Australia

Gas and oil heavyweight Woodside Energy has shelved two green hydrogen projects in Australia and New Zealand with a combined capacity of 2.3 GW, citing inadequate renewable energy generation capacity, revised environmental demands and challenging economics.

The Queensland government has launched a solar panel recycling scheme with the launch of the first of 15 sites collection sites that are to be established across the state. The program is expected to save 26 tonnes of broken or end-of-life solar panels from landfill annually and will inform the possible rollout of a nationwide scheme.

Mildura Rural City Council has completed a 99 kW rooftop solar system at a sporting precinct in the Victorian regional centre that is expected to generate more than 114,000 kWh of clean electricity per year, enough to satisfy 15% of the facility’s annual demand.

Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Australia experienced extreme and diverse weather throughout July and August, resulting in varied impacts on solar irradiance across the country.

The Australian government’s Energy Update 2024 shows solar electricity generation grew 21% in the 2022-23 period and is 11 times higher than a decade ago, jumping 3% in each of the past two years.

The South Australian Hydrogen Jobs Plan hydrogen power plant has secured development approval for the construction and operation of 250 MW electrolysers, a 100-tonne storage pipeline and a 200 MW hydrogen fuelled power plant.

The Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West 500 kV transmission line has received an $840 million boost to progress its early works, enabling equipment orders, the project’s design, and market and community engagement to progress.

A recurring theme from investors and developers is the significant and increasing time it takes to secure Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act approvals for renewable energy projects in Australia.

Rooftop solar system uptake and 1.2 GW of large-scale solar projects brought online in the past 12 months, have boosted grid reliability in the National Electricity Market, demonstrating a trend the Australian Energy Market Operator forecasts will continue but not without ongoing clean energy investments.

Western Australian energy solutions provider Avid Group has signed a master supply agreement with United States-headquartered company Enervenue which manufactures nickel-hydrogen batteries it says are capable of more than 30,000 duty cycles at two to 12-hour discharge rates.