South Australia

South Australian technology company EntX has been granted a license to explore salt deposits along the western side of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia for the purpose of hydrogen storage.

Canadian-headquartered clean energy firm Amp Energy has secured the rights to develop a green hydrogen project with up to 5 GW of electrolyser capacity on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. Amp has signed an agreement with iron ore miner Iron Road which owns the coastal site, including the Cape Hardy Port Precinct.

Australian renewable developer GMR Energy, formerly Maoneng, has started work on its 240 MW / 480 MWh battery project on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. The company has entered into an early works agreement with network AusNet, and is aiming to complete the $330 million (USD 220 million) by 2024, two years after the company had originally forecast.

A South Australian racecourse has now become a fully operational DC-coupled solar and battery farm. The Berri Energy Project, owned by retailer Flow Power, is part of the company’s strategy to build up to 50 MW of mid-scale (sub 5 MW) projects to supplement its offtake portfolio, Flow Power COO Byron Serjeanston told pv magazine Australia.

Construction of the New South Wales section of Australia’s largest energy transmission project has reached a major milestone with the first of an estimated 1,500 new transmission towers that will form a key element of the $2.3 billion (USD 1.53 billion) EnergyConnect project installed near Buronga in the state’s far west.

Australian battery technology innovator Sparc Technologies is reporting “exceptional” results in its campaign to develop sustainably sourced hard carbon material for the production of anodes for the nascent sodium-ion battery market.

Plans to develop a major green hydrogen production facility near the South Australian industrial city of Whyalla has sparked global interest with the state government revealing 29 international and domestic players have signalled their interest in delivering the project.

South Australia’s electricity transmission network owner ElectraNet has completed an estimated $300 million (USD 199 million) upgrade to the Eyre Peninsula transmission link, paving the way for more wind, solar and battery storage opportunities to connect to the grid in the region.

Both the Australian Energy Regulator and Victoria’s Essential Services Commission have pointed to default electricity price rises of more than 30% for residents and small business.

South Australian electricity distributor SA Power Networks has announced it will work with retailers AGL and Simply Energy to explore opportunities to enable the orchestration of existing rooftop solar systems, an innovation that is expected to support the increased uptake of renewables and help the stability of the grid.