Installations

Ona Coffee, founded by former World Barista Champion Sasa Sestic, has made the switch to 100% solar at both its roastery and its head office. The solar PV installation, made gradually throughout 2019, is part of the company’s long-term plan to reduce its carbon footprint and become more sustainable.

An energy deal struck between the Morrison and Berejiklian governments that will see more than $2 billion invested to increase gas supply and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector has prompted a flurry of reactions that boil down to two conflicting interpretations of its purpose.

In yet another confirmation of a dramatic drop in spending on large-scale renewables in Australia, a new analysis by the Clean Energy Council reveals a fall from 51 projects worth $10.7 billion in 2018 down to 28 projects worth $4.5 billion in 2019. Mounting regulatory risks, under-investment in transmission and policy uncertainty are the main reasons behind investment slow-down, which is set to put greater pressure on reliability and power prices as Australia’s old coal-fired power stations continue to close.

Germany-based Wirtgen Invest has entered the large-scale Aussie solar market with the purchase of the 140 MW Glenrowan West Solar Farm, a significant project considering its location in one of the 2020 Integrated System Plan’s Renewable Energy Zones.

The Minerals Council South Africa has urged the government to solve the country’s energy crisis by adding more power generation capacity from both distributed and large-scale renewables. Meanwhile, several mining companies operating in South Africa are planning their own big solar parks, including two 200 MW facilities under development by Sibanye-Stillwater and Vedanta.

Dozens of hospitals across Victoria and New South Wales are installing solar to slash their greenhouse emissions and electricity costs. In NSW, another four hospitals have received government funding to install solar panels, while the number of Victorian solar-powered health centers continues to rise.

Resources giant Fortescue Metals will invest $US450 million ($668 million) in the next stage of its Pilbara Energy Connect program to combine 150 MW of gas-fired generation, 150 MW of solar PV and a grid-scale battery. The hybrid generation project will provide low cost power to the Iron Bridge magnetite project currently under construction.

The internet’s favorite energy company installed 530 megawatt-hours of battery storage in Q4, beating out the previous record, set last quarter, as well as showing continued improvement in solar installations.

Sydney’s Nick Pfitzner was the first Australian to install a Tesla Powerwall to go with their residential solar PV system. Four years on and the Pfitzners are living the solar + battery dream.

The SA Government’s standout Home Battery Scheme is now open to new home buyers and new builds. The expanded Scheme is already off to a flying start with the Stoddart Group promising to install 10,000 solar and battery systems over the next four years to create one of the world’s largest VPPs.