Australia’s big clean energy projects get a lot of attention, from giant solar farms to the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro scheme. So too does the push for rooftop solar and home batteries.
What often gets overlooked are the innovations underway where the power grid ends. It costs power utilities a lot to keep these towns connected to the grid. But the plunging costs of renewables and storage mean it’s increasingly possible to do things differently. It makes sense for towns, remote communities and mine sites to produce more of their own power – and eventually, cut the link to the grid entirely.
