Australia

As rising renewables penetration and electrification place ever more strain on the world’s grids, the use of grid-forming inverters, rather than grid-following models, will play a vital role in network stability.

Australia’s first large-scale solar garden will be officially launched in the New South Wales Riverina town of Grong Grong with hundreds of ‘gardeners’ on hand to celebrate the milestone that has allowed people previously locked out of rooftop PV to access the benefits of solar.

The rollout of large-scale solar in New Zealand continues to gather pace with renewables developer FRV Australia and joint venture partner Genesis Energy announcing that construction proper has commenced on a 47 MW solar farm at Lauriston on the country’s South Island.

The first stage of Acen Australia’s planned 720 MW New England Solar Farm is home to more than 6,000 sheep that are grazing beneath the panels in a proof-of-concept agrivoltaics project that has no-one sitting on the fence regarding the results.

Singapore-based renewables developer Vena Energy has launched commercial operations of a 125 MW solar farm in Queensland’s Western Downs region that is backed by a long-term offtake agreement with global tech giant Amazon.

Australian National University researchers will put their heads together with Queensland tech company CQSola to find ways to accelerate commercialisation of a direct solar-to-hydrogen system as part of a newly funded project.

The federal government’s plan to deploy 400 community batteries across the nation to soak up excess solar generated on neighbourhood rooftops has reached the Australian Capital Territory with sites for three new battery energy storage systems unveiled.

The Queensland government has promised to design a mandatory developer code for new renewable generation projects to put community engagement and social licence front and centre of the project development process.

A report commissioned by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency has found that if 10% of the nation’s vehicles are electric and utilise vehicle-to-grid connections, they could reduce peak electricity demand at local substations by 6% and save car owners hundreds of dollars per year on charging costs.

Trina Storage has struck a deal to supply 1.5 GWh of integrated energy storage solutions to Pacific Green which has plans to construct what is to be one of Australia’s largest grid-scale battery energy storage systems.