Finance

The Port Augusta concentrated solar power project billed as the world’s biggest has ground to a halt. Although it was granted additional time, U.S. firm SolarReserve failed to achieve financial close and proposed selling the 150 MW project to a third party.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will underpin two innovative distributed energy projects – a trial to integrate a virtual power plant into the National Energy Market and a digital marketplace for grid services provided by rooftop solar arrays, batteries and EVs owned by Australian homes and businesses.

A new report from the Clean Energy Council confirms 2018 shattered all records in terms of investment in renewables and capacity additions. The CEC finds that more than 2.3 GW of new renewable energy projects were completed in 2018. Both large-scale and rooftop solar experienced their best ever year.

The Dutch banking group will serve as sole mandated lead arranger for the S$50 million loan. A unit of Singapore-based developer Sunseap will use the funds to build a 50 MW portfolio of rooftop PV projects.

One of the main pillars of the Coalition government’s climate policy, the $2 billion Climate Solutions Fund, has undergone unexpected changes in the final 2019 budget. While the government previously pledged to spend $2 billion over the next 10 years to help ensure Australia meets its emissions target under the Paris Agreement, the budget has revealed that the funding will be spread over 15 years, cutting the amount spent annually by more than 30%.

In a briefing looking into the renewable energy investment boom, BIS Oxford Economics estimates solar and wind will attract $20 billion of private investment in FY18 and FY19, spread over more than 70 projects. The consultants warn investment will slow beyond 2020 pointing to the upcoming Federal election as critically important for the future of Australia’s renewables pipeline.

Having observed early adopters negotiate renewable energy contracts for financial and sustainability gains, the next wave of Australia’s commercial and industrial energy consumers is ready for offtake. A raft of flexible new solar PV contract models and services is rising to meet their ambitions.

Google, Walmart, Facebook and GM and more than 200 companies with combined revenues of over $1 trillion have joined together under the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance, and have set a goal to bring 60 GW of renewable energy online by 2025.

The German inverter producer’s sales also fell significantly in the past financial year. With its cost reduction program, SMA is now eager to orchestrate a turnaround, but its first-quarter guidance still shows a sustained downward trend.

The Coalition government has announced funding to support up to 50 off-grid and fringe-of-grid feasibility studies investigating whether building a microgrid can be a cost-effective solution. The studies will also look at whether existing off-grid capabilities can be upgraded with more up-to-date technology.