South Australia

SA Water has bought a significant portion of land from ExxonMobil Port Stanvac oil refinery to build a large-scale solar farm to generate energy for its neighbouring Adelaide Desalination Plant. The project is part of SA Water’s $300 million investment in solar and energy storage.

Network connection works have been completed on Neoen’s upgraded Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia. The 50MW/64.5 MWh expansion will provide an Australian-first large-scale demonstration of the potential for battery storage to provide the stabilizing inertia services that are critical to the future integration of renewable energy.

Virtual inertia is a fundamentally different mechanism to fast frequency response (FFR).

The South Australian Government’s subsidy under the $100 million Home Battery Scheme will have its first planned reduction in five weeks’ time.

The South Australian Government is expected to announce a decrease in the subsidy level and cap for its Home Battery Scheme this week, while the Victorian Government has more than doubled the eligible postcodes for its Solar Homes program.

The South Australian Government has partnered with sonnen to offer 188 families a locally assembled sonnenBatterie as they rebuild their homes.

South Australia is seeing a surge of small-scale utility solar as the niche, particularly around the 5MW mark, can fly under the radar of much of the electricity network’s congestion woes. The newly completed Mannum Solar Farm Project is one such example.

Norwegian giant Equinor is the latest oil and gas company to abandon controversial plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight, following in the backtracks of BP, Chevron and Karoon Energy.

Australia’s biggest power producer AGL and copper miner Hillgrove Resources have agreed to abandon the ambitious pumped hydro project at an old mine pit in South Australia. No longer bound by the project restriction, the owner intends to step up mining and drilling activities at the site.

A new venture funded by the Cannon-Brookes family is looking to install stand-alone solar and battery systems at up to 100 sites around Australia affected by recent bushfires and floods.