Oceania

Over recent years, the energy industry has been working hard to provide the structure and a regulatory framework for a market that recognises the value of coordinated demand response. Today marked the second wave — after the opening of the FCAS market in 2017 — of opportunity for organisations to trade their flexible electricity loads on the wholesale electricity market. The resulting efficiency gains are an important piece of the energy transition puzzle.

Destined for a range of heavy duties, from transporting mining supplies to moving temperature-controlled freight the first SEA 300-85 has been manufactured in Melbourne.

After a failed bid last year to gain control of Australia’s Infigen Energy, Philippines-based AC Energy takes over its partner’s 51.6% stake in UPC\AC Renewables.

Underground hydrogen storage seems to be coming up a lot lately, and with the burgeoning hydrogen industry needing somewhere to store itself, it’s not hard to understand why. One of the countries with the best credentials for the future hydrogen economy is Australia. A newly published report has quantified the country’s “massive opportunity” for underground hydrogen storage.

One year on from its spinoff from SunPower, cell and module maker Maxeon Solar Technologies is looking to supply both “across and through” the solar market segments in the Asia-Pacific region. Chris O’Brien, the vice president of APAC for Maxeon, says that the region is set to grow in importance among PV marketplaces, with opportunities on the home, business and free field.

Queensland government-owned utility Ergon Energy has opened the doors to a new $6 million “world-class” research and development hub designed to accelerate the integration of renewable energy technology including microgrids and standalone power systems into the state’s electricity network.

The continued rollout of rooftop solar PV and large-scale wind and solar farms continues to reshape Australia’s electricity market with new data released by the Australian Energy Market Operator revealing that the penetration of renewable energy continues to drive new records in the National Electricity Market.

South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution has launched a new inverter in the Australian market, adding a 5 kW hybrid inverter to its Residential Energy Storage Unit (RESU) Home battery energy storage range.

Construction has begun on a manufacturing pilot project to see battery-grade nickel, cobalt and manganese for precursor battery cathode materials (PCAM) in Perth. The facility is expected to be completed in early 2022 and is one of a number of developments that will look to establish Western Australia (WA) as a materials supplier to the growing battery manufacturing industry.

With the transformation of Australia’s power system accelerating, the Australian Energy Market Commission has unveiled a raft of reforms to improve system strength in the national grid, predicting the changes will smooth the way for new energy resources including large-solar PV and batteries to connect to the grid.