Rachel Williamson, Author at Renew Economy

Rachel Williamson

Contributor

Rachel Williamson is a science and business journalist, who focuses on climate change-related health and environmental issues.

Battery

Turnbull turns to battery storage, with giga-scale plan for near Melbourne
The former PM – once one-eyed in his support of pumped hydro storage – is proposing to co-develop a four-hour big battery on the outskirts of Melbourne.
Rachel Williamson

Sep 1, 2026

3
Renewables

Outgunned: Five fossil fuel lobbyists spent $553,000 on Meta ads in August, the renewables industry just $3,090
Fossil fuel lobbyists are flooding social media with ads, outgunning the minimal effort of the renewables industry, which is leaving the work to cash-strapped NGOs.
Rachel Williamson

Sep 1, 2026

9
Renewables

Green hydrogen costs could tumble 68 pct by 2035, new study says. Experts are not so sure
Arena has published a techno-roadmap outlining the innovations and decisions that might lead to a massive reduction in green hydrogen costs.
Rachel Williamson

Aug 31, 2026

1
Policy & Planning

Nine little councils that could: The gutsy regional energy pact that is facing down the anti-renewable fury
Nine north-western Victoria councils are fighting to ensure their communities get the most out the transition to renewables, with a new strategy and a push for more government funding.
Rachel Williamson

Aug 28, 2026

0
Renewables

Renewable microgrids hold huge promise for First Nations communities – so why aren’t they being built?
Small solar and battery-based microgrids have outsized impacts on remote communities, but are not being rolled out at scale. Here’s what could help.
Rachel Williamson

Aug 28, 2026

1
Renewables

Offshore wind’s big boat and port problem – and the floating “feeder dock” that could help solve it
Australia faces a challenge in finding ships and ports capable of handling huge turbine parts for its offshore wind industry. But there are some innovative ideas floating around.
Rachel Williamson

Aug 27, 2026

1
Battery

Home battery visionary sold for a loss as oil giant gets out of clean energy
Oil giant has sold home battery maker that was one of the early players in Australian market, but missed out on the federal rebate boom.
Rachel Williamson

Aug 26, 2026

2
Utilities

Network to charge ahead after winning latest legal wrangle over contested Marinus project
The fight may not be over yet as woman leading the campaign against the Marinus-linked project looks next to the Supreme Court.
Rachel Williamson

Aug 25, 2026

1
Policy & Planning

Australia’s biggest data centre to require 4 substations, 2 power lines, some batteries and 4 days of diesel backup
The massive 800 MW data centre will need city-scale electrical infrastructure, and will install enough diesel generator capacity, and fuel, to last four days if needed.
Rachel Williamson

Aug 24, 2026

12
Renewables

New renewables pilot seeks to generate power, and financial returns, for First Nations communities
Remote First Nations renewable energy projects are a complicated sell to investors, but a new government pilot will help bring two to financial close.
Rachel Williamson

Aug 21, 2026

1
Wind

Do wind turbines make droughts worse? A new study says they do not
By mixing different air layers, wind turbines can make surface air temperatures slightly warmer at night but they don’t cause long term soil drying.
Rachel Williamson

Aug 21, 2026

4
Policy & Planning

“Bikies, criminals, strippers”: Shadow energy minister leaves industry crowd perplexed by speech and gas pledge
Shadow energy minister David Davis took a Gippsland conference crowd on a journey this week, linking major energy projects to the state’s Big Build corruption scandal.
Rachel Williamson

Aug 20, 2026

4