Victoria

Queensland-based data centre operator Edge Centres has announced its first off-grid 100% solar-powered centre for Victoria, taking the new company’s centre total to five as it forges ahead with plans to transform regional Australia.

East Grampians Health Service, located abut 200 kilometres west of Melbourne, will install a 174 kW system on the roof of its carparks after receiving funding from the Victorian government’s Building Works package.

The Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation has won over $1 million in funding from the Victorian Government for the development of a 4.9 MW solar farm, as well as several other community arrays. This is a win for Indigenous self-determination and a proven long-term income and employment stream which will help to “enable a healthy, strong and vibrant Aboriginal community”.

A global registry that uses satellite images to map and quantify the rollout of solar PV across rooftops in some of the world’s most iconic cities has ranked Melbourne among the top five for solar roof utilisation.

The development of a “world-first” marketplace designed to maximise the value of distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar PV, batteries and electric vehicles is on track with the Australian Energy Market Operator confirming it expects to start trialling the platform in early 2022.

Victorian network service provider Powercor claims a major works program designed to alleviate grid congestion in areas of high rooftop solar PV penetration has boosted the approval rate for new solar connections to export excess energy to the grid by an impressive 30%.

Renewable energy developer MPower is progressing plans to establish a portfolio of up to 20 small-scale solar PV farms in Australia, confirming binding purchase agreements have been signed for two 5 MW project sites.

The Victorian government has launched its second Victorian Renewable Energy Target auction, aiming to attract “at least” 600 MW of new renewable energy capacity to the state.

Researchers at Melbourne’s Monash University have used lessons learned during the development of a solar PV powered microgrid at its Clayton campus to produce an interactive ‘toolbox’ designed to support the uptake of the technology in commercial, industrial and community settings.

Victorian distribution network provider United Energy will deploy 40 custom-built community batteries across Melbourne’s southeast as part of an $11 million project designed to better manage the increasing penetration of rooftop solar PV and periods of peak demand on the network.