Installations

A massive 400 MW solar farm being developed in Queensland’s Western Downs region by the Australian arm of French renewables developer Neoen is rapidly advancing toward full production with the project now exporting to the grid.

Solar Philippines, a Manila-based PV module manufacturer and project developer, is looking to secure at least 2,500 hectares of land to expand its 500 MW flagship solar project to 4 GW.

Australian module manufacturer Tindo Solar has unveiled a new solar panel based on M10 wafers for residential and business rooftop systems. The new addition to the company’s Karra range has a rated power of 410 W at 20.6% module efficiency and 23.1% cell efficiency.

The Australian arm of Philippines-based energy company AC Energy has secured a $100 million loan facility which will be used to accelerate the development of clean energy projects in Australia with the company seeking to grow its renewables capacity to 20 GW by 2030.

With headlines dominated by spiking electricity prices and energy security, the demand for off grid solutions in Australia is booming. “It’s starting to make financial sense, that’s significant,” Matt Miller, the marketing manager for Victorian company Commodore tells pv magazine Australia.

As community opposition to overhead transmission line grows, the Victoria-based Energy Grid Alliance has released a report imploring the energy industry to better understand why the phenomenon is gaining momentum – positing the ‘talk to them early and pay them more’ approach will only further decay the situation. Instead, the group says real attention needs to be paid to social license and ensuring environmental and socioeconomic impacts of chosen transmission corridors are considered from the get-go.

French renewables giant Total Eren continues to advance its green hydrogen ambitions in Australia, teaming with the Northern Territory government to develop a massive renewable hydrogen production facility powered by more than 2 GW of solar PV generation in the far north.

Lightsource bp will reach financial close on its 400 MW (DC) Wellington North solar farm in New South Wales and its 90 MW Wunghnu Solar Farm in Victoria by the end of 2022, making it one of Australia’s largest solar developers.

Local government associations continue to drive Australia’s shift towards renewable energy with councils around the country unveiling a series of clean energy projects, ranging from solar PV and storage installs, to solar panel recycling initiatives and long-term power purchase agreements.

Australian clean energy developer Renewable Energy Partners will investigate opportunities to incorporate solar PV and a big battery as part of its plan to develop a 600 MW wind farm in the Western Downs region of Queensland.