Oceania

The unstoppable growth of Australia’s rooftop PV fleet continues to eat into the pie previously reserved for coal and gas, a new audit of the National Electricity Market shows. Meanwhile, the nation’s electricity consumption has remained mostly flat despite a Covid-19 pandemic-induced economic slowdown.

The government of the Federated States of Micronesia wants to increase power generation capacity on the islands of Yap and Kosrae.

New analysis from Green Energy Markets (GEM) and community-led group Solar Citizens suggests that more than 51,000 jobs could be created in Queensland (QLD) if all the large-scale renewable energy projects currently in the pipeline were given the green light.

The 67.8 MW Goonumbla Solar Farm, the third of eight projects contracted by Snowy Hydro, is up and running after delivering its first output yesterday.

With the race to find cheap, efficient, non-polluting ways of generating and storing hydrogen, a new study aims to set out a roadmap for navigating the pathway towards the establishment of a large-scale technology and supply chain based on ammonia.

A new report published on behalf of a majority of Victorian local councils outlines a course of action for large-scale EV charging station rollout across the state. One key finding shows an enlarging gap in charging infrastructure available to those who drive a Tesla and those who don’t.

Last week the Morrison Government launched the revamped version of its energy price comparison website, Energy Made Easy. The website carries new features installed by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) designed to help Australians get a better deal on their energy bill.

Soluna Australia brings high-quality Chinese-made DLG batteries to the Australian residential, commercial and off-grid markets, but the trade isn’t one way: Australian-developed recycling technology will result in high-grade recycled cathode powders from batteries used in Australia being reincorporated in DLG manufacturing.

Solar research in Australia has “a long history of being generously funded”, says Senior Lecturer at UNSW, Richard Corkish, but the gap in available grant monies emerging as ARENA nears the end of its current remit could jeopardise some of the country’s most important solar research and development as well as the hubs of expertise themselves.

Australia’s ability to fuel a manufacturing boom has never been greater. A timely new study by the Centre for Future Work shows what plugging production into solar, wind and hydro could do to build competitive industries and a sustainable, high-employment scenario.