Installations

As it continues to drive renewables and energy storage, the South Australian government has given its tick of approval for the 280 MW Bungama Solar Farm coupled with a 140MW/560MWh battery storage facility proposed by EPS Energy.

The Northern Territory has given major project status to an ambitious plan to develop a 10 GW solar farm coupled with a 20-30 GWh storage facility near Tennant Creek and export solar power harvested in the Australian desert to Singapore via subsea cables.

Raptor Maps has some 700 MW of Australian solar farms under monitoring by aerial thermal imaging. Compared to the company’s worldwide customer base, Australian PV plant experiences roughly the same average percentage — between 1.5% and 2% — of power affected by faults and defects as global installations.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has laid out a $370 million plan for network upgrades in Western Victoria which would deliver almost double the benefit to both energy consumers and energy producers. However, the proposal has provoked federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s attack on the state’s renewable energy target.

With 128 MWp, Numurkah is the largest operating solar farm in Victoria. The project developed by French renewable energy producer Neoen has a major supply contract secured with the Laverton Steelworks and is one of two solar farms supplying 100% renewable energy to offset Melbourne’s entire tram network.

Metal wrap-through technology combined with PERC confers multiple benefits on Sunport Power’s new solar modules. Add the involvement of UNSW’s Professor Martin Green in the product development, Sunport’s 1.4 GW production capacity and a 30-year performmance warranty by insurer Lloyds… Two Australian wholesalers have started shipping.

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) has secured financing for the 67.8 MW Goonumbla Solar Farm in New South Wales. The Spanish developer inked a power purchase agreement for the project with Snowy Hydro last year.

As sustainability-linked debt financing continues to gather momentum, Australian airports are turning to innovative funding mechanisms. In the latest such deal, the operator of Gold Coast Airport will be incentivised to reduce carbon emissions under a loan agreement with Commonwealth Bank and Westpac.

The 60 MW Kennedy Energy Parkhas been deprioritised by its developer Windlab due to “uncertainty around connection solution.” The move comes despite the fact the hybrid solar, wind and storage facility known as “Big Kennedy” was completed last December.

The proposal to build a solar farm on the site of the old South Fremantle tip has been given final development approval. Construction on the former landfill site, for which various redevelopment plans had been submitted since 1985, finally looks set to move ahead.