Grid-scale solar power tripled in Australia in 2018 as renewables met 20% of energy output
“2018 will go down as the year that fossil fuels began an inexorable decline in Australia’s electricity supply.”
Australia
This archive collects solutions-journalism stories and milestones from Australia — covering advances in conservation, public health, Indigenous rights, clean energy, and more. Each entry highlights progress worth knowing about.
Australia just cut 80% of its plastic bag use in 3 months
When Australia’s two largest supermarket chains banned plastic bags three months ago, it led to an 80 percent reduction in the country’s overall consumption of plastic bags.
Biggest coral reseeding project launches on Great Barrier Reef
Scientists have launched the largest-ever attempt to regenerate coral on the endangered Great Barrier Reef by harvesting millions of the creatures’ eggs and sperm during their annual spawning.
Tesla’s mega battery saves Australia $40 million in its first year
The 100-megawatt Hornsdale Power Reserve, which was designed by Tesla, has saved over $40 million AUD in annual maintenance costs to the electrical grid.
Australia invests $7.5 million in hydrogen project for clean energy
The majority of the hydrogen produced will be injected into the local gas network for domestic use and demonstrate the potential for renewable hydrogen storage in Australia’s gas network.
In ‘world first’, ultra-cheap printable solar panels are launched in Australia
Less than one millimeter thick and held down with double-sided sticky tape, the panels are similar in texture to a potato chip packet and can be produced for less than $10 per square meter.
Australia is investing $379 million to save the Great Barrier Reef
The landmark plan includes funds for improving water quality by reducing pollution from farm fertilizer runoff, and encourage reef restoration by experimenting with laboratory-grown coral that is more durable at higher temperatures.
South Australia to get world’s largest solar and wind powered hydrogen “superhub”
“The Superhub will enable Neoen to produce renewable hydrogen for overseas export markets, and create 300 construction and ongoing jobs for South Australia”
Australia’s households install record 3.5 million panels in 2017
Rooftop solar in Australia hit a stunning new high in 2017, with homeowners, schools, and small businesses installing roughly 9,500 panels every single day. The country added 1,057 megawatts of small-scale solar capacity in a single year — enough to rival a medium-sized coal plant, but spread across millions of ordinary rooftops. Average system sizes doubled compared to five years earlier, as falling prices turned solar from a niche eco-choice into a practical way for households to take charge of their power bills. It’s a hopeful reminder that the energy transition isn’t only happening in distant policy rooms or massive infrastructure projects — sometimes it’s being built one sunny rooftop at a time.
Australia could double its solar capacity by the end of 2018
The solar energy boom has been spurred by solar projects large and small, with multiple industrial projects paired with the appearance of solar panels on buildings all over the country.