Oceania

ASX-listed Vulcan Energy, a company working on a project in Germany that it says will deliver ‘zero carbon’ lithium by combining geothermal plants with lithium electrolysis, today announced its pilot produced high grade lithium hydroxide which ‘easily exceeds’ battery grade specification.

Director of the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute, Dominic Zaal, offers a deep dive into the capabilities of concentrated solar thermal technology, including what has been proven by global projects so far and how the all important Power Purchasing Agreements stack up.

In northern Australia, a new hardware-in-the-loop platform is being developed to test renewable projects aggregated generation control systems before commissioning. The platform brings control hardware together with software simulations of passive components to test in real time how different configurations respond. Should the platform successfully complete its upcoming demonstration, it could help solve Australia’s current connection crisis.

Former Tindo Solar CEO, Shayne Jaenisch, outlines how Australia’s renewables industry can avoid forced labour, cut waste, secure its supply chains and create a domestic manufacturing industry.

Melbourne-based renewable energy company Leeson Group has unveiled an Australian-engineered roof solar PV tile that it describes as the highest energy generating solar tile in the world, with a solar efficiency of up to 19.3%.

Gransolar Group subsidiary E22’s Longwarry battery energy storage project has successfully joined the grid in time to improve network reliability ahead of the peak demand summer season.

Online retail giant Amazon has taken the wraps off a 1.4 MW rooftop solar system that will help power operations at its new 15,600 square metre sort centre being developed in Melbourne’s north.

Australia’s first utility-scale solar PV project is marking its 10th anniversary, a milestone that also serves to highlight the pace and scale of the country’s transition to a renewables-led future.

Concentrating solar thermal power specialist Vast Solar has unveiled plans to establish a CSP “gigafactory” to manufacture its heliostats and solar receivers in Australia after a successful trial at a pilot facility in Queensland.

The Victorian government has announced an ambitious target to reach 95% renewables by 2035, to end the state’s reliance on coal generation, and to establish a publicly owned corporation that will see the state hold a controlling stake in new renewable energy projects.