Finance

A poll of more than 2,000 Australians has found 78% agree the federal government should expand the national rooftop solar subsidy to include household battery storage. The concept has floated around for the last years, most notably in the form of a federal bill tabled by independent MP Helen Haines, but may have an uptick of support amid spiralling energy prices.


Squadron Energy, part of the Forrest’s family’s Tattarang Group, has acquired one of Australia’s biggest renewables players, CWP Renewables. The deal, reportedly worth more than $4 billion (USD 2.7b), came as something of a surprise with Squadron’s bid undetected beside highly publicised offers from Iberdrola, Tilt Renewables and Origin.

University of Queensland spin-off Pure Battery Technologies which has developed a greener, cheaper process for refining critical battery materials has received a $57.45 million (USD 38.5 million) loan from the European Investment Bank to build a demonstration plant in Hagen, west Germany.

Risen and Longi have revealed plans to each build 10 GW factories, while Canadian Solar has reported solid earnings and Daqo has secured a big polysilicon order.

The developed world is facing scenarios of zero economic growth or even recessions, as inflation, energy costs, interest-rate rises, and tougher lending criteria makes life tough for business. But money is flowing into the energy transition by scaling and commercialising existing technologies, reports pv magazine’s Tristan Rayner.

Energy giant AGL has disclosed it will shutter its gas-fired Torrens Island B power station in South Australia within four years, citing the impending completion of a new electricity interconnector that will link power grids across three Australian states, unlocking gigawatts of new wind, solar PV and storage projects.

Queensland-based ReNu Energy has announced “firm commitments” for a capital raising of $4.5 million (USD 3 million) which it says will progress its green hydrogen projects in both Brighton and Launceston in Tasmania, as well as in Indonesia’s Riau Archipelago.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, effectively the federal government’s green bank, has been allocated a further $500 million (USD 332 million) to invest in the commercialisation of renewable energy, energy efficiency and other technology innovations.

Dutch company Photon Energy Group has acquired its first utility scale solar and battery project, opting for a venture 500 kilometres northwest of Sydney which it says will become a “prototype” for its European portfolio.

Cofounder of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, David Scaysbrook, says the US Inflation Reduction Act can make Australia a green energy superpower – but not in the way we expect. The policy will fundamentally undercut Australia’s competitiveness exporting green hydrogen, but offers giant opportunities for critical materials. Scaysbrook also expects Australia’s 2023 to be lean in terms of renewable investment, especially when it comes to “vanilla” projects.