Australia

The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (WA-EPA) has announced that it will open its greenhouse gas guidelines on June 10, 2019, for public and stakeholder consultation. Its earlier moves to incorporate greenhouse emissions into its evaluation process for resource-industry projects met with strong pushback from the state’s powerful mining lobby.

Australia’s national science agency CSIRO and Canada’s University of British Columbia have announced a memorandum of understanding aimed at accelerating clean hydrogen technologies.

Queensland’s independent Coordinator-General has given its tick of approval for the construction of a 250 MW solar project proposed by Spanish renewable energy developer Acciona Energy.

The Supreme Court of Queensland has ruled that a state government regulation requiring licensed electrical workers to mount and fix unplugged solar panels is invalid.

While the world’s biggest solar manufacturers are confident there are plenty of alternative markets for a rising volume of panel exports, the message spelled out by first-quarter shipment figures is that protectionism works.

Renewable energy investment in the APAC region, excluding China, will overtake spending on oil and gas exploration and production spending by 2020, finds Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy. And Australia is set to emerge as one of the leading investment destinations.

Melbourne-based startup Allume Energy has been selected by Mirvac to provide solar sharing technology to publicly listed property developer Mirvac. The approach, Mirvac claims allows its commercial and residential apartment tenants to consume solar installed on multi-tenant buildings. 

Angus Taylor has been re-appointed Minister for Energy, as announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday.  Taylor will oversee an expanded portfolio and will serve as the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction.  

The world of electricity is unrelenting and confusing; from a multitude of energy plans to deciding on which solar system to install. The fast emerging home battery market now introduces another opportunity for homeowners to save thousands. However, not all battery systems are equal – and not all homes are suited to installing a home battery. The wrong home battery advice can cost homeowners thousands of dollars in unnecessary equipment.

Rebates and zero-interest loans for solar panels, solar hot water systems and batteries account for one of the major spends in Victoria’s 2019/20 budget and come at a cost of $1.3 billion.