ARENA

As the business case grows for corporates to take out power purchase agreements for renewable energy, and Australia’s renewable-projects pipeline expands, the country’s first ever marketplace has opened for buyers and developers to form perfect power couples.

In a flurry of funding announcements, the Coalition government pledged to underpin two major pumped hydro projects, an interconnector and an energy efficiency program, and tried to move forward a hydrogen export roadmap and a national strategy for electric vehicles. However, if it truly wants to refashion itself on climate and energy policy and realize any of these massive new opportunities, the government will need to reshuffle the nation’s energy mix towards a greener future .

The Sydney-based developer is seeking $75 million to help finance a 50 MW hybrid project, following a successful 1 MW pilot. Vast Solar is looking to deploy its innovative CSP technology, which uses sodium as a heat transfer fluid to capture concentrated solar energy that can then be stored and used on demand, on the utility-scale.

Today’s Informa Commercial & Large Scale Solar Conference, held in Sydney, revelled in skyward-shooting graphs of projected solar farm outputs and commercial rooftop prospects. But there were recommendations also for greater integration and collaboration between industry participants, and a call to “hub” together.

A $2.2 million trial run by Jemena, AusNet Services, and UNSW Sydney will explore how existing network infrastructure can better integrate with solar power, as Australia’s rooftop PV uptake goes from strength to strength.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded $9.6 million in grants for five projects and seven studies into the role of distributed generation assets on the grid – and how to expand their penetration.

The Australia Institute’s first emissions audit of 2019 shows renewables pushing coal aside to reduce Australia’s emissions 20% below the peak recorded in 2008; and the load that January’s high temperatures would normally exert on the grid has been mitigated by high uptake of rooftop solar.

The opening of SolarShare’s Mount Majura Solar Farm to investors this week represents a significant milestone in the community-energy sector in Australia, says Nicky Ison, founding Director of the Community Power Agency. “It is the first community solar farm in Australia that is grid connected in front of the meter,” she says, and at 1 MW capacity it will also be the country’s biggest community-owned solar farm.

The Australian Labor Party has released a National Hydrogen Plan, which involves directing $1 billion in CEFC funding towards clean hydrogen projects, $100 million in ARENA grants for hydrogen technology refuelling infrastructure, and $40 million from the CEFC’s Innovation Fund to help commercialise new hydrogen technologies and businesses. Looking towards clean energy exports, the plan will provide $3 million in funding to Queensland coal port in Gladstone with the aim of creating a hydrogen hub.

Another big battery has gone live in South Australia with the goal to contribute to energy security and reliability as a heatwave puts grid under pressure. The $30 million energy storage system is developed and owned by ElectraNet, as the first battery in the NEM to provide regulated network services and competitive market services.