Utility Scale Storage

With 4.4 GW of new renewable energy capacity installed and almost a quarter of Australia’s electricity supply now coming from renewable energy sources, 2019 was another year of extraordinary growth, according to the latest edition of the Clean Energy Australia report. As rooftop solar continued its record-breaking streak, big PV made up more than two-thirds of Australia’s large-scale renewable energy capacity installed last year. Meanwhile, the battery storage sector started to gain momentum.

Virtual inertia is a fundamentally different mechanism to fast frequency response (FFR).

Melbourne solar Thermal Hydro tech company RayGen has announced a strategic partnership with global developer Photon Energy. The boost comes only weeks after added ARENA funding and signals a major push toward a solution to the problem of solar intermittency.

French renewable energy developer Neoen is looking to develop a massive battery near Geelong that will dwarf its largest project to date – South Australia’s 100MW/129MWh Tesla big battery.

National utility Transpower said that solar could take a 9.3% share of the country’s generation mix by the middle of the century. However, real growth is only forecast to occur from 2035, with distributed generation expected to account for more than 80% of total installed PV.

Batteries are emerging as powerful enablers of renewable energy as grids Australia wide become challenged by the high penetration of renewable energy. The Northern Territory is investing in battery storage large and small, to capture the overflow of its incredible renewable resource and redirect it for the benefit of consumers.

After several stalled years, construction of the 300 MW Rodds Bay Solar Farm in Queensland is finally imminent. Developer, Renew Estate, has been issued its Notice to Proceed under its connection agreement with Powerlink Queensland.

The Western Australian State Parliament has passed an electricity reform bill that will see a new regulatory framework for the Pilbara and support stand-alone power and storage systems – already being rolled out by both Western Power and regional utility Horizon Power.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing nearly one million dollars for a study that will analyze the benefits that pumped hydro energy storage would have on the development of the New England Renewable Energy Zone in northern New South Wales.

The developer has secured a $20 million loan from Squadron Energy and Federation Asset Management, as it continues to struggle with connection delays on its Kennedy solar-wind-battery park.