The International Energy Agency (IEA) has delivered its latest detailed energy policy review to the Australian Federal Government. It points to changing policy at the Federal level as having failed Australia’s energy transition and consumers, and argues for the need for a framework to be put in place for 2030.

Germany’s innogy is set to acquire the Limondale and Hilston utility scale solar projects in New South Wales from developer Overland Sun Farming. The two projects have a combined capacity of over 460 MW.

South Australia’s Tailem Bend Solar Project has reached financial close, having signed a PPA for 100% of its output with Snowy Hydro. Construction on the project, located 100km south-east of Adelaide, will begin in February 2018.

Austrian headquartered ENcome is reporting rapid growth as an independent operations and maintenance (O&M) provider to the Australian utility scale solar market.

Carnegie Clean Energy has received approval to negotiate the lease for a 250ha site in the WA’s Eastern Goldfields, on which it hopes to develop a 100 MW solar and 20 MWh battery storage array. The Mungari Solar Farm would supply power to a region currently suffering from electricity supply constraints.

Switzerland’s Meyer Burger to deliver and install its SmartWire Connection Technology at REC Group’s production facility in Singapore at the start of Q2, company confirms.

While the Hornsdale Power Reserve “is doing its job” and is performing as expected, owner Neoen has urged market observers not jump to conclusions as to its profitability based on its arbitrage trading over the short term.

The proposed 50,000 home virtual power plant launched by the South Australian state government, in partnership with Tesla, is a big deal. But it does beg a number of questions as to how it will be realized and what the implications of the project could be.

South Australia could play host to the world’s largest deployment of residential solar+storage in the form of a virtual power plant. The scheme, announced by SA Premier Jay Weatherill on the election campaign trail, could see 250 MW of rooftop PV and 650 MWh of battery storage added to 50,000 homes over 4.5 years.

The number of battery storage systems being installed alongside PV doubled in 2017. The latest data from the Clean Energy Regulator shows that 3,763 battery storage systems were installed alongside a small-scale PV array, up from 1,566 in 2016.