Utility Scale PV

Researchers in New Zealand have developed a new methodology for solar park planning that considers clear-sky radiation for voltage stability analysis. It is based on two different generation profiles for separate purposes.

Spanish tracker giant STI Norland has expanded to Australia with a new subsidiary office in Melbourne. The company is arriving on our shores with a keenness to compete with tracker suppliers who already have their foot in the door. With no solar farm too big or too small, STI Norland Australia CEO Alan Atchison sat down with pv magazine Australia to talk about how the company plans to make tracks Down Under.

The Sumitomo Corporation has reported a stunning ¥26bn (US$251m) loss on its Western Australian Bluewaters coal fired power investment. The loss assures the company’s worst ever annual performance and comes as a result of international and financial pressure against coal funding.

Neoen announced last month that it had completed the financing of its 460 MW Western Downs Green Power Hub, but today it has been revealed that said green finance came about through a wide reaching international effort, including seven global banks, a salutary sign that green finance is accelerating as fossil fuel divestment continues.

For a company that has its own big sunny solar farm and is developing a companion green-hydrogen production plant, the next step must be to formalise its commitment to go 100% renewable.

Goodwill may be the most under-appreciated resource for renewable project developers and one that is delivered through community ownership. At least, that’s according to Kristy Walters, chairperson of the 1 MW Haystacks Solar Garden project –  which claims to be Australia’s first large scale solar garden cooperative.

Steel giant BlueScope is backing the NSW Government’s ambitious renewable infrastructure plan through a $20 million investment into the development of a Renewable Manufacturing Zone at its Port Kembla site in the Illawarra. The investment seeks to encourage innovation in the renewable sector and work towards the Government’s goal of constructing the state’s Renewable Energy Zones with local materials.

Danish investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has given its partnership to Hydrogen Renewables Australia as it looks to develop the 5,000 Mw Murchison Renewable Hydrogen Project near Kalbarri in Western Australia. The project looks to utilise Australia’s best wind and solar resources to produce hydrogen fuel for export to nations such as Japan and Korea.

Spanish developer Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) has reaffirmed its presence in the Australian renewable energy marketplace by adding the 115 MW Metz Solar Farm to its solar portfolio.

Iron ore mining giant Fortescue Metals Group has revealed ambitious plans to build one of the biggest renewable energy portfolios in the world, delivering more than 235 GW of renewable capacity, or five times the current capacity of Australia’s National Energy Market.