Balance-of-plant contractor Zenviron has been awarded a contract with electricity gen-tailer EnergyAustralia to build a four-hour battery energy storage system of 350 MW capacity in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.| pv magazine Australia
One of the biggest players in Australia’s surging battery energy storage system market says regulators and policy makers must establish effective frameworks for market access and get the market signals right to ensure continued investment.| pv magazine Australia
The New South Wales clean energy transition is ramping up with the state government providing planning approval for a second 2 GWh battery energy storage system in as many days.| pv magazine Australia
As rising renewables penetration and electrification place ever more strain on the world’s grids, the use of grid-forming inverters, rather than grid-following models, will play a vital role in network stability.| pv magazine Australia
EnergyAustralia says it will increase the capacity of a battery energy storage system to be built adjacent to its Hallett Power Station in South Australia from an initial 50 MW to 150 MW, and 200 MWh to 600 MWh, after the successful completion of the first stage.| pv magazine Australia
EnergyAustralia has released the concept design for a 335 MW pumped hydro energy storage and generation project it plans to develop at Lake Lyell near Lithgow in central western New South Wales.| pv magazine Australia
EnergyAustralia today announced it would be closing Australia’s most carbon-intensive coal power station, Yallourn, four years early and building a 350 MW utility-scale battery at the Latrobe Valley site instead.| pv magazine Australia
South Australian and Victorian researchers have found households could sell their surplus solar power to neighbours using peer-to-peer energy sharing, helping stabilise the grid and improve on retail market feed-in tariffs.| pv magazine Australia
A multibillion-dollar solar, battery storage, wind and potentially green hydrogen project in Victoria’s Gippsland region is moving forward after getting backing from superfund Hostplus. Originally proposed by Solis Renewable Energy, the project is now owned by Octopus Australia as part of its joint venture with CFEC.| pv magazine Australia
Origin Energy’s announcement that it is accelerating the closure of Australia's largest coal-fired power station has triggered calls for the Federal Government to develop a nationally co-ordinated approach to manage the retirement of fossil fuel generation as well as support investment in new clean energy generation.| pv magazine Australia
The Australian arm of global fund manager Octopus Group has expanded its renewable energy portfolio, teaming with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to purchase the rights to develop two proposed utility scale solar-storage hybrid power plants in Victoria’s Gippsland region.| pv magazine Australia
In the UK investor's first deal since entering the Australian marketplace, Octopus Investments and Australian renewables developer Edify Energy have arranged more than $450 million to finance one of Australia’s major PV projects - a 333MW DC (275MW AC) solar farm, which has an approval to be collocated with a 100 MWh energy storage facility at Darlington Point, NSW.| pv magazine Australia
Just days after a regulation to prevent new gas network connections to buildings in the Australian Capital Territory came into effect, the Victorian government has released updated plans designed to end that state’s reliance on fossil gas.| pv magazine Australia
A new $10 million (USD 6.42 million) grants initiative that eliminates the need for Victorian companies that install solar panels, solar hot water systems and heat pumps at scale to apply for individual rebates is now open for expressions of interest.| pv magazine Australia
Queensland’s ambition to become a leading producer and exporter of green hydrogen has received a boost with state government-owned electricity generator Stanwell teaming with a consortium of Australian and Japanese energy companies to commence a feasibility study for a proposed large-scale production and export project in Gladstone.| pv magazine Australia
Acciona Energía has received approval from the Queensland state government for an expansion of its plans for the Aldoga Solar Farm outside Gladstone. Originally slated as a 250 MW project, the project will now reach a capacity of 600 MWp and work to support the development of Gladstone's green hydrogen hub.| pv magazine Australia
Western Australia's green fuels developer InterContinental Energy has announced its revolutionary cost cutting nodel hydrogen production system, which allows for the scaling of giga-scale production and is the mainstay of the proposed 70 GW Western Green Energy Hub.| pv magazine Australia
