Oceania

The multi-functionality of building-integrated PV (BIPV) shapes as a key driver to increased PV penetration in the Australian energy market as rooftop installations continue to dominate.

Spanish solar companies are passing business to each other in Australia like a football between Xavi and Iniesta. X-Elio has announced fellow Spanish company GRS as the EPC for its big entry into the Australian market, the 200 MW Blue Grass Solar Farm in Queensland’s Western Downs.

New South Wales Minister for Transport and Roads, Andrew Constance, has announced an accelerated 2030 target for the transition of the NSW Government’s 8,000 strong bus fleet. With buses moving that quick Sandra Bullock must be behind the wheel.

Batteries are coming to a grid near you, if they’re not there already. Little ones in households and big ones like in Hornsdale, South Australia are being deployed in support of the clean energy revolution. But what are they doing there? What can batteries do?

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.