Australian ‘rooftop solar capital’ goes large-scale with approval of 100 MW solar farm
Queensland’s Bundaberg Regional Council has approved the development application of a 100 MW solar farm 60km away from Bundaberg. The project would be one of the largest scale for the region, dubbed “Australia’s rooftop solar capital” for its high penetration of residential solar.
The secrets to inverter success in Australia’s utility solar sector
SMA Australia had a bumper year in 2020, despite increasing competition and Covid-19, and partly because of the West Murray crisis. What’s next?
Jindera’s 130 MW Solar Farm granted conditional approval
A 130 MW solar farm + battery storage near the NSW town Jindera has been conditionally approved by the state’s Independent Planning Commission (IPC).
One perfect 100% renewable day in SA
As Christmas lights twinkled their last, South Australia’s electricity grid spent a whole day basking in sunshine and turning towards brisk summer breezes. Renewables ruled — a taste of future feasting on clean energy.
JinkoSolar claims a third of Australia’s utility-scale PV generation
Since establishing its Australian subsidiary in 2012 JinkoSolar has substantially expanded its rooftop presence and, notably, its big-time contribution to the National Electricity Market.
Singapore investor injects $3 million into 500 MW Queensland PV project
Plans to build a large-scale solar farm at Harlin in Queensland’s Somerset Council region continue to gather momentum after Singaporean infrastructure investor Keppel Corporation agreed to pour more than $3 million into the project.
Victorian 30 MW solar farm acquired by startup, securing future
Commercial rooftop solar startup CleanPeak Energy has acquired the 30 MW project location just outside the northern Victorian town of Wangaratta, its first foray into utility-scale solar.
Growing renewable capacity drives energy bills down to 2022/23
The Australian Energy Market Commission’s latest annual Residential Electricity Price Trends report shows costs reducing as renewable build out replaces inefficient coal-fired generation, and more lowest-cost renewable supply is on the way.
2020 Year in Review
Soon 2020 will only be a worry to future high-school history students. But when they ask us if anything good at all happened in 2020, remember this review and tell them that solar PV shone in the darkness. Despite the mess of it all, 2020 has been another good year for Australian solar. The industry has demonstrated resilience, and significant progress has been made in the fields of energy storage, green hydrogen and others.
Weekend read: Maverick not only by name
A small number of utility-scale PV arrays of an entirely different nature are taking shape Down Under. Over the past six years, Aussie solar startup 5B has been developing and deploying its pre-assembled and relocatable Maverick mounting structures “on a shoestring budget.” But with a major solar developer having joined as a strategic investor, the company is now looking to make prefabricated arrays a mainstream option for utility-scale PV.
