Finance

Australian electric vehicle charging company Tritium has sealed a $1.55 billion merger deal with a United States-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) which will see it publicly listed on the Nasdaq.

This year will be a key period in the development of China’s solar PV market. It is the first year of the 14th five-year plan, the first calendar year after President Xi Jinping announced the 2030-60 carbon emissions commitment, and the first year for utility and commercial unsubsidised projects. IHS Markit expects the solar industry in China to reach another milestone with more than 60 GW of installations this year, advancing the ground for the energy transition and the displacement of traditional energy sources to fullfill the goal of a net carbon future over the next four decades to come.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has unveiled a big-spending Budget but critics have been quick to condemn the lack of money set aside for renewable energy as a “national shame” and missed opportunity as the government continues to pursue its gas-led philosophy.

Based on current market prices, the five-year contract could be worth almost $4 billion to the $1 billion company, but the TOPCon manufacturer has not publicised the price at which it will supply and install modules for its state-owned sponsor.

The 1 GWh first phase of a planned 8 GWh lithium battery factory in Thailand is likely to be up and running during 2023.

The federal government will provide $131 million of soft loans for a $177 million, 100 MW solar park near the Jamuna river in Bangladesh’s Jamalpur district, where a second park of a similar size is being planned by Dhaka and a Chinese partner.

More than 100 Australian businesses, including some of the country’s largest, have banded together to put pressure on government to commit at least 1% of GDP to a green energy recovery in the May budget and to ensure a more equitable transition to renewables for marginalised Australians.

Three commercial-scale hydrogen projects have been conditionally approved for $103.3 million in funding from the government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency, including Western Australian green ammonia project from Engie, as well two hydrogen + gas blend projects from ATCO and Australian Gas Networks respectively.

The impacts of Australia’s proposed “solar tax” may have been greatly underestimated, according to a report from the Victoria Energy Policy Centre. The institute says proposed rule change is “likely to leave solar homes with little or no income from rooftop solar exports” as feed-in tariffs drop.

A 90% clean grid with a transition to EVs would achieve lower electricity costs than one without, the study shows. Transmission investments would mainly be spur lines to new renewable generation.