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Sunshine Hydro, which has developed a 24/7 software-based energy connection system, said many people did not realise nuclear reactors could not be turned off, although they could ramp down.

“However, this may take an hour or two and it comes with a cost,’’ founder and director Chris Baker said in Sunshine’s submission.

“Therefore, a nuclear power plant is likely to be generating with substantial capacity even on mild sunny days when solar could provide more energy than needed.

“Solar generators, particularly rooftop solar that Australian households have invested in, will have to be turned off to make room for nuclear power in the grid.’’

Mr Baker told the inquiry that while nuclear was 98 per cent reliable it would take at least 15 years for the first power plant to be operational in Australia, although others following every few years.

“The length of the process and the various layers and successive steps of the regulatory pathway increases the risks of delays, particularly in the lack of bipartisan support,’’ he said.

“Pumped hydro stations could be operational within a five to 10-year time frame and developed in parallel with each other.

He said the latest CSIRO report found power from small modular reactors cost an average of $287/MWh but its system of efficiently connecting non-carbon power was 50 per cent cheaper.

https://sunshinehydro.com/static/cm20241116-grid-faces-trouble-by-2025-inquiry-told.pdf

Article originally published by Brendan O’Malley in Courier Mail (CM)

As our world transitions away from coal and embraces solar, wind, and other renewable sources, the importance of reliable, large-scale energy storage has become clear. Put simply, storage is central to the resilience of the grid and the stability and affordability of our power supply. It is the critical missing link when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.

Sunshine Hydro has appointed Hon. James Shaw, New Zealand’s former Climate Change Minister, as a Strategic Advisor. Shaw brings to the table extensive experience from his tenure in government, as well as a background in management consulting, sustainability, and business leadership.

Brisbane-based renewables solutions company Sunshine Hydro has joined forces with the Central Queensland University to develop and trial technology that orchestrates long-duration storage and renewable energy ecosystems with implication for sustainable fuel production.

Renewable energy company Sunshine Hydro leverages a software solution, called AESOP, as its point of difference. AESOP is a complex application that allows Sunshine Hydro to blend together several renewable energy sources — solar, pumped hydro, and wind — with storage and then distribute it efficiently to the grid.

CQUniversity has joined forces with Sunshine Hydro to develop Mini Superhybrid software that will serve as a globally significant test bed for long duration storage and renewable energy.

A Superhybrid has software developed by Sunshine Hydro that live models a renewable energy ecosystem, including pumped hydro, electrolysers, wind and solar energy. The mini Superhybrid will provide a research testbed that allows for the development of a real world Superhybrid that tracks power into the grid among other capabilities.

Luncheon shines light on green energy project Sunshine Hydro’s Superhybrid Project, bringing together pumped hydro and green hydrogen, will be the focus of the next Connecting Industry luncheon in Gladstone. The staged project is set to include a 3MW/36Mwh battery and electrolysers in Gladstone, followed by development of a 60MW/800MWh vanadium battery with electrolysers at Miriam

Proposed rules on green hydrogen would prove “catastrophic” for the country’s clean energy export ambitions and may result in taxpayers rewarding producers for making the gas using fossil fuels, clean hydrogen advocates say.

The federal government’s proposed criteria for access to $6.7 billion in subsidies has appalled those who argue that Australian standards must match strict criteria in the European Union and the rules planned in the United States.

Michael Myer, executive chairman of Sunshine Hydro – which uses Enosi’s technology – said the draft rules would have a “perverse” outcome. He said they would result in a transfer of taxpayers’ money to Europe because hydrogen produced here , using government subsidies, would be taxed at the border in Europe because it would not qualify as “green”.

“It’s the most extraordinary piece of policy structuring I’ve ever read in my 50 years history,” said Mr Myer, acknowledging that Sunshine Hydro would be a major beneficiary of the incentives – to the tune of $60 million a year – through a project near Gladstone, Queensland. “It will achieve exactly the opposite of what they are trying to achieve.”

https://sunshinehydro.com/static/afr20240716-producers-split-on-labors-green-hydrogen-rules.jpeg

Article originally published by Angela Macdonald-Smith in Australian Financial Review (AFR)

Hydrogen projects backed by large companies like Fortescue and Woodside are set to be early beneficiaries of the federal budget’s $6.7 billion production tax credit, but one developer says the measure will attract a lot of international investment and could blow past its allocation.

Michael Myer, a member of Melbourne’s wealthy Myer family and chairman of Sunshine Hydro, said two projects the developer is pursuing in Gladstone and northern NSW could yield enough hydrogen to earn $730 million in production tax credits at the $2 per kilogram rate.

https://sunshinehydro.com/static/afr-budget-2024-hydrogen-production-credit-could-blow-6.7b-budget.png

Article originally published by Ben Potter in Australian Financial Review (AFR)

Queensland-based Sunshine Hydro chairman Michael Myer said the value of the production incentive for Australia’s entire clean hydrogen industry was “enormous” – for the domestic and export markets.

The father of Inland Rail is advancing an ignored section from his original plan, with a green twist that could transform Australian freight. After striking up a partnership with Mr Compton, Sunshine Hydro will also supply methanol for trains on the Gladstone freight line.

Sunshine Hydro, known for its pioneering Superhybrid technology that enables carbon-free energy, says it has discovered a breakthrough process to substantially lower the cost of producing green hydrogen.

ABC interview Sunshine Hydro and FNGEG about the First Nations Greentime Energy Group investment in Djandori Gung-i project.

Sunshine Hydro, a company proposing to combine pumped hydro with green hydrogen production, says it has has sold a 20 per cent option in its landmark flagship Queensland project to a First Nations group.