Utility Scale PV

What is being touted as Australia’s largest merchant PV power plant has signed grid connection and electricity transfer agreements with WA’s state-owned grid operator Western Power. Construction on the two-phase 128 MW(dc) project, to be located around 160km east of Perth, is set to get underway in early 2018.

European countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain are all forecast to be gigawatt-scale markets in 2018. Globally, around 606 GW of new PV capacity is forecast to be installed between 2017 and 2022.

The proposed 6 GW wind+solar project would generate renewable energy from Australia’s wind and solar resources and supply it via subsea cables to Indonesia. Vestas has been confirmed for the wind energy side, while the search for a solar partner, which would deliver the required equipment for the project’s 2 GW solar PV capacity through establishing a manufacturing facility in Indonesia, will be conducted over the next two years.

Following the selection of Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) and Perth Noongar Foundation (PNF) as co-equity investors, Carnegie Clean Energy has announced that it readies to break ground on the WA’s first merchant utility solar project.

As part of a solar-wind hybrid renewable energy facility, the 20 MW White Rock Solar Farm has seen its first panels installed.

After vowing bigger battery plans than Elon Musk’s Tesla deal in South Australia, Lyon Group is now reported to have received bids for three of its utility-scale solar power and battery projects located in Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

California’s grid operator (ISO) says that a joint National Renewable Energy Lab, First Solar and the California Independent System Operator project shows that renewable energy plants with smart inverter technology can provide grid services similar to, or in some cases better than conventional generation.

The consultancy’s 2017 study finds that the global cost of utility-scale solar has reached an unsubsidized LCOE of under US$50 per megawatt-hour, making new solar cost-competitive with running existing coal or nuclear plants.

German renewables developer Wirsol claims to be the PV power plant market leader in Australia, achieving around 20% market share of projects currently under construction. It entered the market less than twelve months ago.

SMA is set to supply its central inverters and power plant controllers to more than 20 PV power plant projects in Australia. Today the inverter giant revealed that it has signed contracts to supply its Medium Voltage Power Station (MVPS) and the SMA Power Plant Controller to around 1.2 GW in projects.