Oceania

Genex Power says it is now ahead of schedule on the construction of a new engineering project to transform a retired gold mine site in Australia into a 250MW/2GWh pumped hydro energy storage facility.

The Suiso Frontier cargo vessel docked at Victoria’s Port of Hastings on Friday to take on the world’s first shipment of liquid hydrogen. The ship’s arrival is a landmark for the Japanese-Australian Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain pilot project, which sees liquefied hydrogen generated from brown coal, and an engineering milestone in itself. But while the Australian government describes the product as “clean”, experts maintain that carbon capture and storage technology has proven only to be an expensive failure.

Australian startup Endua’s plan to make modular hydrogen-powered energy generation and storage systems has been given a financial boost, as the federal government has provided it with almost AUD 1 million ($719,800) to help it commercialize its technologies.

Spanish renewables developer X-Elio expects its 200 MW Blue Grass Solar Farm to achieve full commercial operations early this year after it reaches financial close for the project in Australia.

Sydney-based 5B has launched a AUD 33.4 million ($24 million) tech innovation program, including a AUD 14 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, to accelerate the delivery of low-cost solar. Most of the investment is portioned off for an advanced manufacturing pilot line, but about one-third of the available funds will be used to deliver GPS-guided solar deployment robots.

Neoen has started to develop 1.2GW of wind, 600 MW of solar and 900 MW of battery storage capacity. Upon completion, the installation will likely be Australia’s largest wind, solar and battery storage project.

While there are still many uncertainties as to the way in which hydrogen trade might evolve and change economic ties and political dynamics between countries, experts agree that green hydrogen can bring winds of change to the global energy arena. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, significant geoeconomic and geopolitical shifts are just around the corner.

Australian solar window supplier ClearVue says its products can reduce carbon emissions in buildings by as much as 90%, while California-based BIPV window coating producer Ubiquitous Energy has raised $70 million to scale up its own tech.

The world’s largest coal seaport is now powered by 100% renewable energy, following the confirmation of a new deal between the Port of Newcastle, Australia, and the Australian unit of Spanish energy group Iberdrola.

The 162MW (AC) Columboola Solar Farm in the Western Downs region of Queensland, Australia, has been successfully connected to the transmission network. Queensland government-owned CS Energy has agreed to purchase 100% of the 440GWh of annual capacity over the next 10 years.