Oceania

Telecommunications giant Telstra has continued it transition to renewable energy, signing a long-term agreement to purchase electricity from the Crookwell 3 Wind Farm being built near Goulburn in New South Wales.

Japan’s biggest oil refiner Eneos and Tokyo-based trading house Sojitz have entered the large-scale solar sector in Australia, announcing they will build a 204 MW solar farm in Queensland.

The Queensland government has underscored its commitment to a clean energy future, announcing a $2 billion fund to be used to finance new renewable energy and storage projects, hydrogen production and clean energy resources projects.

An increasingly dynamic low-carbon hydrogen market has seen a deluge of government support, corporate commitments, announced projects and even bystander intrigue over the past 18 months. We believe this activity amounts to a paradigm shift which will see green hydrogen – hydrogen created from the electrolysis of water using renewable energy – emerge as a key element of the energy transition.

Italian energy giant Enel will implement an experimental agrisolar program at its 34 MW Cohuna Solar Farm in Victoria with data from the research project to be used to help formulate a “best practice” template for utility scale solar PV sites in other countries.

Governments and car manufacturers are investing hundreds of billions of dollars on electric vehicles. But while the electric transport revolution is inevitable, the final destination remains unknown.

Solar module manufacturer Q Cells Australia has revealed a growing number of residential customers are contemplating exiting the grid entirely as policy makers grapple with how to integrate increasing amounts of small-scale renewable energy technologies like rooftop solar PV and batteries into the electricity grid.

16-months after construction began in northern Victoria the 149 MWp Glenrowan West Solar Farm has finally been completed and commissioned despite the extenuating circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As the Australian Energy Market Commission rifles through submissions on its reform package proposal, the Commission’s Chief Executive, Benn Barr, tells pv magazine Australia about some of the “profound changes” which have been overlooked and why he thinks two-way pricing is crucial.

State-owned electricity generator Stanwell has secured land in Aldoga, west of Gladstone, to build a large-scale 3 GW hydrogen electrolysis plant as part of its partnership with Japan’s Iwatani Corporation, well established in the hydrogen production industry.