Major projects on sale as three Lyon Solar companies enter liquidation
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.
Solar pushes demand in South Australia to new record low
On Sunday, South Australia set a new record for minimum operational demand at 475 MW. Rooftop solar led the way covering 64% of the total demand in the state.
Downer to build Chichester solar+battery project at iron ore mine
Downer has been contracted by Alinta Energy to turn Fortescue Metals Group’s Chichester Hub iron ore operations in the Pilbara region into a solar-powered hub.
Commercial rooftops will lead renewables growth in the next five years
Although the International Energy Agency’s latest renewables report forecasts impressive solar growth there is still a nagging feeling it has produced conservative estimates and the emphasis on sharing costs with grid operators is predictable.
Innovative agreement sees QLD water help carry solar to the grid
Pacific Hydro’s Haughton Solar Farm in Queensland has signed an innovative network support agreement with Stanwell Corporation (Stanwell), a QLD government-owned corporation and the largest electricity generator in the state.
DuPont on the hunt for Aussie field survey partners
Over the last decade, materials giant DuPont has surveyed more than 2 GW of PV installations and analyzed a range of failure types and their causes. Hong-Jie Hu, DuPont’s solar technical and development lead in China, says that the company is looking for Australian partners for its Global Field Survey program – with a particular interest in hot and humid and desert environments.
Lyon Group and China Huadian join forces in the war on curtailment
Solar infrastructure developer Lyon Group has strengthened its ties in the Asian markets through a significant joint-venture with two of Asia’s largest energy generators. The agreement will see integrated battery storage systems utilised to reduce the risk of curtailment and increase the flexibility of renewable energy plants.
“Massive” risk potential as EPCs cut corners on solar project components
A global supplier of electrical cabling for utility scale PV projects has warned that some Australian EPCs are not adopting international solar-industry norms on projects, potentially leading to “massive risk.” Swiss supplier Leoni reports that considering the vast scale of some solar projects in Australia that potential failures could be particularly costly.
Long read: Solar + wind, the benefits of co-location
Shared grid connections, complimentary resource availability, and more grid-friendly power are among the key advantages of pairing wind farms with solar arrays – and developers are quickly moving into the emerging space.
Wind testing, specifications in focus as tracker deployment surges
Single-axis tracker deployment has increased dramatically in the past two-to-three years, both in terms of the number of PV plants adopting the technology and the sheer size of some tracking systems. Given this, durability in the face of high wind loads has been brought into sharp focus with new testing and calculation methods providing more certainty for EPCs, owners and investors.
