Queensland

Australian retailing major Officeworks has flicked the switch on its first behind-the-meter rooftop solar and battery energy storage system as it works towards using only renewable electricity to power operations by 2025 as part of its ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030.

The CSIRO has run an internal ‘Shark Tank’-style competition which will see it test semi-transparent, printed solar films at its greenhouses to assess whether the technology can be used to enhance crops’ growth and cut emissions.

Some of the renewable energy industry’s biggest players have donated equipment, expertise and time to provide a solar and storage solution to help preserve and protect the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world’s seven natural wonders.

The Ross Garnaut-led Sunshot Industries will develop and deliver a renewable energy industrial precinct in central western Queensland which will be linked to large-scale wind and solar projects and provide manufacturing tenants with competitive low-carbon electricity.

Greek industrial and energy giant Mytilineos expects the 40 MW Kingaroy Solar Farm being built in southeast Queensland will be operational before the end of the year following the formal execution of a long-term offtake agreement with SmartestEnergy Australia.

South Korea is opening what it claims is the world’s first hydrogen power generation bidding market, while the Queensland government has approved funding to assess water use in Gladstone’s hydrogen industry.

Queensland’s government has allocated $19 billion (USD 12.9 billion) to deliver on its energy transition plan, with a heavy focus on public ownership of energy assets. Queensland’s flush financial position was enabled by recent change to increase coal royalties, which injected an extra $10.5 billion into the budget.

Queensland project developer the Hydrogen Collective has announced it will have green hydrogen available for supply to commercial customers from late 2023 with construction to begin in the coming weeks on a solar-powered production facility to be built at Goondiwindi in the state’s southwest.

As the hunt for more efficient batteries continues, Queensland energy tech company AnteoTech has sharpened its focus on the development of its silicon anode binder technology and pure silicon anode design that it claims can deliver up to a 35% improvement in energy capacity compared to current high energy battery cells.

The Queensland government has awarded two key contracts for what it says will be the largest pumped hydro energy project in the world, with the proposed 5 GW/120 GWh Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro energy storage system to form a cornerstone of the state’s energy transition.