Solar and battery hydrogen innovation hub to be built in Western Australia
Canadian-owned gas network operator ATCO is developing a micro grid at its Jandakot facility, which will use solar power to produce hydrogen fuel. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has committed $1.5 million to the project.
Yorke Peninsula power supply strengthened with microgrid, 30 MW battery
ABB, ElectraNet and ARENA are coming together to deliver a microgrid and large scale battery storage solution to South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula. The commercial-deployment phase of the Energy Storage for Commercial Renewable Integration (ESCRI) project will strengthen the Electranet transmission system in the area, and will deliver increased resilience in the event of interstate connector failure.
Remote communities to light up with 5.6 MW of PV through SETuP
The second stage of the SETuP project is rolling out Solar PV to communities in the Northern Territory, with the project set to be completed by November 2018.
Interview: “We played a huge role in large scale solar becoming commercially viable”
The booming large scale and rooftop PV market in 2018 is providing many reasons to be optimistic about the future of solar under the Australian sun. In reflecting on his six-year tenure as CEO at ARENA, ahead of his departure in August, Ivor Frischknecht points to the role the agency has placed in bringing down the costs of large scale solar in Australia as ARENA’s greatest achievement.
ARENA provides funding to seed ‘solar gardens’ for apartment dwellers, renters
Community solar arrays or ‘solar gardens’ for people who can’t install a residential rooftop PV system could become a reality in Australia, with ARENA pouring in funds to fertilize the concept.
ARENA study to bring blockchain energy trading to dairy farmers
Through a study funded by ARENA, the distributed database platform blockchain will be used by Latrobe Valley dairy farmers to buy and sell locally generated renewable energy.
Genex gets green light to develop Kidston Stage 2 solar project
After the 50 MW Stage 1 solar farm was switched on late last year, the Kidston renewable energy hub has now received a development approval for 270 MW of solar, which is to be co-located with a 250 MW pumped storage hydro project.
The (long) Weekend Read: A view of the large-scale boom
From just a handful of large-scale solar PV projects a few years ago, Australia is becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing markets. With a substantial project pipeline, the country is in the box seat to experience a banner year in 2018, with the 2020 Renewable Energy Target (RET) now in hand and a new policy taking shape for the period beyond.
Adelaide to get 8MW virtual power plant
A $7.7 million funding initiative for energy retailer Simply Energy to build a second virtual power plant across Adelaide was announced by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
ARENA commits $10 million to trial short-term forecasting
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced it is looking for expressions of interest for trialling short-term forecasting projects from large scale wind and solar farms across Australia.
