Utility Scale PV

A couple of years ago NSW was pilloried as the laggard state in Australia’s renewable energy transition. Today it is the only state to have acted on the concentrated benefits of renewable energy zones as outlined in AEMO’s Integrated System Plan. Matt Kean’s latest announcement capitalises on developer enthusiasm for NSW’s first wildly successful REZ proposal.

A “majority” stake of the 300 MW shovel-ready Rodds Bay Solar Farm in Queensland has been purchased by UK investment firm United Green. The announcement comes as state government energy ministers come together to reinforce their renewable energy ambitions in this time of economic recovery, despite “the difficulty” of the federal policy vacuum.

The Commonwealth Government has OK’d the first phase of 600-1000 MW worth of developments that will feed into Tasmania’s 200% renewables by 2040 target; as well as the Marinus Link project; and the state’s ambitions to attract high-energy industries to its shores.

Every crisis is a crossroads, and Australia is certainly at a crossroads. This week, a host of climate, development and investment leaders are backing Beyond Zero Emission’s green scaffolded Million Jobs Plan of Covid-19 economic recovery.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has announced a major step forward in the West Murray Zone after it granted registration to one of the biggest solar farm in that troubled part of the grid.

From today, the City of Sydney will run entirely on renewable energy generated from wind and solar farms in regional NSW.

The developer of Australia’s first utility-scale industrial solar project will now build North Queensland’s first renewable hydrogen facility at its zinc processing plant with the help of a $5 million Queensland government grant.

A massive solar+storage project nearby Uralla in the New England region of New South Wales has locked in a grid connection agreement with Transgrid.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s announcement of the third tranche of projects to have fast-tracked assessments as part of the state’s effort to boost the economy in response to the impact of Covid-19 includes the program’s first large-scale solar farm, the 72MW(DC)/60MW(AC) Yanco Solar Farm.

The New South Wales government’s plan to deliver a 3 GW renewable energy zone in the state’s Central-West has been met with overwhelming investor interest and project proposals valued at $38 billion. To support the development of the REZ, the state government has quadrupled its funding support, while ARENA has allocated funding for TransGrid’s scoping study that will deliver a business case of the Central-West Orana REZ and provide a template for a national approach.