A battery craze is all over Australia: A transition from coal-fired power in Australia to cleaner alternatives is causing a boom in battery energy storage system (BESS) projects to store renewable energy, Bloomberg reports. Australia has at least 250 battery projects in the pipeline with a capacity of c. 130 GWh, coming next after battery-manufacturer dominant China, according to BloombergNEF data. Australia will need to pour in some USD 43 bn to build battery storage plants until 2050, with the funds part of a wide clean energy expansion plan that costs some USD 160 bn, the business information service adds.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Brazil’s Petrobras is eyeing renewables investments including seven offshore wind projects yielding up to 14.5 GW with Norway’s Equinor. (Reuters)
• Brazilian renewables company Omega Energia will enter the US market with its 265.5 MW wind farm in Texas. The company plans to contribute to the US’s projected 300 GW renewables growth within the coming decade. (Reuters)
• Malaysian companies will be able to calculate the impact of their carbon emissions starting next month, under a new centralized reporting system developed by Bursa Malaysia and the London Stock Exchange. The platform will also help unlisted SMEs track their ESG data. (Reuters)
• Germany plans to build new gas-fired facilities fit to be powered by hydrogen “in the future” in a bid to decarbonize while securing its energy supply, Chancellor Olaf Scholz says. The new facilities will have a production capacity between 17 to 21 GW. (Reuters)