Oceania

The New South Wales government has amended legislation to allow for larger-scale solar systems to be installed on homes and commercial buildings without council approval and to facilitate the installation of utility-scale batteries.

In a major feat for the energy sector, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has provisionally lifted generation constraints imposed on five solar farms in the West Murray Zone, following the successful testing of new tuned inverter settings this week.

New analysis highlights the need of, and Tasmania’s potential for, deep storage to back up Australia’s future energy market. Tasmania is determined to become the Battery of the Nation.

Renewable Investment Fund Solar Bay is dishing out its $350 million mandate over the next three years by buying on-site solar systems to provide discounted PPA’s. The move is part of an ongoing trend in smaller-scale renewable investment.

Sydney-based pre-fabricated solar array manufacturer 5B has selected Enphase IQ 7+ microinverters for the Resilient Energy Collective bushfire relief campaign. The initiative is looking to install stand-alone solar and Tesla battery systems at up to 100 sites around Australia affected by bushfires and floods.

Earlier this month, the Western Australian government released its Distributed Energy Resources (DER) roadmap. Another report focused on the threats posed to grid stability by accelerating solar uptake? Not so, says Bill Johnston, the WA Minister for Mines and Petroleum, Energy and Industrial Relations; it’s about opportunities.

The ten largest solar tracker companies accounted for 88% of the market last year, according to analyst WoodMackenzie, with the market growing 20% from 2018.

The COAG Energy Council’s plan to unlock Australia’s potential to reindustrialise its energy system has taken another step forward with the publishing of an Energy Security Board consultation paper. The paper discusses what the two-sided market required to free up the potential of household energy technology will look like.

With more than half of its electricity already supplied by wind and solar, South Australia is setting the bar high for how to efficiently decarbonize the grid. As it moves toward its 2030 target of “net” 100% renewables, the speed of the state’s energy transition will depend on a host of factors.

Toyota Australia has marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day with the unveiling of the first stage of its green hydrogen production and refueling center at its former manufacturing site in West Melbourne.