Victoria

In a powerful demonstration of Australia’s energy transition, the Victorian State Coal Mine, a tourist attraction in the coastal town of Wonthaggi, is now powered by a solar and battery storage system.

Thirteen of Victoria’s water corporations have partnered to buy clean energy from the Kiamal Solar Farm in north-west Victoria, at a much cheaper rate than would be possible individually.

Construction has been launched on the 34.2 MW Cohuna Solar Farm, one of the three winning solar projects in the first Victorian renewable energy auction.

Due to the immense success of the program — and with rebates now almost fully subscribed — Solar Victoria will accept a final 2,000 applications before the end of June, the state government has announced. New solar rebates will be available in the next financial year.

Sometimes there are old solutions to new problems. But often the problem would be best avoided in the first place. The developers of one of Australia’s most ambitious solar and eventually battery storage projects encountered precisely this – as the rate of wind and large-scale solar development in Australia outstrips the capabilities of the grid, at least in some locations.

Following the decision to require retailers taking part in the Solar Homes program to be signatories to the Clean Energy Council’s Solar Retailer Code of Conduct, the Victorian government has set specific requirements for inverters that will be installed under the program.

The Victorian government is giving smaller solar installers eight months to sign up to the Clean Energy Council’s Solar Retailer Code of Conduct if they want to qualify for the Solar Homes program. For larger retailers, the deadline to become Approved Solar Retailers is July.

Purchasing solar is complex and confusing for customers. They need help in determining which retailers meet higher standards of service and will provide a comprehensive whole-of-system warranty, whose marketing claims can be trusted and whose directors haven’t run other dodgy solar companies that avoid their obligations and rip people off.

Under the new planning mechanism adopted by the Victorian government, permits will be required for the power lines that connect new large-scale wind and solar generators to the grid. The public will be involved in the process of deciding power line routes.

From 1 July this year, the single minimum price Victoria’s solar households will receive for the power they export to the grid will increase by two cents per kilowatt hour. However, under the time-varying tariff introduced last year, the peak rate tariff has been slashed by half.