Construction of the 400 MW Stubbo Solar Farm in New South Wales, Australia, is scheduled to start in May. Developer ACEN Australia is launching the tender process for a suite of works packages associated with the AUD 800 million ($536 million) PV project.

New Zealand’s large-scale solar market is set to shift up a gear, with the government referring two PV projects to an independent fast-track consenting panel. The installations have a combined generation capacity of more than 500 GWh per annum.

Observations shared by Solcast, a solar specialist, have shed new light on the impressive performance of Australian solar farms.

Australia’s biggest electricity “gen-tailer” AGL is one step closer to energising its 250 MW/250 MWh grid-scale battery at South Australia’s Torrens Island after receiving the tick of approval from the Australian Energy Market Operator.

New Zealand renewables company Lodestone Energy’s plans to develop an initial suite of five large-scale solar farms with a combined generation capacity of more than 365 GWh per annum has reached another milestone with construction beginning on the second of the projects.

Sun Cable’s troubled AUD 30 billion ($20 billion) mega solar and storage project has received a welcome boost, with resources company Tivan announcing that it has signed a deal with the developer for the potential offtake of up to 300 MW of renewable electricity.

Renewable energy retailer Flow Power claims that the integrated technology behind a new “smart” solar farm in the town of Berri, South Australia, is the first of its kind to be switched on in Australia.

Altech Batteries, a battery tech company in Western Australia, has included “game-changing” sodium chloride technology in its new battery 1 MWh GridPack. It said it expects the new systems to be up to 40% cheaper to produce than dominant lithium-ion alternatives.

Both houses of the Australian parliament have approved plans to establish an AUD 15 billion ($10 billion) national reconstruction fund to support domestic manufacturing in future industries and reduce the nation’s dependence on imports.

Australian battery manufacturer Redflow has signed a deal that will see it supply its “non-lithium” energy storage technology to clean energy outfit Ameresco which is looking to develop integrated solar and zinc-bromine flow battery solutions for its customer base throughout North America and Europe.