New South Wales

Australia’s first large-scale solar garden will be officially launched in the New South Wales Riverina town of Grong Grong with hundreds of ‘gardeners’ on hand to celebrate the milestone that has allowed people previously locked out of rooftop PV to access the benefits of solar.

The first stage of Acen Australia’s planned 720 MW New England Solar Farm is home to more than 6,000 sheep that are grazing beneath the panels in a proof-of-concept agrivoltaics project that has no-one sitting on the fence regarding the results.

Australian battery materials technology company Sicona has confirmed it will develop its first commercial manufacturing facility in the United States as part of its ambition to become the biggest producer of silicon-carbon battery materials in the world.

Energy generating and retailing giant AGL and joint venture partner Someva Renewables have committed to provide local councils and community organisations with “tens of millions” of dollars in funding if their proposed 1.5 GW Pottinger Energy Park planned for the New South Wales Riverina region proceeds.

Australia’s “largest-ever” tender for renewable energy will open next month with the federal government targeting 6 GW of new solar and wind projects as part of its expanded Capacity Investment Scheme that is seeking 32 GW of additional capacity to support the nation’s clean energy transition.

Development of an 800 mw / 9,600 MWh pumped hydro project within the New South Wales government’s Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone is advancing with renewables company Acen Australia announcing it has started geological works on site.

New South Wales-based clean energy company MGA Thermal has raised $5.7 million to prove the scale and industrial capabilities of its thermal energy storage technology that stores heat in blocks made largely from aluminium and graphite and dispatches it to generate electricity.

A volunteer-based community group is using profits generated by commercial and industrial rooftop solar installations to help build a “bridge to the future” as the Illawarra region on the New South Wales south coast transitions its workforce into new employment.

One of Australia’s biggest privately owned wine manufacturers has launched a 5.6 MW solar farm to help power its operations in the New South Wales Riverina district, with a second utility-scale PV facility in the pipeline.

The first access rights for up to 6 GW of new solar, wind and storage capacity in the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone are now on offer as the New South Wales government continues to progress Australia’s first coordinated renewable energy zone to reality.