Finance

One of Australia’s largest commercial-scale green hydrogen projects has been given the go ahead with the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group reaching financial close on an estimated $53 million (USD 35.44 million) renewable hydrogen plant to be built at Wodonga in northern Victoria.

Historic meteorological data is typically used to assess solar farm yield and secure project finance, but with climate change beginning to affect every aspect of society, past weather data may no longer be a reliable guide. Everoze Partner Nastasia Pacaut looks at how PV projects can be future-proofed in a changing climate.

In the second interview of a series held at Intersolar 2023, pv magazine spoke with Karen Tang, Director – Editorial Lead Europe at Singapore-based market research company OPIS, about current price trends in the industry. She said solar panels may soon be bought at an average of USD 0.185/W but she also revealed that offers under USD 0.15/W are now becoming more frequent. Furthermore, Tang said prices may continue to drop in the future, with the bottom line being difficult to determine. Much will depend on the actual manufacturing capacity we will see coming online, which may not match the huge number of recent announcements released by module producers.

The Australian government has backed the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to lead the transformation of the nation’s energy grid infrastructure by signing off on a $20.5 billion (USD 13.94 billion) increase in investment capital for the federal government-owned ‘green bank.’

The changing hands of Australia’s biggest ‘gentailers’ continues, with Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures reducing its stake in AGL, while Macquarie is reportedly in talks to acquire up to a 50% stake in EnergyAustralia.

Australia’s federal government has released its anticipated Critical Minerals Strategy, and while the document decisively flags industry imperatives and challenges, the plan of action and policy solutions are far more hazy.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

The insolvency of a major Australian solar recycler has highlighted the complexity of remodelling a linear-thinking industry and society into a circular one, reports pv magazine Australia’s Bella Peacock.

The Ross Garnaut-led Sunshot Industries will develop and deliver a renewable energy industrial precinct in central western Queensland which will be linked to large-scale wind and solar projects and provide manufacturing tenants with competitive low-carbon electricity.

Danish investment group Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has ramped up its green hydrogen ambitions, acquiring a strategic stake in Europe-headquartered renewables developer CWP Global’s development portfolio of ultra-large-scale green hydrogen hubs, including projects in Australia.