Sydney-based Green Energy Systems and its innovative Solar Waves system are to be included for trial as part of Project Nexus, California’s first solar canal pilot project, currently underway in California’s Central Valley.| pv magazine Australia
Australian renewables developer Energy Estate is seeking to raise more than $500 million to support its development activities and bankroll the construction of renewable power plants in both Australia and New Zealand.| pv magazine Australia
The work schedules of Australia’s battery retailers and installers will likely get busy in the coming months with Labor’s win in the federal election paving the way for the introduction of a $2.3 billion national battery subsidy scheme.| pv magazine Australia
Australia’s rooftop solar uptake continued to surge in 2024 with a new report revealing more than 300,000 PV systems with a combined capacity of almost 3 GW were bolted on to the roofs of homes and businesses across the nation last year.| pv magazine Australia
A new survey shows the majority of Australian solar installers are unconcerned what brand solar panels and battery energy storage systems they work with, but they have a clear preference when it comes to inverters.| pv magazine Australia
A pilot hydrogen energy plant that will employ a novel approach by producing green hydrogen directly from water and sunlight, without relying on electrolysers or grid power, is on track to begin commissioning in South Australia next month.| pv magazine Australia
The Queensland University of Technology has been awarded $9.87 million from the federal government's funding arm, the Australian Research Council's (ARCs) Discovery grants program, to support 16 projects, including three focussed on research in hydrogen production, perovskite cells, and lithium ion batteries.| pv magazine Australia
The Queensland government has reinforced its commitment to the CopperString transmission line project that is to stretch across the state’s northwest, announcing it will allocate $2.4 billion towards the project.| pv magazine Australia
The Queensland government has broken ground on the $5 billion CopperString transmission line project that is to stretch across the state’s north, connecting the region to the national grid and helping to unlock an estimated 6 GW of renewable energy resources.| pv magazine Australia
South Australia-headquartered solar panel manufacturer Tindo Solar will work with the University of New South Wales to accelerate the development of TOPCon solar cell technologies, targeting improvements in reliability and performance.| pv magazine Australia
Modular solar developer 5B is Australia's first recipient of the federal government's $1 billion Solar SunShot program, receiving $46 million to increase the manufacturing capacity of its Maverick unit.| pv magazine Australia
Australian solar panel manufacturer Tindo Solar has announced plans to build the country’s first solar panel gigafactory as it looks to increase its manufacturing capacity to capitalise on a growing domestic market currently dominated by imports.| pv magazine Australia
Researchers at Deakin University have launched a first-of-its-kind project exploring how Australian households and small businesses with solar and or battery systems can sell their excess clean energy to others without the technology.| pv magazine Australia
Western Power has closed off 759 MW of connection offers for FY2024/25, announcing the last two projects for the period, and in the coming financial year expects to offers made for a further 300 MW of storage and 112 MW solar generation.| pv magazine Australia
Perth-based contractor GenusPlus Group has been tapped to design and build the 400 MWh Merredin battery energy storage system being developed in Western Australia’s central Wheatbelt region.| pv magazine Australia
Four new big battery projects in Western Australia have been named in the state’s first Capacity Investment Scheme tender, and combined equate to 654 MW and 2,595 MWh capacity, which is enough to supply the peak electricity load for over 600,000 homes for four hours.| pv magazine Australia
July home battery data released by SunWiz shows Australia is on track to smash 2024 records with the potential for 220,000 installations to be completed in the first 12 months of the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries subsidy.| pv magazine Australia
The clean energy transition is extending its reach with three communities in the isolated far west of South Australia set to transition away from high-cost diesel generation to solar and battery energy storage-based microgrids.| pv magazine Australia
Germany’s SMA has developed a modular lithium-ion solution for commercial storage applications. It comes in two versions, with capacities of 32 kWh and 56 kWh. The two variants feature SMA Sunny Tripower Storage X battery inverters, with up to 8,000 complete charge cycles.| pv magazine Australia
