Northern Territory

The Federal Government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility is backing Melbourne-based investment firm Merricks Capital to the tune of $37 million for the construction of a 10 MW solar farm and a 12 MW gas power plant south of Darwin. The twin projects are set to be the first privately owned and operated energy projects in the Territory.

An ARENA-backed project will focus on addressing barriers to further renewable energy penetration in the Alice Springs local electricity network.

The Australian federal government is fast-tracking the world’s biggest solar and storage project in the sun-drenched Tennant Creek region that aims to power Darwin and export solar from the outback to Singapore and eventually Indonesia via a submarine transmission link.

The Northern Territory is an energy powerhouse, pulsing with oil and gas expertise, LNG processing plants and a burgeoning solar scene. The government’s new Renewable Hydrogen Strategy seeks to leverage such skill sets and infrastructure towards a green-hydrogen industry and net-zero emissions by 2050…

The Northern Territory Government has released its Climate Change Response, a directive officially adopting a 2050 net-zero emissions target and 50% renewable energy by 2030 target. The Climate Council has welcomed the response, saying that the NT now joins the rest of Australia’s states and territories in effectively forming a “de facto national net-zero target”.

The Northern Territory’s rollout of solar panel installation at 25 schools is picking up speed, and Victoria is looking to follow suit after announcing the application period open for its Greener Government School Buildings program following the success of a pilot program.

Redflow Batteries’ latest partner is Northern Territory veteran power-related products company Delta Electrics. Andrew Boller, General Manager of Delta Electrics, believes Redflow’s zinc-bromine batteries are ideally suited to the hot, demanding conditions of the Top End.

Titjikala, a remote indigenous community southeast of Alice Springs, is getting set for the installation of a battery energy storage system to complement the 400kW solar array installed in 2018 as part of the Solar Energy Transformation Program. Energy storage has the potential to significantly reduce the community’s diesel dependence.

The Northern Territory Government has announced a Reform Program, an itinerary of electricity market changes to take place in the near future in order to better integrate renewable energies, particularly solar.

Following hot on the heels of Sun Cable’s awarding of its unprecedented cable route survey contract to Guardian Geomatics Pty. Ltd., the company has also announced planning approval for a Darwin megabattery to form an integral part of its Australia-ASEAN Power Link.