Epho to propagate commercial-scale solar farms in the city
At the Commercial and Large Scale Solar Conference, Epho, an EPC and operations-and-maintenance provider in the C&I space, announced it has developed a model for industrial rooftops to be blanketed in solar PV for the benefit of tenants, landlords and the grid — it involves operating both behind and in front of the meter.
Victoria increases minimum feed-in tariffs
From 1 July this year, the single minimum price Victoria’s solar households will receive for the power they export to the grid will increase by two cents per kilowatt hour. However, under the time-varying tariff introduced last year, the peak rate tariff has been slashed by half.
Solar saves the (heatwave) day
The latest report from The Australia Institute corroborates solar’s pivotal role in shaving peak demand, particularly in the event of extreme conditions as seen in January. Renewables performed the best of all energy sources during the record-breaking summer of heatwaves, while coal clunkers were operating well below capacity, the findings confirm.
Decmil breaks ground on 255 MW Sunraysia Solar Farm
Maoneng Australia, John Laing and Decmil have hosted a sod-turning ceremony on-site in Balranald, NSW. The developer has confirmed the solar farm will be co-located with a large-scale grid connected battery, and stated its plans for an additional 500 MW of solar and energy storage to be added in line with the proposed SA-NSW interconnector.
Risen’s Yarranlea approaches readiness for module installation
Construction on the 121 MW Yarranlea Solar Farm in Queensland is continuing, with tracker installation underway, setting the stage for module installation. The project, which is funded and managed by Risen in-house, is part of the company’s ambitious plan to develop 2 GW of large scale projects in the country.
British Solar Renewables to build Territory’s largest solar+storage project
BSR EPC has secured a contract from Australian renewables developer Epuron to deliver the Northern Territory’s largest solar project – the 33 MW Katherine Solar Farm co-located with a 6 MW battery storage system.
Floating solar reaches new territories
In Cambodia, Singapore’s Cleantech is building a 10 MW solar plant including a 2.7 MW floating section, and in Lithuania, state-owned utility Lietuvos Energija is deploying a floating plant at the Kruonis pumped storage hydroelectric power plant.
Without more solar and wind, NSW risks being left behind in the dark ages
Stating NSW was once a world leader on climate change, a new Climate Council report notes the state is now far behind being home to Australia’s oldest fleet of coal-fired power generators. While NSW public is highly supportive of renewable energy, state government policies fail to encourage more wind and solar projects beyond 2020.
Vast Solar seeks funding for 50 MW CSP, PV hybrid
The Sydney-based developer is seeking $75 million to help finance a 50 MW hybrid project, following a successful 1 MW pilot. Vast Solar is looking to deploy its innovative CSP technology, which uses sodium as a heat transfer fluid to capture concentrated solar energy that can then be stored and used on demand, on the utility-scale.
Low, middle income households install solar more than wealthy
New myth-busting analysis has revealed that rooftop solar is not so much in vogue among the wealthy, but is more popular among poorer households. Cost-saving benefits are, however, being blunted by high fixed charges, while energy retailers are profiteering from households with solar PV, states the report from the Victoria Energy Policy Climate.
