Australia-based Woodside Energy has beat Fortescue Future Industries for the opportunity to deliver the proposed 600 MW Southern Green Hydrogen megaproject in New Zealand. It will produce green hydrogen for export using power from partner Meridian Energy’s hydroelectric plant.

Hitachi Energy is delivering the 35 MVA Darwin-Katherine Battery Energy Storage System in Australia’s Northern Territory. Now that civil and building works have been completed at the $30.2 million big battery site, the company will deploy tech to provide virtual inertia and system strength services to the grid.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has started contacting about 5,000 households as part of an updated recall of solar batteries, mainly due to fire concerns.

Australia’s Energy Estate has signed a new agreement with Abergeldie, which designs vertical man-made caverns for hydrogen storage. The partnership will focus on a range of projects, including a 1.6 GW hydrogen network.

BHP has signed a 70 MW baseload renewable energy contract with Neoen to meet 50% of the energy demand of its Olympic Dam mining operations in South Australia.

Australia’s two main tracker companies, Nextracker and Array Technologies, are launching terrain-following products to mitigate and even eliminate the need for earthworks on site, opening up previously unsuitable land for solar.

Australian startup Vulcan Energy announced it produced high grade lithium hydroxide which ‘easily exceeds’ battery grade specification.

BlackRock has won a contract to deliver one of the world’s most powerful batteries – the New South Wales Waratah Super Battery in Australia, with an expected total capacity of 850 MW/1,680 MWh.

A plan to build a 2 GW/20 GWh pumped hydro project at an old gold mine in the Australian state of Queensland has been declared a “coordinated project,” in order to fast-track the plan.

French renewables developer Neoen has completed the financing for its 100 MW/200 MWh “Capital Battery” in Canberra, Australia. It said the project is now on track to be operational in the first half of 2023.