Australia

Darren Miller, the chief executive of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, says he expects Australia to become a “shining example” of how a country can produce more clean electricity than it actually needs.

The Clean Energy Council says investors are shying away from large renewable projects in Australia, as government intervention has created uncertainty and grid risks are tough to quantify – even with a prized connection agreement in hand.

In its latest report, IHS Markit predicts that energy storage installations in Australia will grow from 500 MW to more than 12.8 GW by 2030. Today, Australia makes up less than 3% of total global installations for battery energy storage and is the seventh largest market globally. By 2030, it is forecast to comprise 7% of global installations and become the third largest market. This growth will be largely driven by three distinct market segments: residential, standalone front-of-the-meter, and collocated with utility-scale renewables.

Queensland’s worst power outage in decades has triggered calls for the introduction of more utility-scale batteries to provide security for the Australian state’s electricity network.

Australia’s hydrogen hype is raising questions about how to design the “future fuel” sector so it doesn’t become a fossil fuel lifeline. Nicky Ison, WWF Australia’s energy transition manager, lists ways to ensure that Australia’s hydrogen economy is cleanly built.

Victoria’s state government has introduced new rules for solar businesses and energy retailers banning door-to-door sales of products and announcing penalties of up to $1 million for retailers that wrongfully disconnect the electricity of vulnerable Victorians.

A new study commissioned by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation has indicated renewable hydrogen is already approaching cost competitiveness with that produced using fossil fuels but some in the industry say the government-owned green bank’s figures are much too conservative.

From pv magazine Australia Electricity distributor Endeavour Energy and smart metering company Intellihub have partnered with ten energy retailers to launch the Off Peak Plus program now in operation on the state’s south coast. The program, which so far includes 2,500 homes across Albion Park, essentially allows installed smart meters to dynamically control homes’ hot […]

Murrumbidgee Shire in the New South Wales’ Riverina region is set for a big battery and big flexibility after Edify and Shell Energy came together on a deal that will see the realisation of the Riverina Energy Storage System.

In a huge data-crunching project designed to inform rooftop solar-export policy and regulations, Australian technical and social researchers delve into the costs and effectiveness of inverter standards.