Insurance

A worker is being treated in hospital for burns and police are investigating after an inverter burst into flames at the 30 MW Mannum Stage 2 solar farm being developed near the town of the same name in South Australia’s Riverland region.

A study by engineers at UNSW, published in the Renewable Energy journal, shows that aerosols and greenhouse gas emissions reduce the productivity of photovoltaic installations and that this differs according to the global region.  

Extreme weather is a growing risk to solar farms. Future-proofing through advanced technologies, leveraging data from novel sources, and by building both collaboration and acceptance of risk is vital, but rarely achieved today for a number of reasons. Insurers, lenders, developers, contractors and manufacturers come together here to discuss solutions to the intractable problem of weather risk.

Neoen’s Capital battery project in Canberra is facing significant delays due to connection compliance testing, with the company flagging potential for it to pursue damages from EPC contractor Doosan GridTech. The completed battery was expected to be operational in early 2023.

Amp Energy’s 150 MW / 300 MWh battery storage project in Bungama, north of Adelaide, has secured a grid connection agreement with South Australia’s grid operator and owner ElectraNet.

The grass below the 110 MW Beryl Solar Farm in central New South Wales caught fire on Monday, April 24, and was brought under control by emergency services that same afternoon. While the damage is still being assessed, a spokesperson said the unaffected areas of the solar farm will be brought back online today, April 26.

In some instances, the cost of insurance could exceed 25% of annual operating and maintenance expenses, said insurance broker Marsh. The firm offers five actions to properly evaluate risks and drive portfolio growth.

Since opening in Sydney in 2022, renewable energy underwriter GCube Insurance has officially launched in Australia and is set to offer a broad range of new products to meet the needs of Australian developers and projects.

The federal and New South Wales governments have combined on a landmark $7.8 billion (USD 5.25 billion) investment to help finance the development of eight critical transmission and renewable energy zone projects as they look to accelerate Australia’s clean energy future.

Risen Energy has extended the product warranty on its Australian residential modules from 15 to 25 years. The news comes just weeks after SunPower Maxeon pushed the Australian market by increasing its new warranties to 40 years.