Australia

The Queensland and New South Wales state governments have reaffirmed their commitment to the solar, wind and hydrogen industries with the establishment of new bodies which will help guide the states in their transition toward a renewable energy future.

Utility-scale solar energy investor New Energy Solar has confirmed it will sell off its Australian portfolio, declaring the policy and regulatory environment for renewables in Australia is not conducive to growing the business and achieving economies of scale.

Battery technology company Relectrify has turned its focus to the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector with the launch of a 36 kW / 120 kWh commercial-scale modular battery energy storage system (BESS) which utilises second-life electric vehicle (EV) battery packs.

Smart metering services provider Intellihub cracked the million meter mark this week as the smart meter market in Australia and New Zealand surges off the back of continuing solar uptake.

Australia’s largest energy retailer, AGL, is working towards net-zero emissions by 2050 but it can not come soon enough for some with new government data revealing the energy giant is the nation’s biggest polluter, emitting more than 42 million tonnes of carbon emissions in the past year.

A “tidal wave” of new solar and wind energy in Australia is poised to wipe out several coal-fired power stations in the National Electricity Market (NEM) with a new report suggesting the financial viability of the fossil-fuel generators will be so severely compromised within five years closure will become an attractive or even unavoidable choice.

Construction has commenced on the 300 MW / 450 MWh Victoria Big Battery storage facility near Geelong after the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) provided French renewable energy developer Neoen with a $160 million funding injection.

With rooftop solar installations numbers hitting record highs right across the nation, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has announced new technical standards for inverters will be introduced to help the electricity grid cope with the influx and provide system strength.

With rooftop solar surging, smart power electronics will be required to secure system strength and ensure that new limitations on rooftop PV don’t put a break on growth. Italy-based power electronics supplier FIMER believes its new range of string inverters are well equipped to do just that, as explains Fimer Australia and New Zealand’s Jason Venning and Warren Merritt.

Gransolar’s battery division, E22, will reportedly develop 13 large-scale batteries in South Australia, Victorian and NSW.