Australia

Market analysis firm GlobalData has released a new report in which it forecasts Australia’s solar capacity to increase by a factor of four, to over 80 GW, over the next decade. At the same time, the report predicts thermal power to lose its dominance in the energy mix, seeing its share cut by almost half.

The University of New South Wales’s Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou, who heads the Hydrogen Energy Research Centre, has launched H2Potential, a hydrogen advisory firm that seeks to incubate and accelerate some of the world’s most promising hydrogen companies as well as advising prominent companies and industry how to join the hydrogen revolution.

Edge Centres’ model for grid-independent data distribution at the edge of connectivity is set to rock regional Australia with its low-cost reliability, and has been welcomed by solar operators in Japan.

Revving up the appetite for EVs, sonnen and Carbar join forces to make electric car “ownership” easy. A new subscription model, with all running costs included, and the ability to trade up at two weeks’ notice, may supersede buying altogether.

Third-generation Wimmera-Mallee farmer Thomas Blair is expanding his fellow farmers’ horizons to cultivate green hydrogen.

A new South Australian big battery will show the value of deploying diverse storage technologies in the NEM. Matt Harper calls pv magazine Australia from Canada, to talk tech.

The regions where the desert meets the sea have long been thought the most desolate and unproductive areas of the world, fruitful solely for those clever cultures who call them home. However, in the 21st century, that fiscal notion is turning on its head, and turning as rapidly as a wind turbine in a tornado, making harsh regions like Western Australia a verified paradise.

Australia’s only solar module manufacturer Tindo Solar has unveiled a new generation 400 W module for the domestic and export markets as the Adelaide-based company rides a wave of success that has delivered a 40% increase in retail orders and 70% rise in wholesale orders in the past 12 months.

Last November, the NSW government announced its Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap which is expected to attract up to $32 billion in private investment for renewable energy infrastructure by 2030. The Roadmap aims to unlock 12GW of new renewable energy capacity from selected Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) with an additional 2GW in storage. Last month, the state government progressed its plans as it opened consultations on “specific urgent and mechanical policy details” on regulations needed to implement the Roadmap.

Australia’s largest energy retailer AGL is forging ahead with its strategy to convert the 1,680 MW Liddell Power Station site into a renewable energy hub, announcing on Friday it has commenced transition planning in preparation for the ageing coal-fired power plant’s closure in 2022-2023.