Marija Maisch
Korea Zinc invests in gravity storage developer Energy Vault
Korea Zinc, non-ferrous metal smelting company, has agreed to invest $50 million in Energy Vault, a Switzerland-based gravity storage specialist, in order to use its tech to decarbonise its refining and smelting operations in Australia.
Philippines’ San Miguel Corp to start operation of 690MW of batteries
Filipino conglomerate San Miguel Corp aims to complete 1GW of battery storage projects this year to make way for the integration of some 3GW of intermittent renewable energy generation.
Reliance Industries to acquire sodium-ion battery provider Faradion
Reliance Industries said its solar unit will buy UK-based sodium-ion battery technology provider Faradion for GBP100 million (AUD$187 million) including debt, as the Indian conglomerate pushes forward with its ambitious plan to move into the renewable energy industry.
ARENA pours funding into advanced inverter capability batteries
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has announced a $100 million competitive funding round for grid scale batteries. While battery technology agnostic, the projects must be equipped with advanced inverter technology.
Carbon-air batteries vs hydrogen storage
Researchers from Tokyo Tech have developed an alternative to hydrogen energy storage which is smaller in size and more efficient. The system utilises carbon as an energy source and demonstrates superior power density and charge-discharge efficiency of 38% over 10 cycles.
Distributed and large-scale renewables improve reliability outlook for Australia’s main grid
The reliability of Australia’s power supply has improved driven by the addition of new solar and wind capacity, making summer blackouts less likely, the Australian Energy Market Operator finds in its latest report. In light of the aging coal fleet and scheduled plant closures, timely commissioning of new generation, storage and transmission investment will be critical.
Luminous Energy offloads Queensland’s second largest solar farm
The UK developer has completed the sale of the 162MWac (203MWdc) Columboola Solar Farm in Queensland’s Western Downs, having recently signed a power purchase agreement with state government-owned utility CS Energy.
Polysilicon price spike puts pressure on solar developers in Australia
In light of the recent events that have caused the polysilicon price to skyrocket, solar developers in Australia are being warned about module supply constraints and price volatility over the coming quarter.
Enphase inverters added to Ikea’s turnkey solar offer in Australia
The California-based energy technology company has announced that its microinverters have been selected for Solargain’s turnkey solar offerings in Australia, including the retailer’s offer in collaboration with the Swedish furniture giant.
John Laing continues to bleed red ink with its Australian solar projects stuck in the slow lane
In its H1 2020 report, the UK-based infrastructure investor revealed it had suffered substantial losses, mainly due to performance issues on its renewable energy projects. Two of the company’s Australian solar farms were particularly badly hit by transmission and equipment issues.
