The world’s biggest solar and battery storage plant – and Australia’s biggest solar farm – could begin construction this year, after the project was formally launched in Adelaide on Thursday.

In the not too distant future, amputees could regain the benefits of a sense of touch through motorised prosthetic limbs featuring solar powered synthetic skin.

Victorian utility North East Water has announced plans to install solar and battery storage at its water treatment plant in the regional town of Yackandandah, with a tender for the job launched on Friday.

The former head of Australia’s most notorious brown coal generator – the soon-to-be-retired Hazelwood plant – says solar PV and battery storage already represent a cheaper alternative to gas-fired generation.