Queensland

Proponents of CopperString 2.0, a proposed 1,100-kilometre high-voltage transmission line set to connect Queensland’s northwest to the National Electricity Market (NEM), have declared the project is expected to be “shovel ready” within three months.

Queensland network operator Powerlink has indicated battery storage will be a critical part of a bespoke strategy designed to solve system strength issues that have emerged as a challenge for renewable energy generation in the National Electricity Market.

We’ve ticked over into July 2021, and so have left Q2 behind us… now with two units at Callide back in service, and also three units at Yallourn as well (though Yallourn unit four missed its expected return to service on Wednesday 30th June). Let’s hope prices continue to settle down.

As the search for solutions to integrate increasing levels of energy technologies like solar PV and batteries into the electricity grid continues, Queensland-based energy data specialist Luceo Energy has revealed a new software platform designed to help electricity distributors manage consumer-owned devices across low-voltage networks.

Australia is a world leader in the uptake of rooftop solar but the head of Queensland-based renewable energy company REA Global has labelled the nation’s solar installation standards out of date and unsafe.

Australia’s second ‘solar broker’ has entered the market, essentially aiming to link customers with reputable solar installers. With a keen focus on regional Australia, the Solar Saviour startup is looking to grow by engaging country communities and building after-care based referrals schemes, a method its Head of Partnerships, David Cobb, told pv magazine Australia Australia’s solar industry has under-utilised.

Smart energy software company Evergen will provide an energy management platform as part of a net-zero energy emission terrace homes pilot at Carseldine Village, north of Brisbane.

Spanish EPC Gransolar Group’s four member companies across the entire value chain are combining on its first hybrid power plant. The 5 MW solar + storage hybrid power plant near Dalby, Queensland, will supply solar energy to grid service provider Ergon while also taking advantage of all the other revenue streams available to energy storage projects.

The Gladstone Energy and Ammonia Project plans to efficiently use available resources and technology to produce low-cost, relatively low-emissions blue hydrogen from coal, and provide a conduit to commercialising true green hydrogen. A federal emissions policy driving toward a net-zero commitment could properly value GEAP’s place in Australia’s energy and export ecosystem.

In the world of renewable energy, the past carries charge. It can be an anchor, a learning curve, a hurdle. In Bundaberg, it’s quite literally the fuel for the future. And that green future is being energised by an unusual crew: its local government.