Oceania

Australian minerals explorer Allup Silica aims to target the booming solar panel industry after independent tests confirmed the presence of premium silica sands – a key component of high-end glass manufacturing – at its Sparkler project in Western Australia.

The head of the country’s energy market operator has reiterated his call for the development of a mechanism that incentivises dispatchable capacity, saying it is critical to underpin the growth of renewables as Australia’s energy transition continues to accelerate.

South Korean solar and battery manufacturer Qcells has partnered with finance lender Plenti to launch a home solar, energy storage, and virtual power plant (VPP) solution for Australian customers. 

The battle of the billionaires has become the stuff of headlines. The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has gone head-to-head with Australia’s richest man, billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest.

Queensland-based energy company Line Hydrogen is to develop a gigawatt-scale renewable energy facility and green hydrogen production plant in Western Australia after joining forces with mining services contractor Blue Cap Mining.

United States-based engineering firm FTC Solar has won the contract to supply its Voyager solar tracker technology for the 128 MW Cunderdin hybrid solar PV and battery energy storage project being developed in Western Australia.

Former Northern Territory chief minister Michael Gunner plans to focus on developing “world-changing, economy building” clean energy projects in Australia’s north after accepting a new role with mining magnate Andrew Forrest’s renewable energy company Fortescue Future Industries.

Islandable microgrids are a growing niche, especially in remote regions at the end of electricity networks or parts of the world prone to natural disasters and outages. Renewably powered microgrids can provide a community with more stability and operate independently, so vulnerable regions are not reliant on distant sources of generation, as was the case during Australia’s Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20, when communities were left powerless. From California to Australia’s southern coast, the study and deployment of microgrids is on the rise. pv magazine’s Blake Matich takes a look.

It’s been easy to get caught up in all the news from the Victoria and Queensland governments proposing record-setting funding and environmental targets by 2030 and 2035, along with the news of AGL bringing forward the closure of Loy Yang A.

Plans to build one of the world’s largest renewable energy powered electrolysers in Queensland continue to gather pace with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency awarding $13.7 million (USD 8.8 million) to the proponents of the project to help finance a $38 million front-end engineering and design study.