Oceania

Virtual Power Plants, or VPPs, are relatively mature in Australia due to the country’s high penetration of, and familiarity with, distributed energy resources. But claims of VPP success and participation may be overblown, with a considerable gaps between the numbers some platforms are claiming and the realms of possibility.

Western Australia will now offer rural and metro-area residents in its main grid the same electricity supply. The move comes after a seemingly innocuous rule change saw regional customers unable to run their air conditioning at the same time as their cooktops – a drama pv magazine Australia first reported in July 2022 which led to sustained community pressure.

Canadian giant Brookfield, which is currently in the process of formally acquiring Origin Energy, has announced its partnership with little-known developer Greenleaf Renewables. The partnership, Brookfield said, will contribute to the 14 GW of renewable generation and storage it plans to build to decarbonise Origin.

Australia’s lithium and base metals like nickel, aluminium and copper are forecast to earn around $47 billion (USD 31.8 billion) in the current financial year, according to the Australian government’s latest forecasts.

Brisbane company Li-S Energy has developed its third-generation semi-solid state lithium sulfur battery cells. The 20-layer cells, produced in its facility in Victoria, are lightweight and energy dense, reaching over 400 Wh/kg.

The New South Wale government’s competitive tender for 380 MW of ‘firming’ battery capacity has now opened.

ARENA has opened the first application round for the government’s national community battery program, allocating $120 million (USD 81 million) to be split equally between networks and other applicants. The program was last week accused of rorting, with independent politicians revealing the locations for a proportion of the promised batteries were selected by the Labor party alone and not based on merit or need.

Australia’s federal parliament has approved a $15 billion (USD 10 billion) National Reconstruction Fund, intended to reverse the nation’s dwindling manufacturing sector. It is the “first step” in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s election promise “to revive our ability to make world-class products”.

Annual investment in renewable energy construction in Australia is forecast to jump almost 50% this year and continue to climb to a peak in 2026 with historically high levels of activity to follow as the country continues its transition away from fossil fuel-fired power generation.

Western Australian battery technology company Altech Batteries has included “game-changing” sodium chloride technology in the design of its new battery 1 MWh GridPack which is expects will be up to 40% cheaper to produce than the dominant lithium-ion alternatives.