Victoria

Norway-based REC Group’s REConstruct Initiative is helping communities hit hard by the Black Summer Bushfires of 2019-2020 by donating solar systems to help bring savings on electricity bills and independence to vulnerable areas cut off from the grid during the catastrophic fires.

The impression of another big battery being installed on the site of one of Australia’s recently decommissioned “coal clunkers” was lost on few. Battery system provider Fluence says the Hazelwood Battery Energy Storage System’s business case was bolstered by recent reforms and new technology to take advantage of rapidly changing wholesale electricity market dynamics.

The 300 MW / 450 MWh Victorian big battery in Geelong has today commenced operation. In spite of fire breaking out during commissioning in July, the battery has been delivered in record time, taking less than a year to build and begin operations.

The Victorian government has today announced it will put $5 million towards installing fast-charging stations across the state and $3 million in new charging infrastructure grants for local council and business fleets. The government also simplified access to its $3,000 electric vehicle subsidy, saying the program has led to a 200% sales increase in the last six months.

Simply Energy on Thursday announced it will be extending its Virtual Power Plant program across the eastern seaboard and opening it up to five different battery brands. Simply Energy will continue its technology partnership with SwitchDin to do so, with Ryan Wavish, Simply’s General Manager, and Andrew Mears, CEO and founder of SwitchDin, telling pv magazine Australia they plan to introduce a whole range of new, more advanced features into the VPP as the relationship between the two companies evolves.

The transformation of the former Hazelwood coal-fired power station in Victoria has commenced with French renewables giant Engie announcing work has begun on a 150 MW/150 MWh battery energy storage system which is being constructed at the site.

Geelong Port, one of Australia’s major ports southwest of Melbourne, today announced it will invest $100 million to establish a hydrogen hub in partnership with biomass gasification outfit CAC-H2.

Australia’s largest energy gen-tailer AGL says it has received approval for a 200 MW/800 MWh grid-scale battery to be developed at the site of its coal-fired Loy Yang power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.

After a controversial beginning, the Victorian Solar Homes Program recovered and is now setting new records. From the early days when solar installers were forced to protest due to the unintended effects of the policy’s first iteration, to today when more than 165,000 homes have solar as a result of the program, it is fair to say that Victoria is headed into a bright summer.

Australian property investor and developer Cbus Property has revealed plans to clad a $1 billion commercial office tower being developed in Melbourne’s CBD with a ‘solar skin’ capable of generating 20% of the project’s base building electricity requirements.