June 2022

A couple of weeks ago, Goldman Sachs sent shockwaves through battery metals markets, issuing a prediction that cobalt and lithium in particular were due for a sharp price decline in the next two years. But London-based Benchmark Mineral Intelligence is loudly pushing back, outlining its reasons why it believes the call on lithium was wrong. Meanwhile, US analyst Wood Mackenzie says that the battery raw material chain will remain tight, but notes that recycling could help to ease the supply deficit.

Longi Solar outlines its high-temperature mitigation logic in designing the lower current, high-wattage Hi-MO5 solar panel series.

In many parts of the world, project developers and owners are increasingly looking to floating PV as the next long-term growth market in utility-scale solar. Gian Schelling, global business development manager for Hitachi Energy, says that PV-on-water can rise above the current challenges it faces by drawing on the lessons learned from offshore wind development.

Australian energy giant AGL Energy has announced its leadership of a consortium of industry partners for a feasibility study into whether its Torrens Island facility can become a green hydrogen hub for domestic users and export.

Western Australia’s regional utility Western Power has confirmed plans to install another 4,000 standalone power systems across the state in the next 10 years after reaching a milestone in the rollout of the renewable energy units.

Progress on the $300 Eyre Peninsula Link transmission project in South Australia has hit a hurdle with the Communications, Electrical Plumbing Union issuing a statement saying it had shut down the construction due to “appalling” health and safety conditions.

New South Wales Energy Minister Matt Kean said the state government is unlikely to use new emergency powers granted to ensure energy supply is maintained after the market operator advised conditions in the grid were improving.

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen has declared Australia is “under new management” and determined to “unleash private investment” in new clean energy projects, urging the sector to take advantage of the opportunities available in the renewable energy market.

Jolywood has cancelled a plan to invest in solar cell and panel production in Indonesia, while Hangzhou First Applied Material has said that it will invest US$226 million (AU$324 million) in the expansion of its EVA film output capacity.

If you aren’t a long-term energy policy news junkie, you’d be forgiven for thinking the current crisis arrived fairly suddenly.