Australia

As part of a broader push to develop a domestic hydrogen industry, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing $2.9 million for two studies into using solar and wind-powered hydrogen for ammonia. Both project are located in Queensland and presently use natural gas as feedstock.

The Sydney-based developer has raised funding for the development of a 30 MW CSP project which will be collocated with a 20 MW PV plant. The company’s innovative technology, which uses sodium as a heat transfer fluid to capture concentrated solar energy that can then be stored and used on-demand on the utility-scale, has earned Vast Solar an international award for dispatchable renewable energy technology.

Pumped hydro and battery-storage projects took the lion’s share of feasibility-study grants today awarded under the NSW Emerging Energy Program. Alongside VPP proposals, they feature also in the shortlist of 21 projects now in the running for capital funding.

With hundreds of millions of dollars in assets and funds under management Macquarie Group is seeking to amplify its considerable influence, bringing investment and reporting to bear on accelerating climate mitigation and adaptation.

U.S. research corporation MITRE and the new Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre will partner to take on cybersecurity threats, with an initial focus on protecting South Australia’s smart grid.

Western Australia’s biggest generator and retailer Synergy has blamed rooftop solar for bleeding red ink in the past financial year.

The New South Wales is looking to update its environmental planning policy to respond to energy technology change, removing thresholds and limits for rooftop PV and introducing clear approval pathways for battery storage installations.

Chargefox, Australia’s only public ultra-rapid EV charging network, has announced the 22 locations of its network’s first phase. The target locations link Adelaide to Brisbane, via Melbourne and Sydney.

The showpiece 3.6 GW Fengning county project which will offer grid services and back-up power at the 2022 Winter Olympics is part of a 31.15 GW construction pipeline of projects, many of which are set to come into service next year.

Despite a lack of initiative for the residential battery uptake on the federal level, action on the state and territorial level has been vigorous. In the run-up to the launch of the NSW subsidy scheme, sonnen CEO of APAC Nathan Dunn is talking about the manufacturer’s experience with other subsidy schemes in Australia and what it takes for a successful program.