Queensland

I had quite the epiphany in the winter of 2020. I began to realise that selling cheap solar systems isn’t actually a smart thing to do in the long run. I’d heard all the rumours from old heads of the industry, but went in a bit wet behind the ears with the old ‘it couldn’t happen to me’ mentality. But replacing solar panels that were only four years old made me wise-up very quickly.

The Queensland government released its Climate Action Plan 2030 online yesterday, an apparent roadmap for the Sunshine State to meet its renewable 2030 and 2050 targets while creating jobs and helping the economy recover from the impact of Covid-19. But is the Action Plan merely a plan to take action?

Acciona Energía has received approval from the Queensland state government for an expansion of its plans for the Aldoga Solar Farm outside Gladstone. Originally slated as a 250 MW project, the project will now reach a capacity of 600 MWp and work to support the development of Gladstone’s green hydrogen hub.

The Queensland government has approved a new “state-of-the-art” renewable energy skills centre in Brisbane, which will provide training to prospective and current electrical workers to enter clean energy industries.

Households with residential batteries have doubled in Queensland in the last two years, though cost remains a barrier – as it has with electric vehicles. As prices fall, however, the state is likely to welcome the technology with open arms, as it has with solar. 37% of Queensland households now harvest the sun’s energy and a further 22% looking to install or upgrade their systems, according to the government’s Queensland Household Energy Survey. Of those with solar systems, 93% would would replace their panels with the same size or larger, if they were to fail.

Brisbane-based battery casing company Vaulta has more to celebrate than just Brisbane’s winning 2032 Olympic and Paralympic bid. The company has won a Federal government Accelerating Commercialisation grant that will see its innovative design pushed ahead as the tide of electric vehicles rising globally.

More than half of regional Queenslanders believe clean energy industries will be major employers by 2030, according to a new survey, while just shy of half support transitioning to a renewables-dominated grid in the next 15 years or sooner. The survey focussed only on regional Queensland, excluding greater Brisbane area and Gold Coast, an area renowned for conservatism.

The number of residential home batteries in Queensland has doubled while electricity bill cost concern has almost halved, found the “biggest survey of its kind” conducted in the state. The survey’s findings, which set to be released in full later this week, were summarised this morning by Queensland Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen, Mick de Brenni, at a virtual event.

Hydrogen vehicle maker, Hyzon Motors, has signed an agreement to deliver five fuel cell-powered heavy-duty trucks to Ark Energy Corporation, the Australian subsidiary of the world’s largest zinc, lead, and silver producer, Korea Zinc Ltd.

Adelaide-based module maker Tindo Solar has notched a win for the Australian manufacturing sector, delivering the panels for a $2.4 million solar PV and battery energy storage program rolled out by the Queensland government.