New South Wales

Regional New South Wales will soon be home to a new solar PV and battery energy storage project with construction beginning on the community-owned Latitude Solar Farm being developed at Boggabilla in the state’s far north.

The Australian Energy Regulator has approved more than $300 million of funding to support early works on the HumeLink project which is expected to boost overall transmission capacity in New South Wales, paving the way for gigawatts of new wind, solar PV and storage projects.

Less than a year after agreeing to work with Australian steel company BlueScope, Shell is now stepping back from the plan develop a pilot-scale 10 MW green hydrogen electrolyser at the Port Kembla Steelworks and further the vision for a hydrogen hub in the Illawarra.

Lightsource bp will reach financial close on its 400 MW (DC) Wellington North solar farm in New South Wales and its 90 MW Wunghnu Solar Farm in Victoria by the end of 2022, making it one of Australia’s largest solar developers.

The owner of Australia’s biggest coal-fired generator has added another large-scale solar PV project to its renewable energy portfolio with the acquisition of the 60 MW Yanco Solar Farm being developed in the New South Wales Riverina region.

Newcastle-based clean energy company MGA Thermal has secured federal government funding to develop a 5 MWh pilot plant to demonstrate the generation of steam from stored thermal energy with the capacity to provide a new form of medium-term energy storage.

Bringing on board gas giants APA Group, Inpex Corporation, Osaka Gas and distributor Jemena, AGL and Fortescue Future Industries say their Hunter Valley coal to hydrogen hub conversions could be as large as 2 GW – though the insistence on green hydrogen does appear somewhat muddied by the new partnerships.

Fourth-generation Victorian dairy farmers this week commissioned their 250kW rooftop solar system coupled with 520 kWh of battery storage from Australian company Energy Renaissance. The couple are forecast to save at least $70,000 annually with the system, cutting their grid reliance by 95% and hopefully inspiring neighbouring farms.

New South Wales is a step closer to adding another big battery to its network with Greenspot securing planning approval from state government authorities for a massive 500 MW/1,000 MWh grid-connected battery to be developed at the site of the defunct coal-fired Wallerawang Power Station near Lithgow.

New South Wales has given the green light for another large-scale solar PV and battery project with German-owned renewable energy developer Wirsol Energy announcing it has secured amended development approval for a 445 MW solar and energy storage hybrid power plant in the state’s central west.