In 2021, Australia’s Coalition government pledged to reach net zero by 2050. Four years later, the Coalition have reversed course. After successive election losses, the Liberal and National parties have settled on a new climate strategy: give up on net zero and keep coal plants running longer.

Picture dusk falling somewhere in the Solomon Islands. A fisher’s skiff glides home using a whisper-quiet electric outboard motor. In the Cook Islands, a big battery steadies the island grid. In Papua New Guinea’s highlands, solar kits bring electric light to homes for the first time.

It was the news that rippled around the nation – and then the world: at least three hours of free grid-supplied electricity for Australian households, every day.

The last five years have placed unprecedented strain on global supply chains. Geopolitical tensions, trade wars, natural disasters and the global pandemic have revealed vulnerabilities across industries.

The AFR Energy and Climate Summit focused on demand and AI’s impact on the grid, but the real question is being overlooked: how do we connect data centres without repeating past mistakes in the energy transition?

A 290 MW solar farm and 180 MW / 360 MWh battery energy storage system planned for Queensland’s Fraser Coast region is advancing towards construction after being given the green light by the federal government.

Project developer Recurrent Energy has capped a busy couple of weeks in the Australian market with the sale of a 250 MW solar and 120 MW battery project in New South Wales to an unidentified European buyer.

The International Renewable Energy Agency says solar is the only renewable energy technology where current investment levels are approaching the annual average needed through to 2030 to align with its 1.5 C pathway.

The quality assurance provider reported India-based Insolation Energy, Waaree Renewable Technologies, and Solex Energy retained the top three positions in its Altmann-Z score-based quarterly ranking. Its analysts noted the number of companies with healthier scores increased from nine to 11.

Battery technology developer Li-S Energy has secured almost $8 million in federal government funding to advance planning for a large-scale lithium-sulfur battery cell manufacturing facility in Australia.

SunCable has struck a multi-million-dollar deal with traditional owners that will enable it to develop the biggest solar farm in Australia on a cattle station in the Northern Territory.

Three New South Wales energy distributors have collaborated on the state’s first distribution system plan, which they say can sustain five years of energy transition momentum, while waiting for critical transmission infrastructure to be built.

One-in-five, or 20%, of renewable energy developers responding to an Intium grid-connection survey, say it took them two to three years waiting for grid connection approval, and delays are a threat to Australia’s renewable energy targets.

The South Korean government says all public parking lots larger than 1,000 square metres will be required to install solar power systems from the end of this month, as part of a nationwide policy to accelerate renewable energy adoption in urban areas.

Portugese renewable energy giant EDP, through EDP Renewables Australia, has agreed to partner with the Queensland Investment Corporation to deliver the Punchs Creek Renewable Energy Project near Toowoomba.

Transgrid has issued a progress update on construction of the nation critical 365 km transmission infrastructure project in New South Wales, the HumeLink East and HumeLink West.

Australian energy storage technology company AVESS Energy has completed a $1 million capital raise enabling the progression of projects including vanadium flow battery deployment at the Windimurra Vanadium Project.

Australia founded, Texas-headquartered Infravision has appointed former Space X  and energy systems engineer Frank Tybor as chief technology officer as the company leverages its recent $139 million Series B led by GIC.

Ampyr Australia will relocate the 270 MW Davenport battery energy storage system in South Australia under the new name Northern Battery to a decommissioned, coal-fired power station at Port Augusta, after acquiring it from Green Gold Energy.

Researchers in the Middle East have developed a fuzzy logic controller that simultaneously optimises the tilt angle of PV systems and performs maximum power point tracking. Year-long simulations indicate that the proposed approach increases power generation by approximately 20%.

Tests conducted by a research team in outdoor environments in Spain and Poland have demonstrated a strong correlation between perovskite solar cell degradation and the combined effects of climatic and operating conditions. The scientists found that open-circuit operation accelerates degradation, whereas operation at the maximum power point and under short-circuit conditions has a lower impact.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has committed $25.3 million to SunDrive to support its copper metallisation technology from development at its South Sydney facility to a 300 MW commercial-scale production tool.

Longi Green Energy, JinkoSolar, and JA Solar each posted significant third-quarter losses amid continued price declines and high inventory levels, raising concerns among analysts about oversupply and margin pressure across the PV supply chain.

Two Japanese companies have announced a partnership to advance the recycling of solar panel cover glass for application in architectural flat glass production.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales in Sydney are working with the institution’s spinout company BT Imaging to accelerate the commercialisation of solar cell defect detection technology, thanks to a $1.4 million commercialisation project. 

Tesla says its recall and replacement effort stems from a contained battery-cell defect that has raised safety concerns in both the United States and Australia.

Vast Energy has entered into voluntary administration, with KPMG Australia’s Peter Gothard and Amanda Coneyworth appointed as voluntary administrators to Vast and its wholly owned Australian subsidiary companies.

Octopus Australia has brought the $900 million Blind Creek Solar Farm and Battery project, a local landholder-partnered agrisolar project, to financial close and into construction

Microgrid developer GenOffGrid has launched a solar, lithium and diesel microgrid to power the Auski Munjina Village roadhouse in the Pilbara, Western Australia, over 1,300 kilometres northeast of Perth.

A key infrastructure asset at one of the world’s biggest batteries has reduced operations and delayed completion for more than six months, with few details made public regarding the critical asset.