ARENA awards $29.2 million to 20 solar R&D projects
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced that it will award multiple Australian universities and research institutes with a total of $29.2 million to support early-stage research into new solar innovations.
Construction begins on Australia’s first hybrid solar+wind+storage plant in Queensland
Ground was broken on the 60 MW project in a ceremony held on Monday. Developer Windlab limited says it expects the $160 million project to be completed in late 2018.
CRC-P awards $8.34 million for three green projects
Under the Cooperative Research Center Program 4th Selection Round, the Australian Federal Government will extend a grant for a smart home energy management system. Other awarded green projects involve an energy storage technology alternative for lithium-ion batteries and innovative generation of low cost, zero-emission, reliable electricity.
ABB to supply storage, microgrid to Woodside gas platform
Independent oil and gas producer Woodside will deploy a battery and microgrid solution on one of its offshore gas platforms. The system is planned to reduce the facility’s gas consumption for electricity supply and its O&M costs.
ARENA grants $6 million to Greatcell to advance perovskites
A funding agreement has been signed between Australian solar cell producer Greatcell and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which pledged to allocate $6 million to underpin commercial development of perovskite solar cells.
November’s rooftop record, large C&I, storage still to come
A major milestone was surpassed in the Australian PV market last month, indicating that the rooftop solar sector is in robust health. However, not tracked in the figures underlying the record are large commercial rooftops and distributed battery storage, and reports are that here too strong growth is being achieved.
ATA launches free solar+storage calculator for homeowners
The not-for-profit Alternative Technology Association (ATA) has launched a free service through which homeowners looking to install a solar+storage system can get information on how to best size their system.
Australia welcomes formal creation of International Solar Alliance
As it officially came into force on Wednesday, the International Solar Alliance was welcomed by Australia, one of its 19 founding members.
Decmil, Maoneng sign MOU for 250MW PV project in NSW
Based on an exclusive memorandum of understanding, Australian EPC Decmil is poised to design and construct one of the largest solar projects in New South Wales. The company is in line for a $275 million engineering contract with Chinese group Maoneng in March next year.
Yes, South Australia’s battery is massive, but it can do much more besides
Last Friday, the “world’s largest” lithium-ion battery was officially opened in South Australia. Tesla’s much anticipated “mega-battery” made the 100 days or it’s free deadline, after a week of testing and commissioning.