A breakthrough technology to "mine" silver from decommissioned solar panels has been mastered by Macquarie University researchers, and in partnership with Lithium Universe, will see the resource repurposed in electronics and solar panel industries.| pv magazine Australia
New South Wales-based clean energy company MGA Thermal has raised $5.7 million to prove the scale and industrial capabilities of its thermal energy storage technology that stores heat in blocks made largely from aluminium and graphite and dispatches it to generate electricity.| pv magazine Australia
International oil giant Shell has provided New South Wales startup MGA Thermal with "gamechanger" funding to accelerate the completion of a commercial-scale pilot plant designed to demonstrate the role the company’s energy storage technology could play in the Australian energy market.| pv magazine Australia
An 800 MW solar farm and 300 MW battery storage system are included in one of four renewable energy projects totalling 3.65 GW of generation capacity granted the right to connect to new transmission lines in the South West Renewable Energy Zone of New South Wales.| pv magazine Australia
The New South Wales infrastructure planner of renewable energy zones EnergyCo has formally updated the amount of renewable generation and storage that can connect to the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone transmission network from 5.8 GW to 7.7 GW.| pv magazine Australia
Acen Australia’s plan to develop a 600 MW solar farm and 600 MW / 1,200 MWh battery energy storage system in central west New South Wales has received a major boost with the state’s Independent Planning Commission giving its tick of approval.| pv magazine Australia
Renewable energy company Enel Green Power Australia has bought the proposed 1 GW Tallawang solar and battery energy storage project being developed in western New South Wales from British-based global energy company Renewable Energy Systems.| pv magazine Australia
Australian infrastructure developer Pacific Partnerships has added one of the largest proposed solar farms in Australia to its growing portfolio, purchasing the development rights for the 700 MW Cobbora Solar Farm and co-located battery energy storage project planned for western New South Wales.| pv magazine Australia
British developer Lightsource bp’s plans to build the biggest solar farm and battery energy storage system on any of Australia’s main electricity grids has a green light to proceed after securing environmental approval from the Australian government.| pv magazine Australia
Construction has started on France-headquartered renewable energy developer Neoen’s fifth grid-scale battery in Australia with contractors commencing work on the 200 MW/400 MWh Blyth Battery storage system in South Australia’s mid-north.| pv magazine Australia
French renewables developer Neoen has won a 197 MW / 4-hour duration storage contract with AEMO. The contract pertains to the Collie big battery in WA’s south west, with Stage 1 to be operating commercially by October 2024.| pv magazine Australia
Three years after French renewable energy developer Neoen first broke ground at the site of its Western Downs Green Energy Hub in Queensland’s Western Downs region, the last of the more than one million panels has been installed as the 400 MW solar farm nears 100% completion.| pv magazine Australia
French renewable energy giant Neoen has begun construction on its 200 MW/400 MWh Western Downs Battery in Queensland, next to the developer's 460 MWp Western Downs solar farm. The Western Downs Battery is Neoen's fourth big battery in Australia and brings its storage portfolio to 776 MW/1,279 MWh in operation or under construction.| pv magazine Australia
French renewables developer Neoen has credited the Victorian Big Battery with almost tripling its storage revenues in the first nine months of 2022. To September, the company’s revenues totalled $547 million (USD 347.4 million), with growth in solar and wind revenues paling beside the massive surge from battery storage.| pv magazine Australia
Plans to build a new electricity transmission link between Tasmania and mainland Australia have progressed with Marinus Link Pty Ltd lodging a development application for a converter station to be built in Tasmania’s northwest.| pv magazine Australia
The industrial-scale Rangebank battery energy storage system, located 50 kilometres southeast of Melbourne, Victoria, has successfully been energised and is scheduled to be fully operational by late 2024.| pv magazine Australia
Australia’s uptake of rooftop solar is showing signs of slowing with new data revealing that little more than 205 MW of new rooftop PV capacity was added in July, just a month after installation rates dropped to their lowest point of the year.| pv magazine Australia
