Oceania

The Queensland Government will invest $500 million in the development of publicly owned solar and wind farms over the next four years but the Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) has warned the state “risks being left behind” the rest of Australia in its transition to renewable energy.

The proposed 65 MW Tamworth Solar Farm and integrated battery storage system is a step closer to fruition after the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and the Environment gave the project its tick of approval.

The Australian Energy Market Commission has launched an independent review into the rules governing electricity meters to see what needs to be done to accelerate the take-up of smart meters.

When Komo Energy founders Gerald Arends and Jonathan Prendergast spoke to pv magazine Australia almost six weeks ago, Australia’s knowledge gap about the mid-scale segment lay between them and their vision of a flowing pipeline of projects.

Engie and ammonia producer Yara have published findings from their long-awaited feasibility study into the development of renewable hydrogen and ammonia at Yara’s Pilbara Fertilisers plant. The study has led to development plans for large-scale renewable hydrogen and ammonia development with the first phase, a 10 MW solar farm and electrolyser, already instigated.

Several Australian states are going it alone on the the energy transition. The policies adopted by New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and others represent major departures from the existing national approach, and run counter to the neoliberal principles underpinning the current system.

A Hybrid Systems Australia solar and battery energy storage microgrid at Tellus’s remote Sandy Ridge hazardous waste clean up facility means that the project runs off 100% renewable power in daylight hours.

Onslow, a tiny coastal town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia known for its cattle farms and gold mines, has this week been recognised for having one of the world’s most advanced microgrids.

Australia’s failure to set a firm political course to net zero emissions is a profoundly backward act of economic and environmental self-harm. It’s in the national interest that we equip ourselves with not just the political will, but the practical tools required to harness the popular appetite for affordable renewable energy in the absence of a political solution.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has received funding to develop a major Victorian Distributed Energy Resources marketplace in an Australia first trial.