Oceania

Queensland’s worst power outage in decades has triggered calls for the introduction of more utility scale batteries capable of providing security for the state’s electricity network.

Queensland is pushing ahead with its ambitions to become a major player in the evolving global hydrogen sector with the addition of both Gladstone and Toowoomba to the National Energy Resources Australia network of hydrogen technology clusters.

In the twelve months since its solar systems were installed, Wagga Wagga City Council saved over $46,000. Given the success, the Council tells pv magazine Australia it is now planning an additional 500 kW system.

A new program has launched on the New South Wales south coast enabling solar generated on residential rooftops to be consumed locally by hot water systems through smart meters alone, helping manage the growing problem of variable electricity in the grid without requiring new infrastructure.

As Australia’s hydrogen hype is substantiated by a pipeline of real projects backed by real money, questions around how to design Australia’s ‘future fuel’ industry so it doesn’t become a fossil fuel lifeline grow increasingly urgent. Nicky Ison, WWF Australia’s Energy Transition Manager, shares the four focal points she believes are key to ensuring Australia’s hydrogen economy is cleanly built.

Victoria’s state government has introduced new rules for solar businesses and energy retailers banning on door-to-door sales of products and announcing penalties of up to $1 million for retailers that wrongfully disconnect the electricity of vulnerable Victorians.

Charles Darwin University’s Deepika Mathur, and Imran Muhammad of Massey University in New Zealand reveal surprising results from their study into why Australians are retiring solar panels before their time, and what it means for our material footprint and the environment.

Murrumbidgee Shire in the New South Wales’ Riverina region is set for a big battery and big flexibility after Edify and Shell Energy came together on a deal that will see the realisation of the Riverina Energy Storage System.

ARENA and green-thumb Angus Taylor have launched a project to demonstrate that renewable energy can be cost competitive compared to fossil-fuel use in the processing of alumina — providing an incentive for one of Australia’s biggest industries to adopt this technology and offer low-carbon alumina to the world market.

Got a startup that’s contributing to the energy transition, to advancing development of “smart” cities, to decarbonisation of agriculture or mines? The ATC has a track record for scaling up promising tech and has just extended its entry deadline to June 7. Opportunity knocks.