Utility Scale PV

Hong Kong-based private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners has teamed with Asian energy storage business BW ESS in a renewable energy venture that intends to develop more than 2 GW of utility-scale solar and battery projects in Australia.

Australia’s rooftop solar sector continues to shine bright with new data from the Australian Energy Market Operator revealing that distributed PV output across the main grid reached a record high in the final quarter of 2023.

Resources giant Rio Tinto has signed Australia’s largest yet corporate power purchase agreement – agreeing to buy 100% of the output from European Energy Australia’s 1.1 GW Upper Calliope Solar Farm to provide renewable power to its aluminium operations in Queensland.

Renewables company ITP Development will continue to look for opportunities in regional New South Wales despite the Land and Environment Court having killed off the company’s plans to build a large-scale solar farm near Mudgee in the state’s central west.

Renewable energy infrastructure developer Harmony Energy will team with New Zealand clean energy aspirant First Renewables to build what is expected to be the largest solar farm in the country when it is commissioned in 2026.

Renewable energy generators chasing access rights to the new Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone network will be presented with a streamlined application process as the New South Wales government prioritises achieving financial close on the network project.

Scientists conducting a five-year research project in the United States have observed a tripling of insect numbers near two solar facilities built on rehabilitated agricultural land. They say the findings show how habitat-friendly solar could help protect insect populations and improve pollination in nearby agricultural fields.

PV funding activity increased by 42% year-on-year in 2023, driven by strong growth in private market financing and debt financing, despite a decrease in the total number of deals, according to United States-headquartered consultancy Mercom Capital Group.

Mega-miner BHP has reportedly put a request for proposal out to energy suppliers seeking new wind, solar and battery energy storage capacity as it progresses plans to electrify and decarbonise its mining operations in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The Clean Energy Investor Group has warned that solar farms in southwest New South Wales and northwest Victoria could suffer from “large and unpredictable” swings in revenues because of material changes in marginal loss factors.