Utility Scale PV

Sandbox Solar, a solar developer and US federal grant recipient, has released a beta version of its software modelling tool for agrivoltaic power plants. It supports the design and optimisation of solar panels, as well as the crops underneath.

Annual investment in renewable energy construction in Australia is forecast to jump almost 50% this year and continue to climb to a peak in 2026 with historically high levels of activity to follow as the country continues its transition away from fossil fuel-fired power generation.

Horizon Power’s push to electrify the town of Esperance has reached a major milestone with the Western Australian coastal community’s reticulated gas supply switched off as part of a move that the state government expects will serve as a “blueprint” for other electrification works around the country.

European renewables giant OX2 has announced its entry into the Australian market with the acquisition of Esco Pacific, one of the country’s biggest utility-scale solar developers in a deal valued at $126 million (USD 84.2 million).

The investment arm of Ikea franchisee owner Ingka Group has added to its utility scale renewable energy assets in Australia with the acquisition of a 195 MWp solar farm portfolio from the regional division of German renewables developer Enerparc.

Another utility scale PV project is set to connect to the national grid with the Australian arm of Spanish energy giant Iberdrola announcing that the installation of solar panels at the 190 MW Avonlie Solar Farm is now complete.

With many of the top choice land parcels for renewable development now taken, the question of where to put new projects in Australia is growing troublesome. Australian company Rela thinks it has a novel solution – one which rests on levelling the knowledge playing field between landowners and developers. “If the counter party is your sole source of knowledge about this whole [renewable] ecosystem, of course you’re hesitant,” director Michael Katz tells pv magazine Australia.

The Indian states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka now account for more than 50% of the nation’s cumulative installed solar capacity.

South Korea has cut its 2030 renewable energy target from 30.2% to just 21.6%, as it seeks to reduce support for solar and other clean energy sources, while preparing the ground for more nuclear power and liquefied natural gas. A lobby group is now challenging the plan in the Seoul Administrative Court.

The Kogan Renewable Hydrogen Demonstration Plant, which is expected to produce approximately 75 tonnes of green hydrogen annually from behind-the-meter solar energy, is nearing reality after CS Energy formalised its joint venture arrangements with ASX-listed gas company Senex Energy.