Australia

Resources giant Rio Tinto will install two 5.25 MW solar farms at its Northern Territory Gove Peninsula bauxite mine to reduce carbon emissions and leave sustainable power supply for First Nations people after the mine’s closure later this decade.

Three pumped hydro projects that would deliver a combined 1,035 MW / 9,480 MWh of dispatchable capacity are among six projects that have been declared critical state significant infrastructure by the New South Wales government, potentially smoothing the way for their approval.

Construction has begun on a solar and battery-based microgrid that is to provide the northeast Victoria town of Corryong with crucial energy resilience, helping keep the power on during emergencies such as bushfires and storms.

The ball is rolling on the Australian government’s pending Capacity Investment Scheme Tender 2 focussing on the Western Australian Wholesale Electricity Market and which seeks an indicative target of 500 MW of four-hour equivalent dispatchable capacity, or 2,000 MWh.

The roll out of rooftop solar in Australia has slowed with a total of 248 MW of new capacity registered across the country in June, a 14% decline on the previous month and the lowest tally since January.

Australian flow battery specialist Redflow has struck a partnership with Queensland state-owned generation company Stanwell to work together on the development of a non-lithium long-duration battery energy storage solution for use in a 400 MWh project.

Scientists from Australia’s national science agency and the electricity research and development arm of global tech giant Google have developed a new ‘smart’ inverter they claim is almost twice as fast and about 50% more efficient than existing commercial inverters.

The Northern Territory government has detailed plans to convert one of the gas-fired turbines at the Channel Island power station to operate as a synchronous condenser as a new report reveals the Territory’s electricity system is in a “prime but precarious” position.

Chinese manufacturer Sigenergy has launched a new modular energy storage solution that combines a hybrid inverter and battery pack with a built-in energy management system. The inverter series offers a range of power options from 50 kW to 110 kW.

The Australian government has beefed up its commitment to community batteries to support the integration of renewable energy in the grid with more than 420 battery energy storage systems to be installed in neighbourhoods across the country as part of its Community Batteries for Household Solar program.