ARENA

“We need 16 GW of storage in the NEM to complement the renewable generation coming in,” said former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at a renewable energy conference this week. And in one sense, that’s all you need to know…

The traditional coal and gas hub of Gladston is turning into a green hydrogen mecca with two new ambitious projects in the pipeline. The city has been selected to host a gigawatt-scale green hydrogen and ammonia development and a gas injection facility to blend renewable hydrogen into its natural gas network.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has approved the construction of a large-scale solar PV and battery energy storage system for its Koodaideri mine in Western Australia. When completed, the solar plant will be in the running for Australia’s largest PV installation at a mining site.

Melbourne startup Relectrify is on the verge of a U.S. breakthrough with its highly efficient and cost-effective battery storage technology.

Encouraging money to chase firming of renewables is expected to be just one positive byproduct of a proposed new financial derivatives platform that will allow industry players to hedge against volatility in the pricing of renewable energy.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is in desperate need of a short-term funding extension as its funds to allocate to new projects is set to dry up by mid-2020. The Australia Institute has published a discussion paper urging the Morrison Government to legislate.

This long Australia Day weekend, Australians may be considering what it takes to survive on their continent. One company based in arid Arizona has partnered with ARENA to demonstrate how solar PV can combine with other technologies to solve some of the country’s biggest problems — take a sip of Renewables 2.0. 

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is set to fund Australian energy technology company Wattwatchers to the tune of $2.7 million. The funding will aid the development of a consumer-facing energy data hub, ‘My Energy Marketplace,’ another step forward in consumer energy empowerment.

The Nova Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Operation mine in the Fraser Range of Western Australia is now operating with fewer costs and emissions thanks to Zenith Energy’s hybrid solar PV-diesel power plant. The plant provides a litany of firsts, including being the first hybrid solar PV-diesel project completed without a single government subsidy.

The Clean Energy Innovation Hub has hit a major milestone as ATCO started testing blending renewable hydrogen into the on-site natural gas network in Jandakot.