Oceania

Australia’s Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced a major overhaul of Australia’s Net Zero 2050 commitments, while taking aim at the previous federal government’s inaction on climate change.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded $3.7 million in funding to Enel X to add hundreds of supermarkets and refrigerated warehouses to a virtual power plant (VPP) operation to provide flexible demand to the National Electricity Market. 

Traditional owners in Western Australia’s East Kimberley region will partner with investment and advisory firm Pollination to develop what would be Australia’s largest solar farm as part of plans to build a giga-scale green hydrogen and ammonia project in the country’s northwest.

The founder and deputy chair of Australian-based investment firm St Baker Energy Innovation Fund plans to establish a lithium-ion phosphate battery manufacturing plant in the Philippines with annual production capacity of 1.2 GWh by the end of the decade.

Australian modular PV array manufacturer 5B’s preassembled and relocatable modular solar technology has been awarded international honours with the United States-based World Future Awards panel naming it the best solar solution in its clean tech category.

The traditional owners of Yindjibarndi lands in Western Australia have struck a deal with Philippines-based energy giant ACEN Corporation to develop more than 3 GW of wind, solar and battery storage in the state’s Pilbara region.

The consortium partners behind an export-scale green hydrogen and ammonia production facility planned for north Queensland will advance the mega project from concept to feasibility stage after signing a formal heads of agreement.

Solar data and forecasting provider Solcast, a DNV company, has detailed the solar irradiance data it collected for Australia in June, showing that eastern New South Wales received irradiance about 15% above normal for the month, while central and western Victoria received totals 10-20% lower than normal.

The Queensland government has reaffirmed that Singapore-headquartered Keppel Infrastructure has joined the consortium of Australian and Japanese energy companies seeking to develop a 3 GW renewable hydrogen project near Gladstone on the central Queensland coast.

Japanese oil and gas giant Inpex has struck a deal to buy 50% of Italian utilities giant Enel Group’s Australian renewable energy platform, Enel Green Power Australia, handing it joint control of a solar farms portfolio that includes 254 MW of installed capacity and another 170 MW of renewables under construction.