Utility Scale PV

Australian renewables developer Windlab has announced further delays on its landmark energy park in north Queensland after its EPC contractor failed to secure a fully functioning connection agreement.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has released its 2018-19 Annual Report on its investment into Australia’s clean energy transition. The report laud’s CEFC investment and provides optimistic reading for the energy transition.

The Australian utility-scale PV and wind industries have just gone through a record two years of construction and commissioning. More specifically, writes Rystad Energy’s David Dixon, utility-scale PV has transformed from a megawatt-scale market to one measured in gigawatts. The resultant boom in utility-scale PV in the country has attracted developers, EPCs and OEMs, from at home and across the globe.

Lightsource BP has signed financing agreements to develop its first utility-scale solar project in Australia. The 200 MW solar farm, near Wellington, New South Wales, is the largest single plant to be financed by the U.K. solar developer to date and one of the biggest projects in Australia to use bifacial PV.

Welcome to Australia’s largest national showcase of renewable energy at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Follow pv magazine live to keep updated on the latest Aussie solar PV and storage developments and trends from this year’s event, as they happen. Stay tuned!

German inverter giant SMA Solar Technology reports that the Australian large scale solar market has exceeded its expectations in 2019, as big PV projects continue to move forward despite regulatory uncertainty. Boris Wolff, SMA Executive Vice President for utility scale and projects considers Australia a “blueprint” market for the company’s expanded modeling and grid connection services.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has undertaken a review on how Australia compares with other international power systems and suggested that the theoretical limits on wind and solar penetration may need to be defined with an eye on the power system stability.

The City of Sydney has unveiled the biggest standalone renewables deal for an Australian council. Valued at over $60 million, the plan will see the City meet its electricity needs using only wind and solar.

Uralla-based Meralli Solar has completed the installation of another solar farm in just eight weeks, thanks to Belectric PEG frame system. The 8.9 MW project sits at Baroota, South Australia.

Creditors of Brisbane-based solar and storage developer Lyon Group have announced that three of Lyon Solar’s companies are now in liquidation after their directors failed to meet a deadline. Deloitte is now looking for buyers for the Companies’ projects.