Finance

A new report by Climate Energy Finance has revealed Australia’s diesel Fuel Tax Credit Scheme disincentivises growth in future industries and will cost taxpayers $37 billion (USD 23.8b) in lost tax revenue by 2030. The report also illustrates how capping these rebates represents a multifaceted advantage for Australian manufacturing of low and zero-emission mining vehicles.

BloombergNEF Senior Analyst Jenny Chase and Aurora Energy Research Renewables Lead Rebecca McManus speak with pv magazine about financial market trends for solar companies and the role of overcapacity as a driver of turbulence in the industry.

The $54 million (USD 34m) raise for Zen Energy, managed by Western Australian Property developer Hesperia and ASX-listed Income Asset Management, is the first tranche of around $150 million that Zen Energy is aiming to raise for its pipeline of projects.

Gentari, a subsidiary of Malaysian state-owned oil company Petronas, plans to build between 5 GW to 8 GW of solar, wind and battery projects in Australia by 2030. The ambition follows its acquisition and rebranding of Wirsol Energy, which marked the Malaysian company’s entry into the Australian renewable energy market.

A short report explaining upcoming challenges and solutions to electricity security has been published by the Australian Academy of Technology Sciences and Engineering (ATSE). The report calls for more investment to meet government targets and to keep consumer prices down.

Philippines-based AC Energy Corporation (ACEN) has confirmed plans to up its investment in Australia over the next three years to $6 billion (USD 3.86 billion). The company has been highly active in the Australian market this year, and with its increased investment is seeking to bring a further 3 GW of new renewable capacity online.

Shell, which acquired Sonnen four years ago, is now actively seeking a majority shareholder for the Germany storage system specialist.

Dutch company Photon Energy is developing a project with 200 MW of solar coupled with 115 MW and up to 24 hours of thermal storage in Yadnarie using RayGen technology. Photon Energy hopes to reach a final investment decision (FID) on the Yadnarie project on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula by about the middle of next year. 

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.

Western Australia-based company Carnegie Clean Energy has won a $6.3 million (USD 4 million) contract to deliver and operate a ~400 kW version of its wave energy converter off the Spanish coast by 2025.