Federal government unveils first community battery, district not selected on merit
The first of 400 planned community batteries has now come online in the Sydney district of Reid as per a promise Labor made while in opposition. The 412 kWh battery is sorting power from 50 households with rooftop solar and sharing electricity with approximately 150 households.
Distributed PV, battery storage curtailment in low-voltage networks
University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers have looked at energy losses in South Australia and have identified average curtailment of 1.5% for distributed PV sites and 0.2% for distributed PV coupled with batteries, but some locations experience generation losses of up to 25%.
NSW raises coal royalties, adding $2.7b to future budget
New South Wales has increased its coal royalty scheme for the first time since 2009 in a move that is expected to boost the state’s budget by more than $2.7 billion (USD 1.72b) from 2024 to 2028.
Low-cost, ‘graphene-enhanced’ perovskite solar cells to be produced in funded Wagga Wagga project
Two Australian companies working in solar R&D have been awarded over $2 million (USD 1.3 million) for a project seeking to commercialise ultra-low-cost, flexible perovskite solar cell fabrication. The solar cells will be “graphene-enhanced” and are to be produced in Halocell’s Wagga Wagga plant in NSW.
New research finds Australia’s lithium deposits likely extend across eastern states
New research from the University of Sydney pinpointing the concentration and distribution of lithium in Australian soils has found elevated levels in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
NSW government starts talks to extend life of Australia’s largest coal plant, Eraring
The New South Wales (NSW) government will now “start the conversation” with Origin Energy, owner of the Eraring power station, to keep the coal plant open beyond its scheduled retirement in August 2025.
MPower starts building after purchase of 5 MW Narromine project completed
Construction is to commence immediately on a 5 MW solar project being developed at Narromine in western New South Wales as Australian renewable energy developer MPower’s continues to progress its mid-scale solar strategy.
Snowy Hydro plans contract reset amid $12 billion cost blowout
Snowy Hydro has revealed the budget for the Snowy 2.0 project has blown out to $12 billion (USD 7.8 billion) and the giant pumped hydro storage project is now expected to commence operations seven years later than originally scheduled.
One Global Logistics awarded two new solar farm projects, expands operations in Brisbane
In Fiscal Year 2022/23, the logistics solutions provider has already delivered 16 solar projects representing 1.6 GW capacity across five states in Australia. As a result of continued growth, the company is expanding its operations.
Renewable PPAs see Sydney councils save $36 million
An alliance of eight Sydney councils have saved their ratepayers over $36 million (USD 23 million) by organising 100% renewable energy power purchasing agreements and working together on local energy projects.
