Technology

The Australian Energy Market Commission has published a new ring-fencing rule for transmission network companies as it seeks to boost competition for grid connection services and speed up the deployment of new solar, wind and battery projects.

The South Australian and California state governments have signed an historic agreement that will see them work together on advancing the clean energy transition and the integration of renewable energies, including green hydrogen, into their respective grids.

With demand for power in Melbourne forecast to grow from its current peak of 470 MW in recent years to 700 MW, electricity distributor CitiPower has begun phase one of a major upgrade to the city’s high voltage underground cable network.

The Chinese manufacturer said the new product has an efficiency of up to 19.46% and a temperature coefficient of -0.30% per C. It is available in bright red, light gray, brown, green, blue-green, orange, and ocean blue.

More than half of Australia’s electricity demand is expected to be met by solar by 2050 but not as we know it with an industry expert tipping solar windows, photovoltaic paint, printed film, and more efficient tandem cells will play a key role.

An Australian start-up spun out of the CSIRO has been awarded a grant to build a 5 kW electrolyser that will be deployed at a United Kingdom power plant operated by French energy utility EDF.

The focus of the federal government’s $22.7 billion commitment to Australia’s clean energy future has been queried with concerns raised about the capacity of the nation’s electricity network to support the shift from fossil fuel generation to renewables.

A high-voltage interconnector linking Australia’s eastern and western electricity grids would optimise the generation-storage mix for a minimum-cost solution as the nation transitions from a fossil-fuel-dependent economy to one based on renewable energy, according to a new paper.

A 150 MW solar farm and a 250 MWh battery energy storage system proposed for Victoria’s Central Highlands by British renewables developer Elgin Energy has won planning approval from the state government.

A recent analysis shows that renewable energy could partially replace diesel fuel to power instruments and provide heat at the South Pole. A team of researchers has proposed a solar, wind and battery energy storage hybrid system that could reduce diesel consumption by 95% and save approximately $86 million over 15 years, after an initial investment of about $14.5 million.