Tasmania tips $2.5 million into solar irrigation project
Tasmanian farmers are set to turn to solar PV to cut energy costs with the state-owned irrigation authority announcing plans to install solar arrays at up to 13 existing pump station sites around the state, offsetting electricity usage and generating surplus power to be fed back into the grid.
‘No one has attempted this’: Proving a new model to bring solar to low-income Australians through Sydney pilot
A pilot program across Sydney’s suburbs is seeking to prove a model its proponents hope will afford low income Australians access to solar at no upfront cost. The soon to be energised systems have been fitted on 64 disability homes and 90 community houses and will operate using a PPA model. “The poor don’t have the opportunity to put solar on their homes,” BlueCHP CEO, Charles Northcote tells pv magazine Australia. “They lose out because they have to pay all the grid charges… and this has not been addressed by the governments at all at this stage.”
Signals are green for new investment in Australia’s transition to renewables and storage
Australia’s energy challenges are getting a lot of airtime: operational challenges with an ageing thermal fleet; global gas shortages sparked by the war in Ukraine sending prices skyrocketing; the rising cost of power bills; the decreasing reliability and impending retirements of coal generation, and the pressing need for firming/storage solutions.
Rugby Run Solar Farm leads utility scale PV performances in August
Indian mining giant Adani’s Rugby Run Solar Farm has been ranked the best performing large-scale PV asset in the country for the month of August as Queensland’s solar farms continued to dominate the latest ratings tables.
‘New lithium province’: miners find significant lithium potential in WA’s Goldfields
WA company St George Mining has found indications its nickel project in the north-eastern Goldfields of Western Australia could also be home to “significant” amounts of lithium. The discovery sits alongside recent findings from miners Red Dirt Metals, Zenith Minerals and Hancock, Hawthorn Resources.
Spanish giant to invest $4.4 billion in Australian renewables, naming it ‘key market’
Spanish company Iberdrola has committed to investing between €2 billion to €3 billion (AU$2.95b – $4.4b) in renewable projects in Australia, aiming for a 4 GW portfolio here “in the coming years.”
Fortescue’s 2 GW electrolyser factory is just the beginning
Newly appointed CEO of Fortescue Future Industries Mark Hutchinson has made it clear that demand for green hydrogen has already far outstripped the company’s upcoming 2 GW electrolyser factory in Gladstone, Queensland. The announcement of new investments in green hydrogen plants from Fortescue Future Industries is now expected in the near future.
NSW announces inaugural tender for ambitious grid transformation
New South Wales is seeking 2,500 GWh of annual generation and 600 MW of long-duration storage for its first tender, part of realising its ambitious NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.
Queensland company capturing biogas from landfills launches IPO to expand battery play
Brisbane-based bioenergy company LGI Limited has listed on the ASX, seeking to raise $25 million for expansions, including fitting sites with batteries capable of playing on spot markets. For the company’s founder, Adam Bloomer, the role of bioenergy in Australia only makes real sense when limited to waste. “If it’s is not a waste stream, I think you’re barking up the wrong tree,” he tells pv magazine Australia.
Mica Creek Solar Farm in Queensland mining hub signs third offtaker
Australian gas company APA Group has signed a third offtake agreement for its 88 MW Mica Creek Solar Farm, currently under construction in Queensland’s mining hub.
