Oceania

Synergy, a utility owned by the Western Australian government, has revealed plans to build a new 200 MW/800 MWh battery energy storage system in the city of Kwinana, in order to support the state’s main grid and enable the uptake of more renewables.

The largest solar project in the Australian state of New South Wales has officially opened, with ACEN Australia confirming that the first 400 MW stage of its planned 720 MW New England Solar Farm is now progressing through the commissioning process.

On the back of Covid-19 lockdowns, geopolitical energy concerns, a cost-of-living crisis, and congested cities, some people are looking for alternate ways of living, while others are just looking for an cozy getaway that doesn’t come with a Sasquatch-sized carbon footprint. Enter Stella the Stargazer, a solar-powered holiday destination that makes off-grid living the lap of luxury.

A Japanese state innovation fund has agreed to finance a coal-to-hydrogen project in Australia, while Honda says it has taken another step toward the commercialization of zero-emission backup power generation.

MAN Energy Solutions is building an industrial-scale heat pump that generates steam without using gas. It will produce steam to dry dairy ingredients at a milk farm in New Zealand.

When it comes to gravity batteries, pumped-hydro storage is the gold standard, but its cost and topography-specific limitations are driving innovations ranging from freight-train braking to super-dense liquids. We consider whether any of the new technologies can punch above their weight.

The remote town of William Creek in the Australian outback is now entirely powered by solar backed by a battery energy storage system, after the switch was flicked on a 200 kW PV array that eliminates the need for diesel generation.

A UK-Australian research group has built an intermediate band solar cell with a quantum ratchet semiconductor nanostructure that reportedly increases the ratchet band state lifetime of the device. Their new design builds on a cell structure known as the Vaquero–Stainer Device (VSD).

Australia’s rooftop solar capacity will overtake coal-fired capacity to become the country’s largest power generator in April, when a New South Wales coal plant is set to shut down, says solar consultancy SunWiz.