The federal government’s Australian Research Council has launched a new training centre in South Australia that will seek to provide industry-led solutions for the recovery, reuse and recycling of battery waste in Australia.| pv magazine Australia
Several factors affect the productive lifespan of a residential solar panel. In the first part of a series, we look at the solar panels themselves.| pv magazine Australia
Ireland-based renewables developer DP Energy has unveiled plans to build a 500 MW / 2,000 MWh battery energy storage system alongside a 1,400 MW wind farm in northwest Queensland.| pv magazine Australia
The 82 MW Moura Solar Farm was Australia’s best performing large-scale PV power plant in the month of July, with an average capacity factor of 26%, as Queensland facilities dominated the charts for the best performing big solar assets.| pv magazine Australia
Australian solar module manufacturer Tindo Solar will look to ramp up domestic production capacity after securing funding through the federal government’s $1 billion Solar Sunshot Program.| pv magazine Australia
Success in the energy transition will come down to renewable hardware and software technology, but that won't be enough in itself. How we design, package, and deliver clean power is going to be every bit as important.| pv magazine Australia
UK-based battery developer Pacific Green has entered into an agreement with Australian energy retailer Zen Energy for 10-year tolling arrangements across three of its planned battery energy storage system projects.| pv magazine Australia
The Western Australian government has announced that construction has begun on a large-scale battery energy storage system that is to help strengthen and stabilise one of the world’s most isolated grids.| pv magazine Australia
The quality assurance firm updated its inverter manufacturer financial stability ranking with APSystems (Yuneng Technology), Sinexcel, and Eaton in the top three spots.| pv magazine Australia
Solar and battery installers, retailers and suppliers have been put on notice by the consumer watchdog as new data shows Australians are investing in solar and home batteries at an unprecedented rate, bolstered by federal and state government incentives.| pv magazine Australia
Marinus Link, the 750 MW capacity high voltage direct current electricity interconnector proposed to strengthen the Tasmania and Victoria connection on the National Electricity Market, has reached Stage 1 financial investment decision.| pv magazine Australia
Australia is one of only seven countries outside the European Union that has updated its 2030 national renewable target with an 18 GW boost, since the 2023 COP28 global tripling pledge.| pv magazine Australia
The federal government is scaling up its support for renewables, expanding its flagship Capacity Investment Scheme in a bid to accelerate Australia’s clean energy transition.| pv magazine Australia
As the electrification of transport and heating accelerates, many worry the increased demand could overload national power grids. In Australia, electricity consumption is expected to double by 2050.| pv magazine Australia
The CS Energy Greenbank Battery in southeast Queensland has been regularly charging and discharging since beginning commercial operations in June, providing reliability and capability to the grid.| pv magazine Australia
Sungrow Power has revealed its newest hybrid next-gen residential energy storage system, with upgrades to its MG Series inverters and a battery solution to be launched in Q42025.| pv magazine Australia
Scientists in India have simulated and tested a prototype wireless charging system for electric vehicles, with a three-port DC–DC converter at its core and have found it achieved an improved efficiency of 88%.| pv magazine Australia
Perth-based mining giant Fortescue has fast tracked its zero emission goals through a $4 billion dollar battery-electric vehicle deal with Swiss company Liebherr and a joint venture to build a battery-electric locomotive, with Sydney-based engineering company Downer.| pv magazine Australia
Fortescue has broken ground on a $75.5 million project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region that is to produce green iron using renewable hydrogen produced onsite through 1.4 MW of electrolyser capacity powered in part by the nearby 60 MW Chichester Solar Farm.| pv magazine Australia
Mining giant Fortescue Metals Group has begun commissioning its 100 MW solar farm at the North Star Junction south of Port Hedland in Western Australia, as the company progresses toward a target of real zero by 2030.| pv magazine Australia
Global analytics firm Wood Mackenzie predicts Australia will fall well short of its target of 82% renewable generation by 2030 due to grid connection delays, inadequate investment and moves from some state governments to scale back their clean energy ambitions.| pv magazine Australia
