Installations

After Genex Power’s offtake agreement with EnergyAustralia fell through earlier this month its concessional federal funding lapsed. However, the Project has secured an extension into 2020, hopefully allowing it enough time to restructure and reach financial close.

One of Australia’s largest solar farms, APA Group’s 110 MW (AC) Darling Downs Solar Farm has officially opened after significant delays resulting from grid connection issues and last-minute changes of engineering and construction partners.

Australia made its first moves to open up its energy industry in the 1990s, when the National Electricity Market (NEM) was first created, and many of the rules and regulations from back then are still in place today. But the rise of renewables in the 21st century, argues Clean Energy Investor Group Chair Rob Grant, necessitates a rethink of this market structure.

The Australian Energy Market Commission’s proposed transmission access model has come under fierce criticism from the clean energy industry for being unnecessarily complex and likely to increase the cost of capital for future generation and storage investment.

The New Zealand Rural Connectivity Group will use Redflow zinc-bromine flow batteries to store energy in off-grid telecommunication sites.

Utility-scale solar is booming in Australia. Quality assurance, especially solar panel testing, helps achieve better performance and lower costs. Best-practice testing is key, writes Michelle McCann, managing partner at PV Lab Australia, but must be planned and fully integrated into a project from an early stage. This integration ensures flow-through from panel manufacturers to commercial buyers and large project owners.

Market intelligence company Navigant Research has developed a country forecast of the global market. Incentives and pricing will be the main driver of installations, though the market will continue to be concentrated in certain key regions for now.

Fossil fuel giant Shell is set to make its foray into Australia’s electricity market after shareholders in electricity retailer ERM Power voted in favour of a $617 million takeover bid.

The Philippines is desperately hungry for rooftop solar PV as it seeks to alleviate itself of energy poverty. Pathways are finally opening up for the vast Southeast Asian nation with investors readying US$20 million to fund four new renewable projects.

Scientists at Princeton have found solar and wind energy offer the added environmental benefit of reducing water usage, by comparison with hydroelectric dams. Their findings, say the researchers, could have a positive impact on groundwater sustainability in drought-prone regions such as California, where they conducted a case study.