Oceania

Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), owned by mining giant Fortescue Metals, has submitted a proposal for a green hydrogen and ammonia production facility project in Canada’s British Columbia. Dubbed ‘Project Coyote’ the facility would be located in the city of Prince George in the centre of the Canadian province.

Tesla has recently registered as a “Market Customer” with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). This development, brought to light by industry expert Jon Sibley, has sparked intrigue into Tesla’s intentions in Australia’s retail energy sector.

Data shows a sharp increase in the number of fires caused by the DC isolators that separate the grid from solar panels. ABC News gathered state-by-state data revealing a dramatic increase in fire incidents in the last 12 months. 

Japanese company IHI Corporation, which specialises in green ammonia technology to decarbonise industry, has joined the consortium of companies developing the green hydrogen hub HyNQ – North Queensland Clean Energy Project.

One of Australia’s best known solar recycling companies, Reclaim PV, has been handed down a windup notice by Victoria’s Supreme Court. The company’s insolvency highlights the deep issues of solar recycling and the complexity of trying to create circularity in an overwhelmingly linear approach.

A new report by Climate Energy Finance has revealed Australia’s diesel Fuel Tax Credit Scheme disincentivises growth in future industries and will cost taxpayers $37 billion (USD 23.8b) in lost tax revenue by 2030. The report also illustrates how capping these rebates represents a multifaceted advantage for Australian manufacturing of low and zero-emission mining vehicles.

The $54 million (USD 34m) raise for Zen Energy, managed by Western Australian Property developer Hesperia and ASX-listed Income Asset Management, is the first tranche of around $150 million that Zen Energy is aiming to raise for its pipeline of projects.

The figures for large-scale certificates registrations across most of Australia this year are dismal, despite the nation adopting a far brighter policy landscape. “There’s a very large discrepancy between rhetoric and what’s actually occurring,” Sunwiz managing director Warwick Johnston tells pv magazine.

Modelling from UNSW and the Australian PV Institute has found governments investing in rooftop solar for state-owned and NGO-owned social housing would save low-income tenants money, deliver returns within just a handful of years, and support the grid with new generation.

Gentari, a subsidiary of Malaysian state-owned oil company Petronas, plans to build between 5 GW to 8 GW of solar, wind and battery projects in Australia by 2030. The ambition follows its acquisition and rebranding of Wirsol Energy, which marked the Malaysian company’s entry into the Australian renewable energy market.