Australia

The Asian Development Bank says developing countries in Asia and the Pacific should consider developing their own solar industry supply chains as the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed their over-reliance on China to carry through the energy transition.

With the Australian solar industry fast heading towards a significant downturn, the Clean Energy Council has reported that it will be “unlikely and difficult” for new rooftop solar installations to be classified as an essential service if restrictions are tightened. Despite the apparent gloom, industry experts advise that there are opportunities as householders look to invest in their homes during the Covid-19 crisis.

A hot energy topic with little coordinated analysis, green hydrogen has attracted the nous and number crunching of BloombergNEF. And what numbers! The investment! The required renewable capacity! The potential for emissions reduction! 

Since 2015, Kidston Clean Energy Hub has inspired renewable developers with the potential for hybrid projects. Its envisaged re-use of old gold mining pits for pumped-hydro storage that would concentrate the benefits of colocated solar and wind resources hit a snag in 2019, but today Genex Power executives are celebrating a milestone deal that will enable more than their own ambitions…

The Australian Youth Climate Coalition intends to utilise the fact that many of its constituents are at home and online due to COVID-19, and train young climate-concerned Australians to effectively organise against the influence of the fossil-fuel lobby.

While the full extent of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemics on the renewable energy market is yet to reveal itself, Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy predicts new solar and wind projects will grind to a halt this year and experience a ripple effect in the years beyond as currencies across the globe continue to fall against the US dollar.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has published its first knowledge sharing report under its landmark virtual power plant (VPP) demonstrations program, which is intended to provide insights into the scalability and network services potential of VPPs. The report details how the South Australia-based Tesla-Energy Locals VPP responded to price signals and frequency level and helps further understand the benefits consumers can have from participating in VPPs.

Monash University-led researchers have made a discovery that will dramatically reduce lithium-from-brine extraction times and accelerate our energy future. The breakthrough, innovative and ingenious, is as simple and as complex as a sieve.

The British university will use Redflow zinc-bromine flow batteries at its Active Building demonstrator – an award-winning classroom that generates, stores and releases solar energy at the point of use.

The California-based energy technology company has expanded its partnership with Rexel Group to include Australia-wide distribution.