Installations

Power solutions provider and manufacturer Quality Energy has completed the installation of a 1 MW rooftop PV system that will provide almost 30% of the annual electrical energy demand at an advanced textile manufacturing site at Wangaratta in regional Victoria.

Renewable energy developer Acciona Energia has tapped fellow Spanish company Ingeteam to provide its power conversion and control technology for the 380 MW Aldoga Solar Farm being constructed in Queensland.

A high-voltage interconnector linking Australia’s eastern and western electricity grids would optimise the generation-storage mix for a minimum-cost solution as the nation transitions from a fossil-fuel-dependent economy to one based on renewable energy, according to a new paper.

A 150 MW solar farm and a 250 MWh battery energy storage system proposed for Victoria’s Central Highlands by British renewables developer Elgin Energy has won planning approval from the state government.

A recent analysis shows that renewable energy could partially replace diesel fuel to power instruments and provide heat at the South Pole. A team of researchers has proposed a solar, wind and battery energy storage hybrid system that could reduce diesel consumption by 95% and save approximately $86 million over 15 years, after an initial investment of about $14.5 million.

The Australian government has ticked off on a more than 1 GW solar farm and battery energy storage facility being developed in Queensland’s Southern Downs region.

All new solar systems and home batteries installed under Victoria’s solar and battery rebate schemes will need to be fitted with an active internet connection to support emergency backup and flexible exports under new rules to come into play later this year.

Italian energy giant Enel Green Power says the commissioning of the 93 MW Girgarre Solar Farm in central Victoria is now underway with the power plant expected to be fully operational early next year.

Tests conducted by Canadian researchers at the NREL’s testing field in the United States have shown that ground reflectors based on high-density polyethylene can significantly increase bifacial PV plant performance. They stressed the profitability of this technology is strictly dependent on the location and warned about combining it with inverter clipping.

Economic cooperation between India and Australia may open doors for investment in clean energy technology but challenges still abound in a competitive global market. Vibhuti Garg and Shantanu Srivastava, of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, discuss the role that public funding and resource pooling could play in supporting manufacturing ambitions.