Installations

Global solar supply chain issues and the Chinese energy crisis which hit in the second half of last year have, ironically, led to a “massive” oversupply of solar panels in Australia, according to major distributors. The tension between increased global panel costs and the glut of them within Australia has led to some messy pricing and strange market dynamics on the ground.

Developer Renewable Energy Partners has announced plans for a 180 MW solar PV project, possibly with a battery storage system, in the Western Downs region of Queensland.

The amount of solar installers offering storage solutions grew considerably in 2021 and promises to surge again this year, according to an annual survey by EUPD Research. The research centre has also released the top three 2021 brands for solar modules, inverters and storage in the Australian market, offering insights into where companies are buying equipment and which segments are seeing the most growth.

Singapore-based Sun Cable has submitted its Environmental Impact Statement to the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority. The document reveals the full extent of the project’s enormity, specifically a 17-20 GW solar farm tied to 36-42 GWh of battery energy storage, which is set to be transmitted by subsea cables to Singapore.

The floating facility will be built by Japan’s Shizen Energy and will sell power under unspecified conditions to local utility Syarikat Air Melaka Bhd (SAMB).

Developers are moving fast to meet Singapore’s clean energy needs by establishing overseas solar-plus-storage plants, with a strong focus on facilities in neighbouring Indonesia.

Commercially printed solar cell technology developed by the University of Newcastle is being put to the test to power an electric vehicle’s 15,097 kilometre journey around the entire coastline of Australia.

Myanmar’s government has announced a plan to increase conventional and renewable energy generation to address electricity shortages. Reports from Burmese exiles, however, detail increasing issues for the construction of large scale solar projects tendered prior to the military coup in February 2021 and Chinese inverter manufacturer Sungrow said the project it secured in the country’s first tender has been canceled.

Developers are moving fast to meet Singapore’s clean energy needs by establishing overseas solar-plus-storage plants, with a strong focus on facilities in neighbouring Indonesia.

For some developers of ground-mounted PV, bifacial modules are already the default technology. The slight cost increase is often outweighed by an increase in energy yield. And yet “agreeing” on the right energy yield of a PV plant has always been the most heated debate between developers, investors, lenders, and technical advisers. Everoze partner Christophe Campistron looks at both sides.