Australia and abroad, enough to fund its Siviour Battery Anode Material Project up to the construction phase. The project is on track to become the world’s first integrated mine and purified spherical graphite operation outside of China.

Italian start-up Genius Watter has developed a solar desalination solution that is claimed to be particularly suitable for remote areas with no connection to grid electricity. The system is able to produce up to 1,000 cubic meters of potable water per day at an opex of €0.20 per cubic meter.

The Australian Energy Market Commission, the country’s rule maker for electricity and gas markets, has this morning released proposals to reward fast frequency services in the National Electricity Market for the first time.

Queensland-based Hypersonix Launch Systems has announced a partnership with BOC and its Bulwer Island Renewable Hydrogen Production and Refuelling pilot project. The deal will see Hypersonix use green hydrogen produced by solar electrolysis as rocket fuel to launch re-useable satellites into lower earth orbit.