Queensland to pilot second local renewable energy zone
The Queensland government is investing another $40 million into a second 8.4 MW / 18.8 MWh battery energy storage system, up to 2.8 MW of solar and 0.9 MW of demand management for a Townsville local renewable energy zone.
AEMC tweaks grid connection rules to relieve project backlog
The Australian Energy Market Commission has published a final rule to speed up grid connections for new renewable energy generation and storage in light of the pace and scale of projects being built to achieve the national target of 82% of renewables by 2030.
Planning approval for NSW REZ transmission project
The Central-West Orana renewable energy zone transmission project, with a projected network capacity by 2029 of 6 GW, has planning approval to begin building trasmission infrastructure, including lines and energy hubs.
ACLE begins building first in 270 MWh battery project pipeline
Australian EPC contractor ACLE Services has broken ground on a 5 MW / 10 MWh battery energy storage project in northern Victoria that is the first in a planned pipeline of 27 batteries that will be rolled out across regional Australia delivering a combined capacity of 270 MWh.
Melbourne connects first battery as part of planned city network
The first of three planned 150 kW battery energy storage systems that are to form a combined 450 kW / 1 MWh capacity coordinated battery network across inner Melbourne has been switched on.
Singapore fund eyes Australia after acquiring NZ solar developer
Singapore-based renewable energy fund manager SC Oscar has snapped up New Zealand solar project developer Rānui Generation as part of its strategy to build a portfolio of renewable energy assets in both New Zealand and Australia.
$8 billion of transmission projects declared actionable
Seven transmission projects valued at $7.9 billion are declared newly actionable in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s 2024 Integrated System Plan, to progress the 10,000 km of new transmission lines needed to achieve a net zero economy by 2050.
AEMO reinforces role of rooftop solar in energy transition
The Australian Energy Market Operator’s latest Integrated System Plan has stamped the role rooftop solar will play in the nation’s energy transition, revealing that the total capacity of rooftop PV and other distributed solar in the nation’s main grid is forecast to rise from 21 GW to 86 GW by 2050.
Li-S lands funding to explore lightweight batteries in aircraft application
Lithium-sulphur battery play Li-S Energy has been awarded $1.35 million in federal funding to continue exploring the potential of its lightweight and energy dense batteries to deliver a drone that can operate from dawn to dusk on a single charge.
Coal gone by 2038 but renewables investment is key
Renewable energy is the cherry on top of a 25-year plan to secure Australia’s future 100% free of coal-generation where grid-scale renewables, storage and distributed solar, backed by gas, will secure the national electricity market for a predicted 313 TWh of demand by 2050.
