Victoria

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) this afternoon suspended the electricity wholesale spot market in all five of the participating National Electricity Market states, saying it has become “impossible” to operate.

The rollout of rooftop solar in the western suburbs of Melbourne is set to get a boost with Victorian network service provider Powercor identifying the site where it will install a community battery that is expected to unlock more than 129MWh of solar PV hosting capacity.

Penfolds owner Treasure Wine Estates will install more than 9,500 solar panels across its Barossa and Karadoc wineries as the company seeks to become 100% renewable by 2024. To achieve that goal the company says it is preparing to install 29,000 solar panels across its vineyards worldwide, while also purchasing offsite renewables.

Melbourne’s City of Boroondara council has ordered a homeowner to remove rooftop solar panels on a street-facing facade due to the building’s position in a heritage overlay. In 2021 the City of Boroondara declared a climate emergency and called for a tripling of rooftop solar in the municipality. The homeowner described the decision as “ridiculous.”

With architects and construction companies across the world showing an increasing interest in building integrated PV, one Australian company has outlined plans to clad an eight-storey building being constructed in West Melbourne with a “solar skin” that will generate almost all of the building’s base power.

The Victorian government has announced a multi-million-dollar expansion of its $11 million Neighbourhood Battery Initiative after what is being described as the state’s “first inner-urban” community battery energy storage system was switched on in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

Australian engineering firm UGL has begun building the 125MWp Glenrowan Solar Farm in Victoria’s northeast after solar-focused developer Esco Pacific announced it had finalised the sale of the project to Australia-based contractor Cimic Group.

A parliamentary committee has recommended the Victorian government explore options to allow greater integration of distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar PV into the grid as climate activists urge the state to ramp up its renewable energy ambitions.

One of Australia’s largest regional cities has signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Victorian network operator AusNet Services’ independent subsidiary Mondo Power as part of plans to install solar PV arrays on 90% of city-owned buildings in less than four years.

Chinese inverter brand Sungrow has signed a 79 MW inverter and 176 MWh battery energy storage contract with Sydney-based hydrogen battery company Lavo. The contract will see Sungrow add its storage solution to 16 mid-scale solar farms in Victoria.