Victoria

Transgrid and the Commonwealth Government have come to a $75 million underwriting agreement for the construction of the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West, a key piece of network infrastructure in the Australian Market Operator’s Integrated System Plan for the increased integration of renewables and maintaining reliability amidst the retirement of coal-fired power.

The 7.5MW Cosgrove solar farm in central Victoria has reached financial close and will begin construction as soon as next month after its owners, Bison Energy, reached an agreement with an undisclosed Australian superannuation fund.

A multibillion-dollar solar, battery storage, wind and potentially green hydrogen project in Victoria’s Gippsland region is moving forward after getting backing from superfund Hostplus. Originally proposed by Solis Renewable Energy, the project is now owned by Octopus Australia as part of its joint venture with CFEC.

The Victorian government will fund a floating solar project, an initiative to locally manufacture solar batteries, and install a portable renewable energy system for community services during emergencies as part of its Latrobe Valley program.

ARENA will give $22.8 million in funding to Viva Energy to build a renewable hydrogen and EV charging service station opposite its petroleum refinery in Geelong, Victoria.

The famous Melbourne Cricket Ground is claiming an Australian first with energy retailer EnergyAustralia saying the iconic sports ground in the Victorian capital is the first major stadium in the nation to be run entirely on 100% renewable power.

Australian company Natural Solar has seen a 400% increase in battery installs across Australia within two years. The company’s CEO Chris Williams told pv magazine Australia that Victoria has led demand, growing 350% in the second half of 2021 alone. Williams believes the surge has been driven by several compounding factors.

The Victorian government will be expanding its Solar Homes rebate program into the world of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), announcing on Tuesday that households who install a battery and sign up to the pilot before July 2022 will receive a rebate of over $4000.

The proposed 1.5 GW Marinus Link transmission project, which would link Tasmania and the Australian mainland via an undersea electricity interconnector, has reached another milestone with the launch of a new engineering survey which aims to identify the most suitable corridor for the cables.

Thai-owned Ratch Australia has revealed plans to develop a 70 MW solar PV and large-scale battery energy storage project in the heart of Victoria’s coal country after receiving planning approval from the state government for the $105 million Morwell Solar Farm.