Australia

The ducks are lining up for the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone to break ground in 2023. With money in the bank, TransGrid today begins community consultation on the proposed transmission corridor to support this efficient approach to renewable energy development.

South Australia is leading the nation in terms of renewable energy penetration, with rooftop solar a major contributor. But the state’s hard-won ability to deactivate thousands of rooftop solar systems in response to grid voltage disturbances has caused significant disruptions to solar installers. With a deeper look inside the changes, it appears to be a good thing for solar in the state, as well as other markets in which distributed PV is growing rapidly.

The coupling of solar PV energy facilities with water treatment plants continues to grow in popularity with two Queensland councils taking the plunge this week, announcing plans to commence construction on behind-the-metre solar farms.

With the Victorian Government determined to make Victoria a renewable energy leader, one of the smallest local government areas (LGA) in the state is doing its bit to make a big impression with small-scale solar PV uptake, giving free rooftop solar systems to community organisations as part of the Yarra Solar Program.

Geelong oil refinery owner Viva Energy remains on track to become a producer of green hydrogen using solar energy after signing a landmark deal with US-headquartered hydrogen vehicle company Hyzon Motors to work together to provide zero-emission vehicles coupled with hydrogen refuelling solutions in Australia.

Debt financing services from Bank of China, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Westpac, have brought the first 400 MW stage of the New England Solar Farm to financial close, a massive milestone for massive hybrid project.

Enova Community Energy have confirmed clean energy giant Tesla will supply the battery for its first grid-scale shared community battery and peer-to-peer solar energy trading project being developed in the New South Wales Hunter Region.

Western Australian Opposition Leader Zak Kirkup has unveiled an ambitious new energy policy in the lead up to the state election, announcing a $400 million jobs and renewable energy plan which would see coal phased out along with big investments in solar, wind and hydrogen.

Energy utility AGL has reaffirmed its ambition to have 850 MW of new large-scale battery storage in its portfolio by the end of 2024 after announcing falling power prices and an outage at the coal-fired Liddell Power Station in New South Wales had wiped out more than a quarter of its half-yearly profit.

The highly successful Western Australian community battery rollout continues with the expansion of the PowerBank trial, run by the state’s biggest generator and retailer Synergy in conjunction with state-owned network operator Western Power.