Western Australia

Solar installations can rarely be described as a crowning glory, but this Pilbara health clinic hums with renewable energy that is an integral part of its nurturing, elegant, proud design.

A Victorian solar installer has been fined $500,000 for a string of workplace safety breaches, including a 2019 incident where a worker suffered serious injuries after falling through a skylight.

Australian miner Northern Star Resources has partnered with independent power provider Nomadic Energy to more than triple the capacity of the solar farm at its Carosue Dam gold mining operation near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

On Monday, an Australian–Japanese consortium announced plans to potentially develop a $1 billion plus ‘low emissions’ hydrogen project in Western Australia. The announcement was preceded by a year of gas companies loudly declaring schemes to blend hydrogen into their pipelines. Clearly, many powerful Australian are putting their money on a like-for-like transition. pv magazine Australia spoke to hydrogen experts Andrew Horvath and Scott Hamilton about how they see the hydrogen wave evolving, and why a clean swap is unlikely.

Australian Vanadium Limited has appointed a Western Australian engineering firm to begin the stage one of what it says will become the country’s first vanadium electrolyte manufacturing plant, part of the company’s broader value adding vision.

As part of the Western Australian government’s 2021-22 Budget, Premier Mark McGowan announced a new $50 million fund to stimulate the growth of the state’s green hydrogen industry for domestic use and exports. The fund comes on top of several ongoing initiatives and includes funding for private industry feasibility studies, including one which will see bp repurpose its Kwinana Oil Refinery into a green fuels hub.

For a small infrastructure investment in rooftop solar systems, state governments can make a material difference to the lives of social housing tenants, and further their net-zero ambitions. Western Australia reports another win-win.

The suitability of vanadium redox flow battery technology for Australian residential and commercial applications is set to be tested with Perth-based energy storage company VSUN Energy planning to deploy three 5 kW/30 kWh flow batteries.

As technology redefines the delivery of network services, grid operators in remote areas the world over are searching for more cost-effective and reliable alternatives to traditional poles and wires. Standalone power systems are the solar application that is at the forefront of the switch, and they’re ramping up fast.

Residents in the West Australian town of Kalbarri are set to welcome the state’s largest renewable energy microgrid with state government-owned utility Western Power confirming commissioning and an operational trial of the hybrid system is due to commence next month.