Tasmania

Tasmanian farmers are set to turn to solar PV to cut energy costs with the state-owned irrigation authority announcing plans to install solar arrays at up to 13 existing pump station sites around the state, offsetting electricity usage and generating surplus power to be fed back into the grid.

Aspiring green hydrogen manufacturer Countrywide Hydrogen will explore solar-to-hydrogen co-development opportunities in the island state of Tasmania after inking a deal with large-scale solar PV and battery energy storage specialist Wirsol Energy, which already operates a portfolio of Australian projects with a combined capacity of more than 720 MW.

Tasmania is on track to reach its renewable energy target after a registration of interest process revealed 25,000 GWh of new large-scale renewable generators and energy storage projects are currently seeking approval for development in the island state.

Brisbane startup Line Hydrogen today announced a deal with Canada’s Jericho Energy Ventures’ which will see it bring hydrogen boilers to Australia.

Australian renewables company Wave Swell Energy says the time has come for wave power to sit alongside wind, solar and energy storage as part of a modern energy mix after a 12-month trial of its technology in the seas of Bass Strait produced an average rate of conversion from ocean energy to electricity of up to 50%.

Porsche-backed HIF Global has lodged plans with Tasmania’s Environment Protection Authority to build a renewables-powered green hydrogen facility in the state’s north-west that would be used to produce a “highly competitive” e-fuel, or electricity-based fuel, that can be directly substituted for fossil fuels in conventional car engines.

A green hydrogen production facility planned for Brighton, Tasmania, is progressing with its developer, Countrywide Renewable Hydrogen, owned by ReNu Energy, announcing it has an option to lease its identified site and has drawn up a term sheet with a local contractor.

The market operator today announced a “staged” return to the national energy market’s normal operations as 4000 MW of generation capacity comes back into operation.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) says it has not suspended solar and wind project commissioning, though it noted the schedules for some projects have been adjusted because of the ongoing energy supply crisis.

The Tasmanian government is calling for registrations of interest from developers of new large-scale renewable generators and energy storage projects, and existing and proposed energy intensive load projects to participate in shaping the state’s first renewable energy zone.