Australia

Vehicle manufacturer Foton and gas company BOC have signed an agreement to develop the hydrogen bus sector in Australia and New Zealand, allowing technology they say is already “widely used” around the world to become affordable in a region where it is still nascent.

Oil and gas giant Woodside Energy has submitted the proposal for its 500MW Solar Facility to the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority. The proposal sees Woodside looking to install up to one million solar panels to help power industrial customers in the region, including its own Pluto LNG export facility.

The investment is planned to support development and construction of Hydrostor’s 1.1GW, 8.7GWh of Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage projects that are well underway in California and Australia, and help expand Hydrostor’s project development pipeline globally.

Wood Mackenzie has predicted solar equipment cost increases will ease back after last year saw the average cost of solar electricity rise for the first time in the Asia-Pacific region.

Western Australia’s state-owned electricity company Horizon Power has installed 19 solar + battery standalone power systems for farmers in Esperance on the state’s southern coast.

Lightsource bp, the solar arm of oil major BP, is proposing to build an ‘agrisolar’ project in the Upper Hunter region big enough to provide 4% of New South Wales’ (NSW) electricity demand.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has announced $40 million in research and development funding is up for grabs across two streams. Stream 1 consists of cells and modules, and Stream 2 is focused on balance of system along with operations and maintenance. It is hoped the additional funding will spur Australia’s pioneering solar research to push for the federal government’s “ultra low-cost solar” target of $15/MWh.

Korea Zinc, non-ferrous metal smelting company, has agreed to invest $50 million in Energy Vault, a Switzerland-based gravity storage specialist, in order to use its tech to decarbonise its refining and smelting operations in Australia.

Reliance Industries said its solar unit will buy UK-based sodium-ion battery technology provider Faradion for GBP100 million (AUD$187 million) including debt, as the Indian conglomerate pushes forward with its ambitious plan to move into the renewable energy industry.

Hydrogen is frequently touted as a major player in decarbonisation, and it is. But it will only be used at scale much later, and at a much lower level than solar and wind.