Western Australia

Frontier Energy’s plans to produce green hydrogen powered by renewable energy sourced from the potential 500 MW Bristol Springs Solar project it is developing in Western Australia has received a major boost with a study revealing the cost of hydrogen production could be as low as $2.85 per kilogram.

Australian mining technology company TNG Limited, which owns the world’s most advanced vanadium project – the Mount Peake Project in the Northern Territory, is having its leadership team formally challenged by a shareholder campaign criticising the project’s setbacks and slow progression.

International mining giant BHP has pushed forward with its first large-scale off-grid renewable energy project, installing the first solar PV panels at a 10.7 MW solar farm that will help power the company’s estimated $1 billion Nickel West mining operation in regional Western Australia.

Project Symphony provides a glimpse into Western Australia’s energy future, argues the project’s communications lead, Megan Allan. With a large, islanded network featuring high levels of rooftop PV penetration, the pilot on Western Australia’s grid is aggregating residential PV into a virtual power plant (VPP) to participate in a simulated bidirectional wholesale electricity market.

Australian renewables developer South Energy has announced a series of “significant milestones” with a trio of large-scale solar PV and battery projects, with an aggregated capacity of more than 390 MW, getting the tick of approval from relevant authorities.

Renewable energy developer Epuron Holdings has abandoned plans to construct a 5 MW solar farm on a former landfill site in Western Australia after failing to secure a commercial agreement with an electricity retailer to purchase the power to be generated on the site.

As Australia seeks to move beyond its global quarry status, the country’s first Cathode Precursor Production Pilot Plant launched on Monday in Western Australia’s Curtin University.

Solar installers operating in Western Australia’s South West claim recent changes made by the sole network operator, Western Power, are forcing them into a no-win situation of either operating ‘unethically’ or haemorrhaging customers. And for regional customers, the changes mean installing a renewable system will likely see their household unable run basic household appliances without constantly tripping the power.

Australian miner Liontown Resources has declared the way is now clear for construction to commence on its $545 million Kathleen Valley Lithium Project in Western Australia after inking an offtake agreement and $300 million financing facility with global car manufacturing giant Ford Motor Company.

Days after announcing it would abandon coal-fired power by the end of the decade, the Western Australian government has set an ‘ambitious’ interim emissions target in a bid to reach net zero by 2050.