2023

Fike Corp., a US industrial-hazard protection specialist, has launched Fike Blue, a tested, patented solution that suppresses battery fires and stops cascading thermal runaway.

Extreme weather is a growing risk to solar farms. Future-proofing through advanced technologies, leveraging data from novel sources, and by building both collaboration and acceptance of risk is vital, but rarely achieved today for a number of reasons. Insurers, lenders, developers, contractors and manufacturers come together here to discuss solutions to the intractable problem of weather risk.

British renewables developer Pacific Green Technologies has joined the growing number of foreign companies looking to capitalise on Australia’s energy transition, announcing plans to build a 500 MW/1,500 MWh battery energy storage system in South Australia.

Danish investment group Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has tapped Canadian PV and battery manufacturing heavyweight Canadian Solar to provide the energy storage solution for the first of the multiple large-scale battery projects it has planned for Australia.

Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced a major expansion of the Commonwealth-funded Capacity Investment Scheme that will now target 32 GW of renewable generation and storage capacity to support the nation’s clean energy transition.

University of New South Wales academic Aihua Wang is the first female recipient of the United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth Prize (QEPrize) for Engineering, after sharing the 2023 award with Andrew Blakers, Martin Green, and her husband Jianhua Zhao for their work developing the passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) solar cell. pv magazine caught up with her to ask about the achievement.

Swedish battery maker Northvolt has developed its first sodium-ion battery. The cell has been validated for an energy density of more than 160 Wh/kg and is designed for energy storage applications.

Akaysha Energy has expanded the scope of its Victorian Elaine battery from 800 MWh to 1244 MWh, growing the project’s capacity more than 50% due to its long duration capability of four hours, pv magazine Australia has been told.

Cimic Group subsidiary Pacific Partnerships has this week energised its 130 MW (DC) Glenrowan solar farm in northern Victoria. Construction on the solar farm began just one year ago, Cimic noted.

Superannuation fund Rest has announced it will invest $1 billion (655 million) into Australian-owned renewable energy investor and developer, Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners. The fund has a particular eye to green data storage centres.