Utility Scale PV

The “first sod” has been turned in the construction of the 93 MW Girgarre Solar Farm in Victoria. The project, initially developed by Peter Leeson, is an interesting case study in community engagement.

Australia’s solar market and pricing has been shaken up in recent months with the entrance of Tongwei Solar. Compounding this is the global free fall in panel pricing, which solar analyst Warwick Johnston says is yet to properly hit Australia. “There’s super cheap panels that are coming through and everyone will have to adjust their prices accordingly,” he says.

Queensland’s CleanCo has opened expressions of interest to renewables projects wanting to participate in the transformation of its former coal-fired Swanbank power precinct to a clean energy hub.

A major jump in small-scale air source heat pump installations has been illustrated by the Clean Energy Regulator’s latest Carbon Market Report. Australia’s large-scale renewables segment, however, is languishing with the Regulator knocking its 2023 final investment decision (FID) forecasts down from 3.5 GW to 2.5 GW. Just a 0.5 GW has reach FID in 2023 so far.

Australia’s biggest coal miner has inked a major renewable energy deal that will utilise solar, wind and pumped hydro to provide about half the forecasted electricity demand of its central Queensland operations.

Mytilineos’ 75 MW Wyalong Solar Farm in the New South Wales Riverina region has now begun feeding into the grid, with almost two thirds of its generation contracted to NBN Australia, the national broadband network.

Rystad Energy believes China could be on track for another record year in 2023, with expectations for more than 150 GW of new PV capacity. The Norwegian consultancy says the country could also potentially install 165 GW in 2024 and 170 GW in 2025.

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has proposed increasing price caps on the country’s main electricity market. This is meant to allow investors to respond to fill gaps created by ageing coal generation.

Japanese company IHI Corporation, which specialises in green ammonia technology to decarbonise industry, has joined the consortium of companies developing the green hydrogen hub HyNQ – North Queensland Clean Energy Project.

The figures for large-scale certificates registrations across most of Australia this year are dismal, despite the nation adopting a far brighter policy landscape. “There’s a very large discrepancy between rhetoric and what’s actually occurring,” Sunwiz managing director Warwick Johnston tells pv magazine.