Installations

BHP is planning to install more than 500 MW additional wind and solar power backed by battery energy storage in Western Australia’s Pilbara region in the next seven years as it looks to slash the use of gas and diesel in its iron ore operations.

Scientists in Europe have put together a comprehensive guide to PV module degradation, examining literature and case studies on the topic as far back as the 1990s. Their paper details the primary stress factors faced by modules in the field, the most common modes of degradation and failure, and provides clear definitions relevant to reliability, quality and testing standards. Among their key findings is that a full understanding of how combinations of different stresses over varying timeframes is still missing from methods to estimate and improve system reliability.

Historic meteorological data is typically used to assess solar farm yield and secure project finance, but with climate change beginning to affect every aspect of society, past weather data may no longer be a reliable guide. Everoze Partner Nastasia Pacaut looks at how PV projects can be future-proofed in a changing climate.

Commissioning of one of Australia’s first solar-powered utility scale vanadium flow batteries has commenced with developer Yadlamalka Energy confirming that construction of its $22 million Spencer Energy Project in South Australia is now complete.

A $20 million (USD 13.58 million) early works package for the CopperString transmission project that is forecast to unlock 6 GW of renewable energy resources and connect Queensland’s northwest to the national electricity grid has been awarded to CIMIC Group companies UGL and CPB Contractors.

New South Wales transmission network operator Transgrid plans to spend $16.5 billion (USD 11.22 billion) to grow the state’s power system over the next decade to ensure the “secure operation” of the grid at up to 100% instantaneous renewables.

Australian retailing major Officeworks has flicked the switch on its first behind-the-meter rooftop solar and battery energy storage system as it works towards using only renewable electricity to power operations by 2025 as part of its ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030.

The CSIRO has run an internal ‘Shark Tank’-style competition which will see it test semi-transparent, printed solar films at its greenhouses to assess whether the technology can be used to enhance crops’ growth and cut emissions.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers have shown that microgrids equipped with solar-plus-storage systems can maintain an average levelised cost of energy (LCOE) below USD 0.30/kWh and limit annual public safety power shutoffs to 2% to 3% of annual energy demand.

Some of the renewable energy industry’s biggest players have donated equipment, expertise and time to provide a solar and storage solution to help preserve and protect the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world’s seven natural wonders.