Fiji plans ‘Pacific’s largest solar project’
The island nation has agreed a deal with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation to develop at least 15 MW of generation capacity in a US$15 million project.
Construction underway at twin merchant solar farms in the Riverina
Photon Energy has commenced construction on two Australian solar farms which will deliver a combined capacity of 14 MW in the Riverina region of New South Wales.
X-Elio to build 200 MW Blue Grass project, signs PPA with Salesforce
Spanish solar EPC X-Elio has confirmed its arrival in the Australian market, announcing a “landmark” power purchase agreement for the output of the 200 MW Blue Grass solar farm in Queensland.
Floating solar plant with LCOE of $0.051/kWh comes online in Malaysia
The 13 MW array was deployed in the Selangor state on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The plant is selling power to local utility TNB under a 21-year PPA. The project’s levelized cost of energy is MYR 0.21608 ($0.051).
Vietnam opens 450 MW solar plant as utility-scale solar era dawns in SE Asia
Ho Chi Minh City-based construction company Trungnam Group said its army of labourers took just 45 days to perform site clearance for a project which took shape within 102 days. The 450 MW solar plant signals a new era in utility-scale solar for Vietnam, which is already seeing significant growth in its rooftop solar markets.
The weekend read: The plan to REZurrect Australia’s large-scale segment
Investment in large-scale solar appears to be faltering in Australia. The technology with the lowest cost, with no emissions and the fastest time to delivery, has often found itself dangling at the oversubscribed end of a limp transmission line, with additional, expensive requirements to connect, or earnings-slashing curtailments when operational. Investors have found no reassurance in the federal government’s winking at coal, courting of gas, and undermining of agencies established to support innovation and investment in renewables. In short, the Australian prime minister is showing a complete lack of urgency to act on climate change. Enter the Renewable Energy Zone.
WA Govt approves 15 GW Asian Renewable Energy Hub, whole project now expanded to 26 GW
The Western Australian Government has given environmental approval to the first stage of the Asian Renewable Energy Hub, a 15 GW hybrid solar and wind plant. The approval is a massive step forward for the project, which will eventually reach 26 GW, and an even larger step forward for green hydrogen development in Australia for domestic use and export.
Iberdrola highlights potential for green recovery in breaking ground on Australia’s largest hybrid wind and solar farm
Spanish giant Iberdrola has broken ground on its 317 MW Port Augusta hybrid wind and solar farm, set to be the largest in Australia. The global energy company stressed its desire to increase its renewable presence in Australia on the day, betting on Australia’s potential for a green recovery from the economic strife of Covid-19.
‘Solar is the new king of energy markets’
The advance of PV has been lauded by the International Energy Agency as it launched the latest edition of a flagship World Energy Outlook 2020 report overshadowed by the Covid-19 crisis and uncertainty over how long the economic recovery could take.
Nobel Prize-winning auction geniuses want to apply their findings to renewables
Stanford professors Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson were awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in economics for developing a new auction theory and new auction formats for goods and services. Their findings were already successfully used in the electricity energy sector and may now meet the challenge on how to better shape clean energy procurements.
