Oceania

Tasmania’s port authority has entered into an agreement with Fortescue Future Industries for land and operating access for its proposed 250 MW green hydrogen plant at Bell Bay, in Tasmania’s north.

The Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources is inviting discussion on its newly proposed Guarantee of Origin certification scheme for hydrogen production. The discussion itself however, which is welcomed by hydrogen industry stakeholders, has a long way to go before its methodology works to accurately differentiate hydrogen produced by renewables from other sources.

Perth-based TNG Limited has signed an agreement with Malaysian green hydrogen company AGV Energy which will see its vanadium redox flow batteries integrated into the HySustain project to store solar energy for green hydrogen production.

The Gladstone Energy and Ammonia Project plans to efficiently use available resources and technology to produce low-cost, relatively low-emissions blue hydrogen from coal, and provide a conduit to commercialising true green hydrogen. A federal emissions policy driving toward a net-zero commitment could properly value GEAP’s place in Australia’s energy and export ecosystem.

Is there something fishy about Environment Minister Sussan Ley rejecting the Asian Renewable Energy Hub’s development application? The murkiness of the federal government’s drive to make Australia an exporter of hydrogen, of any hue, gives rise to concerns.

Gladys Berejiklian’s government in NSW surges ahead in the race to drive meaningful reductions in transport emissions; while a former NSW Liberal leader turns car washes into solar-powered charge stations!

The group behind an ambitious plan to develop more than 600 MW of solar PV and 600 MWh of energy storage in Victoria’s Gippsland region have announced planning for one of the projects included in the proposed three-pronged renewables portfolio is underway.

Solar PV module manufacturers have been put on notice with Environment Minister Sussan Ley warning they need to formulate a recycling strategy as the growing number of decommissioned panels threatens a waste management nightmare.

Legal doubts have emerged about the Morrison government’s proposed change for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency which would allow it to finance a broader range of technologies including some using fossil fuels.

Western Australia utility Horizon Power has achieved a major milestone with the coastal town of Onslow powered 100% by solar PV and battery during a successful trial of what is one of Australia’s largest distributed energy resource microgrids.