ARENA

Distributed energy producer EDL has taken a top gong at the 2019 Asia Power Awards in the Environmental Upgrade of the Year category, recognition for the success of its Coober Pedy Hybrid Renewable Project.

The Distributed Energy Resource (DER) laboratory “DER-Lab” will provide an environment for safe testing of new technologies including monitoring and communication devices, smart controllers, aggregation (e.g. Virtual Power Plant), market participation software and other innovative new products.

Deliveries of Electric Vehicle (EV) maker Tesla’s best-selling Model 3 sedan have finally started in Australia, over 18-months after the EV’s first launch in the U.S. The belated runout is another boost to the accelerating EV industry in Australia.

The Australian Renewable Energy Arena (ARENA) has approved up to $9.41 million in conditional funding to Hazer Group for the construction and operation of a groundbreaking hydrogen production facility in Munster, Western Australia. The project is utilizing biogas produced at the treatment plant as feedstock to produce hydrogen and graphite.

Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) have pushed the boundaries of solar cell efficiency by setting a record of 21.6% efficiency with perovskite cells above a certain size.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will top up Evie Networks ultra-fast battery electric vehicle (EV) charging network throughout Australia’s highways with $15 million in federal funding.

The Australian arm of global mining manufacturer Molycop will be partly powered by wind and solar with the help of a long-term offtake deal inked with electricity retailer Flow Power. Under the new partnership, the manufacturer will have access to the ARENA Demand Response program.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced last week that it would provide up to $40 million in funding to fast-track a Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) project in South Australia. ARENA is conscious of the need to store South Australia’s fast-growing renewable generation fleet.

In partnering with the National Maritime Museum in Sydney, SunMan has found an ideal showcase for the capabilities of its innovative eArche lightweight solar panels. A crush of CBD businesses cranes in to consider PV’s latest possibilities. 

With around 16 battery-based virtual-power-plant projects either in progress or planned across six states, Australia is demonstrating the potential of distributed energy resources to the world. An Australian Clean Energy Summit panel last week caught up on progress and potholes on the road to energy’s new two-way street.