Oceania

Major construction work on the first new electricity interconnector to be built between Australian states in 15 years has commenced with transmission company ElectraNet confirming work has begun on the South Australian section of the $2.3 billion Project EnergyConnect which will link power grids across three states, potentially unlocking gigawatts of renewable energy projects in its path.

One of Australia’s largest residential and commercial solar PV retailers and installers has announced it will exit the market, declaring low margins and once-in-a-generation disruptions to the supply chain brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic have taken a toll.

Two of Australia’s most prominent energy players, Fortescue Future Industries and oil and gas giant Woodside Energy have been included on a shortlist of potential development partners for a proposed 600MW green hydrogen production and export facility planned for New Zealand’s South Island.

Renewable energy investors have again shattered the New South Wales Government’s expectations with more than 80 clean energy projects representing more than $100 billion of potential investment registering for the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone.

A bill which would make home batteries up to $3,000 cheaper nationwide has been tabled by Independent MP Helen Haines. Haines proposes making home batteries eligible for Small-scale Technology Certificates, the same scheme behind Australia’s thriving rooftop solar sector.

The Victorian government will be expanding its Solar Homes rebate program into the world of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), announcing on Tuesday that households who install a battery and sign up to the pilot before July 2022 will receive a rebate of over $4000.

Australia’s first national battery recycling scheme, B-cycle, launched today giving Australians the opportunity to drop their spent household batteries at a collections bins in supermarkets, stores and community clubs across the country. 

South Australia will extend its ‘Switch for Solar’ program in which eligible low-income residents can opt to have a solar system installed in exchange for their next ten years of government concession payments.

A fire caused by a lithium-ion home battery system in northern Adelaide over the weekend has led authorities to urge solar and battery owners to be vigilant with maintaining their systems.

Australia has hit a historic milestone, reaching 25GW of installed solar. As the Australian PV Institute noted on Monday, that’s more solar per capita than anywhere else in the world.