AGL

Solar panel manufacturing in Australia has reached a new zenith with a commitment by two industry leaders to explore the possibilities of establishing a commercial-scale advanced solar panel manufacturing facility in the heart of New South Wales coal country.

Australia’s biggest electricity “gen-tailer” AGL is one step closer to energising its 250 MW/250 MWh grid-scale battery at South Australia’s Torrens Island after receiving the tick of approval from the Australian Energy Market Operator.

The Australian government has announced a $117.5 million (AUD $176 million) funding injection which it expects will unleash over $2 billion of investment in advanced battery technology, delivering a step change in grid-forming capability.

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.

Australia’s largest energy gen-tailer, AGL, says it has received approval for a 200 MW/800 MWh grid scale battery to be developed at the site of its coal-fired Loy Yang power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.

Australian utility AGL is transforming its operations in a number of ways, from restructuring the company itself, to building energy storage facilities for flexible distribution of renewable energy into the future. The company is also planning to build a pumped-hydro facility at a disused open-cut coal mining site in eastern Australia.

AGL has signed a memorandum of understanding with Finland’s Wärtsilä to develop large-scale hybrid energy systems for the commercial and industrial market.

Vena Australia has reached financial close on its Wandoan South Big Battery, thanks to ING Australia. The international bank is increasingly financing green energy projects, but this is the first standalone battery project it has financed in the Asia Pacific. Vena Energy Australia says this phase is just the beginning of a project that is to feature 650 MW of solar PV and 450 MW of battery storage.

AGL, one of Australia’s biggest polluters, is working toward net-zero emissions by 2050, and aims to use big batteries to replace the spinning reserves of some coal and gas generators.