Finance

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures has unveiled plans to deliver its first standalone battery energy storage system in Australia, announcing it will build a 100 MW/200 MWh big battery in Victoria’s southwest after securing $7 million in funding from the state government.

The release of Queensland’s $62 billion energy and jobs plan which would shift the state away from coal power by 2035 has been broadly welcomed but the resources sector has warned the government has plenty of work to do to attract the large-scale investment required to implement the strategy.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has launched a $62 billion energy and jobs plan, which includes the biggest pumped hydro scheme in the world. The government is also planning to convert publicly owned coal-fired power stations into clean energy hubs from 2027.

Hanwha Energy Australia, owner of retail energy business Nectr, has secured $150 million in investment to fast track its Australian growth, including deploying VPPs and developing utility-scale generation projects.

ACEN Australia declared the first stage of the 720 MW New England Solar Farm is on track to commence commercial operations in 2023 while announcing it has secured a $140 million loan agreement that will help grow its renewables capacity in the Asia-Pacific region to 20 GW by 2030.

Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy technologies including solar PV and green hydrogen by 2050 could save the world at least $18 trillion (US$12 trillion), according to a peer-reviewed study published by researchers from Britain’s Oxford University and Australia’s Monash University.

American investment behemoth BlackRock has agreed to acquire New Zealand rooftop solar PV and battery energy storage specialist SolarZero as part of its push into renewable energy in the Asia Pacific region.

Tasmanian farmers are set to turn to solar PV to cut energy costs with the state-owned irrigation authority announcing plans to install solar arrays at up to 13 existing pump station sites around the state, offsetting electricity usage and generating surplus power to be fed back into the grid.

Spanish company Iberdrola has committed to investing between €2 billion to €3 billion (AU$2.95b – $4.4b) in renewable projects in Australia, aiming for a 4 GW portfolio here “in the coming years.”

Brisbane-based bioenergy company LGI Limited has listed on the ASX, seeking to raise $25 million for expansions, including fitting sites with batteries capable of playing on spot markets. For the company’s founder, Adam Bloomer, the role of bioenergy in Australia only makes real sense when limited to waste. “If it’s is not a waste stream, I think you’re barking up the wrong tree,” he tells pv magazine Australia.