Clean Energy Council

After another year of record rooftop solar installations, and despite Covid-19 related lockdowns and federal political ineptitude on a level comparable to self-sabotage, Australia has soared past the three million mark and the numbers are only accelerating.

Less than a year ago and energy market analysts Cornwall Insight Australia projected a battery energy storage pipeline of 7 GW. This week the firm has updated its outlook and puts Australia’s current pipeline of proposed projects at over 26 GW. What is more, the technical lifetime of these assets is increasing too.

The Clean Energy Regulator has recommended major reforms for Australia’s rooftop solar PV industry, including that it be solely responsible for the enforcement of regulations in relation to accredited installers, retailers and component manufacturers.

Electric vehicles could autonomously transport electrons between where they’re generated and where they’re needed based on algorithms and smart software, predicts JET Charge CEO Tim Washington. Such a future, he admits, is “pretty sci-fi” and still a while off.

Debate on independent MP Dr Helen Haines’ Australian Local Power Agency Bill 2021, which seeks to anchor the benefits of renewables projects in their hosting regions, will be informed by Friday’s parliamentary committee hearing of submissions on the proposed legislation. A number of valid discussion points have been raised.

The Energy Security Board’s newly revealed market reforms have sparked widespread scrutiny with the Clean Energy Council declaring that among the recommendations are proposals that risk further undermining confidence in future investments in clean energy generation.

The debate around the regulatory reform of distributed energy resources will help decide the future direction of Australia’s electricity system.

Ongoing grid connection issues and concerns about Australia’s unpredictable regulatory and policy environment have been identified as the key culprits with a new report revealing investor confidence in the nation’s renewable energy sector has slumped to a five-year low.

Australian renewable energy developer Maoneng has lodged plans to construct a ‘critical’ 225 MW/450 MWh utility scale battery energy storage system at Gould Creek in South Australia.

Is there something fishy about Environment Minister Sussan Ley rejecting the Asian Renewable Energy Hub’s development application? The murkiness of the federal government’s drive to make Australia an exporter of hydrogen, of any hue, gives rise to concerns.