The scope of Zen Energy’s fledgling collaboration with Taiwan’s HD Renewable Energy has expanded with the two parties launching a joint venture that is targeting the development of 400 MW of solar and 1 GW of energy storage capacity in Australia.| pv magazine Australia
With opposition to large-scale renewables transmission projects being expressed in some rural and regional communities, solar’s ability to be coupled with agriculture could present opportunities for collaboration rather than conflict.| pv magazine Australia
United States-based energy storage tech giant Fluence Energy has announced an expansion of its Australian headquarters in Melbourne after locking in a “tailored investment” provided by the Victorian government.| pv magazine Australia
Queensland’s Wide Bay–Burnett region is continuing to build as a renewable energy hotspot with Zen Energy now seeking federal government approval to develop a 100 MW solar farm and a 200 MW battery energy storage system in the area.| pv magazine Australia
Renewables developer Ampyr Australia plans to fast track the development of a 1 GWh battery energy storage system in central New South Wales after buying out former project partner Shell Energy.| pv magazine Australia
Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has tapped United States-headquartered energy equipment manufacturer GE Vernova to deliver an integrated battery energy storage system solution for the 250 MW / 1,000 MWh second stage of its Supernode project being developed in southeast Queensland.| pv magazine Australia
Genex Power has struck an offtake agreement with Queensland government-owned energy giant Stanwell Corporation that will underpin the development of the 775 MW first stage of the Bulli Creek solar and battery project planned for the state’s southeast.| pv magazine Australia
Construction has commenced on a 300 MW / 1,200 MWh battery energy storage system being built alongside the coal-fired Stanwell Power Station in central Queensland as the state government looks to scale up energy storage capacity to support the transition to renewables.| pv magazine Australia
The Queensland Government is doubling down on its renewable energy strategy, announcing the state’s largest battery is soon to be connected to the grid and unveiling plans to build a large-scale standalone battery alongside the coal-fired Tarong Power Station.| pv magazine Australia
A proposed 400 MW pumped hydro storage project is on track to become the first of its kind to be completed in Queensland in more three decades after industry giant GE Renewable Energy provided its backing for the project.| pv magazine Australia
New Zealand’s large-scale solar PV market is poised for a momentous shift with energy company Todd Generation pursuing plans to establish a 400 MW solar farm at Rangitāiki on the North Island.| pv magazine Australia
New Zealand’s transition to renewable energy has received a boost with German investment manager Aquila Capital teaming with renewable energy asset developer Far North Solar Farm to announce they will commence construction on a 1GW portfolio of large-scale solar PV projects.| pv magazine Australia
In a big week for solar in the land of the long white cloud, Lightsource bp has announced a 50/50 partnership with New Zealand's Contact Energy to pursue a large-scale solar portfolio in the country, generation which Contact Energy will purchase through a power purchase agreement.| pv magazine Australia
A collaboration of United States and New Zealand developers, Helios Energy received private investment from Google executive Urs Hölzle and is setting its sights on grid-scale solar developments in New Zealand.| pv magazine Australia
Early works have commenced on the largest solar farm to reach financial close in New Zealand with Genesis Energy and renewables partner FRV Australia confirming they have finalised the financing for the 47 MW Lauriston Solar Farm.| pv magazine Australia
New Zealand generation company Lodestone Energy has commenced early construction works on the first of five utility-scale solar farms it intends to develop across the nation’s upper North Island at a cost of $285.5 million (USD 191.5 million).| pv magazine Australia
Australia’s vast distances make the supply of electricity via traditional grids expensive and even dangerous. With demand growing for agricultural goods produced with low-carbon emissions, solar and energy storage is being embraced even by skeptical farmers.| pv magazine Australia
The CSIRO has run an internal ‘Shark Tank’-style competition which will see it test semi-transparent, printed solar films at its greenhouses to assess whether the technology can be used to enhance crops’ growth and cut emissions.| pv magazine Australia
