Australia

Chemical manufacturing accounts for around 10% of global energy consumption and 7% of industrial greenhouse emissions. Researchers at RMIT University have developed a material that can capture 99% of light and directly apply it to power chemical reactions thereby slashing emissions and improving the efficiencies of current processes.

The Robertstown region could host two massive renewable energy projects – a proposed 500 MW solar farm collocated with 250 MW/1000 MWh of battery storage, and a construction-ready 200 MW solar PV farm and 120 MWh energy storage component that form part of the Solar River Project, the size of which could double at a later stage.

A major project featuring 120 MW wind and 50 MW solar PV in Western Australia has secured all state and federal approvals and is scheduled to start construction later this year. An energy storage facility is to be included at a later stage.

Commercial electricity retailer Flow Power has signed an offtake deal with Germany’s BayWa r.e. for 48 MW of clean electricity generated at two of northern Victoria’s largest solar farms – the 112 MW Karadoc Solar Farm and 106 MW Yatpool Solar Farm.

Queensland is in line for its first community-scale battery to be installed on Townsville’s outskirts because of the high number of rooftop solar systems and close proximity to electricity infrastructure. The energy storage system should be operating by the end of the year.

Late 2018 saw the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and Community Power Agency publish a comprehensive plan to power New South Wales and Victorian high schools with 100% renewable energy. Tomorrow, Australian high-school students in most states return to their classrooms with extreme summer weather fresh in their memories. Many will have climate change and energy transition on their minds.

As scorching heatwave drove up air conditioning power demand, faults at coal-fired power plants were directly responsible for blackouts across Victoria and South Australia. Extreme weather is debunking arguments for new fossil fuel generation, and signaling Australia’s energy security lies in renewables.

The South Australian government has released an update on the energy storage uptake under the nation’s biggest home battery rebate scheme. With a total of 101 batteries already installed and more than 500 households now in line for installation, a further influx of applications is expected as public awareness builds.

Japanese industrial giant Sumitomo Corporation has fully acquired Infinite Energy, Western Australia’s solar installer and electricity retailer, thus expanding on its local coal-focused portfolio.

Over 70,000 Australian households will install battery storage in 2019, according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). With the nation’s storage demand set to triple, Australia is forecast to make up 30% of global demand this year.