LOCAL and GLOBAL NEWS The Australian Energy Market Operator is likely to revise its draft
Tasmania’s Liberal government has updated the state’s Renewable Energy Action Plan and lifted its renewable energy target to
2020 INTEGRATED
SYSTEM PLAN to reflect the longer
200 PER CENT BY 2040 by ramping up the state’s hydro, wind and solar energy generation. The green state which is on track to become 100 per cent renewables by 2022 plans to shore up Tasmania’s reputation as a renewable energy ‘powerhouse’ and help its northern neighbours reduce their emissions.
life and significantly lower cost of battery storage, counterbalanced by far greater than assumed capital costs of infrastructure: new transmission links, pumped hydro and gasfired generators. The share of renewables in the NEM could then reach 70 to 90 per cent by 2040, according to the updated modelling that has been welcomed by the wider renewable industry. Work on Australia’s biggest solar farm, the 400MW
DARLING
DOWNS SOLAR FARM is scheduled to commence in July. Publiclyowned generator CleanCo will buy 320MW of the output from farm owner Neoen. Staying in Queensland, the state government has committed $14.8 million in additional funding to support the COPPERSTRING
2.0 PROJECT to financial close. The project will deliver a 1,100 kilometre high-voltage transmission line connecting the North West Minerals Province with the national electricity market and lower energy costs for the region. “I just don’t want to see the minerals, cobalt, copper, scandium and vanadium mined in Queensland, I want to see the batteries manufactured in Queensland because that means more jobs in more regions,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said. The wider economic benefits are modelled at over 3,500 jobs in North Queensland and $79 billion in economic uplift over 30 years.
With up to $56 million in federal funding to accelerate the Marinus (subsea) Link, more interconnection to Victoria and up to $30 million for Tasmanian pumped hydro feasibility studies “Tasmania can be part of a national renewables-led economic recovery”, says Stephen Davy of Hydro Tasmania.
THE STAR OF THE SOUTH is the proposal for Australia’s first offshore wind project. Located off the south coast of Gippsland, Victoria, the project is a joint development by Australian founders and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a global leader in offshore wind. The project involves wind turbines and offshore substations in the ocean, subsea cables to transfer energy to the coast, a transmission network of cables and substations connecting to the Latrobe Valley and upgrades to ports.
The state government has also committed $20 million towards construction of a QUEENSLAND
APPRENTICESHIPS CENTRE
IN RENEWABLE HYDROGEN at Beenleigh, south of Brisbane. It’s the first of its type in Australia and one of the first in the world providing the practical skills needed for Queensland’s emerging renewable hydrogen industry and will facilitate Queensland’s aspiration to export sunshine to the world. Infinite Blue Energy has unveiled an ambitious $3.5 billion plan for New South Wales to transition from fossil fuel-based electricity to green hydrogen by 2027. Dubbed PROJECT NEO, the project will target 1GW of 100 per cent green hydrogen reliable baseload power using a combination of solar PV, wind turbines and hydrogen fuel cell technology. “The IBE vision is to show the world, first and foremost, that Australia has the technology, skills and entrepreneurial mindset to be a true leader in the development of green hydrogen plants,” CEO Stephen Gauld said. In the more immediate future IBE is investing $300m in the Arrowsmith Hydrogen Project, a green hydrogen plant 320km north of Perth that will generate 25 tonnes of green hydrogen a day using solar and wind energy.
4 WINTER 2020
In further moves, the Victorian Government has unveiled a $15.3 million package of investments in renewable energy projects. Sports clubs and community halls will benefit from $10.3 million for energy efficiency and affordability improvements, including solar installations on public buildings on crown land. A further $4 million will fund energy efficiency upgrades for hot water systems and lighting in public housing high-rise properties across Victoria. The package also includes $1 million in grants to help regional communities deliver renewable energy projects including rooftop PV on childcare centres, community buildings and health facilities through the New Energy Jobs Fund.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S Liberal party Energy Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan wants to fast-track a shift towards clean energy, stating “For me it’s a firm goal. I want South Australia to be net 100 per cent electricity generation renewable by 2030.”
