Utility Scale PV

The Clean Energy Council has reiterated calls to reform the grid connection process to provide increased certainty and security for investors after a new report revealed only one renewable energy generation project reached financial close in Australia in the third quarter of 2022.

Energy giant AGL has disclosed it will shutter its gas-fired Torrens Island B power station in South Australia within four years, citing the impending completion of a new electricity interconnector that will link power grids across three Australian states, unlocking gigawatts of new wind, solar PV and storage projects.

Dutch company Photon Energy Group has acquired its first utility scale solar and battery project, opting for a venture 500 kilometres northwest of Sydney which it says will become a “prototype” for its European portfolio.

After almost four years of delays the solar-wind hybrid 60 MW Kennedy Energy Park in north Queensland is inching towards full operation. Project developer Windlab confirms the final stage of testing and commissioning of the Australian-first hybrid renewable energy project is underway.

The International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power System Programme has standardised guidelines for operation and maintenance programs for large-scale solar plants. It defines O&M performance indicators and standard O&M operator services, as well as tools to analyse PV plant performance and safety.

A trio of New South Wales councils have signed a renewable energy supply deal with energy retailer Flow Power that will underpin the development at least two new solar projects totalling more than 8 MW of PV in the state’s South Coast region.

The booming uptake of home PV systems has steered Western Australia to a new peak for instantaneous renewable energy share, with clean energy – including rooftop and large-scale solar – providing a record 81% of the total electricity generated in the state’s wholesale electricity market.

Australian independent power producer ReNu Energy has signed a deal with the developers of a proposed 3.5 GW solar-plus-storage facility in Indonesia to explore the potential large-scale production of green hydrogen for supply into Southeast Asia and beyond.

Energy infrastructure company CuString has secured federal environmental approval for the massive CopperString 2.0 transmission link that would stretch across north Queensland, helping to unlock large-scale solar and wind investment along with large deposits of minerals key to the energy transition.

Mining major Anglo American has struck a deal with Queensland government-owned energy generator Stanwell to power its Australian operations with 100% renewable energy from 2025 onward as part of a 10-year power supply deal.