Michael Mobbs has been involved in sustainability for more than two decades, leading public discourse with his “sustainable house” blog, cutting his connections to mains water and sewer more than two decades ago, and finally cutting the electricity wires to his inner-Sydney terrace home in March, 2015.

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.

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.

Regulators in Queensland have back-tracked on proposed rules that could have effectively banned the installation of all battery storage devices inside homes and garages, and hopes are rising that Standards Australia will also modify its proposed guidelines.