RenewEconomy

Just two days out from South Australia's state poll, the result is in the balance, and so too is the fate of its status as a world leader in renewable energy. The outcome will also have huge bearing on the pace of the energy transition for the whole of the country.

The South Australia state election is two days away, so it's time to debunk some of the favourite renewable energy myths that are doing the rounds.

The conference, hosted by one of the world’s leading PV media groups – PV Tech, seeks to explore key issues driving solar cell production changes and advancement in solar cell technology.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) today announced a $12.5 million funding initiative for pilot projects and studies to integrate distributed energy resources (DER) into the electricity system.

ABB announced at its ABB Customer World – Australia event in Melbourne that its new ABB’s PVS-100/120 range of cloud connected, three-phase string inverter solutions for cost efficient decentralised photovoltaic systems is available from today.

VW Group details ambitious electric vehicle production plans, as it works to launch new EVs on almost monthly basis – starting next year. GM also plans 20 EV models by 2023.

Macquarie Group makes its biggest-yet push into Australian renewables market, with equity stake in Murra Warra wind farm.

Gupta expands solar rollout to more than 1GW in South Australia alone, advances plans for his own big battery and pumped hydro storage, and makes offer to 6,000 employees in Australia to install solar and batteries in their homes.

Matt Canavan uses global "energy future" stage to poke fun at the Tesla Big Battery, embarrassingly for Australia. In other news, Coalition MPs also hate EVs.

Sydney Markets adds another 2.2MW PV array to take total rooftop solar capacity to more than 3MW, says there’s room to go bigger.

German battery storage specialist VARTA enters Australia market, attracted by huge solar uptake and growing push to “aggregated” systems.

Two separate reports illustrate the vital role communities will play in the success or failure of Australia’s shift to a renewable powered grid.

Mike Pompeo is ex Tea Party, a climate science denier, opponent of Paris climate deal, and biggest recipient of Koch Industries dollars.

Energy-savvy Queenslanders with home battery storage can put $50 in their pocket from today by signing up to Australia’s first battery storage database.

Powershop and Reposit Power join forces on new virtual power plant that taps customer battery storage at times of peak demand.

A new Federal Labor policy that gives an immediate tax deduction to businesses that invest in energy saving equipment would help slash energy bills, says the Energy Efficiency Council.

Trials by Hornsdale wind farm, next to the Tesla big battery, show that wind turbines can deliver cheaper and "more precise" grid security services than conventional gas generators.

AGL says there will still be too much "base-load" in NSW, even after Liddell closure. What's needed is flexible capacity, but storage won't be better bet than gas turbines until more there is more wind and solar.

Specialist power and water consulting firm Entura has been engaged by Hydro Tasmania to develop a practical atlas of pumped hydro energy storage opportunities to support development of dispatchable renewable energy generation.

Australian battery company Redflow Limited (ASX: RFX) has completed the first ZBM2 batteries using battery stacks made by its new Thailand factory, which are now ready for shipment to customers.