Markets

Renewables developer Maoneng has confirmed that its 13MW Mugga Lane Solar Park in the Australian Capital Territory is up for sale after being placed into voluntary administration.

US$3.1 billion (AU$4.4 billion) is available to increase production of American-made batteries, with a separate US$60 million (AU$85 million) to support second-life applications for used EV batteries, along with development of processes for recycling materials back into the battery supply chain.

The war in Ukraine has acted as a brutal wake-up call for governments to act and reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Many have pledged to hasten project timelines for renewables, but there are mixed reports about impacts on investor confidence and projects under development in Ukraine’s neighboring countries. Marija Maisch reports.

Solar companies are reporting widespread staff shortages leading to false price points around the value of installers. Scott Mason, general manager of Platinum Solar Designs, says the shortages aren’t simply part of Australia’s broader skills scarcity, but rather are endemic to the solar industry and linked to a regulatory system which is pushing down the quality of installations.

Australian technology billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes has become the single largest shareholder in AGL after Grok Ventures, the private investment company he owns with wife Annie, bought an 11.28% stake in the public company last night. The move appears to progress the billionaire’s plan to use the free market to force the decarbonisation of Australia’s biggest emitter from the inside out. In other words, the world’s largest single decarbonisation project is back on.

Advanced Ionics has developed an electrolyser that runs at temperatures below 650 C. It is reportedly able to produce hydrogen for US$0.85/kg (AU$1.2/kg) or less. CEO Chad Mason recently spoke with pv magazine to provide a closer look at the water vapour electrolysis tech.

Shell has signed an agreement to acquire Solenergi Power, an Actis company that owns 100% of Indian developer Sprng Energy. The transaction, valued at US$1.55 billion (AU$2.2 billion), is expected to close later this year.

Origin Energy’s ambition to accelerate the growth of its renewable energy portfolio saw progress this week with the acquisition of the pre-construction 900 MW Yarrabee Solar Farm. Origin’s new renewable expansion strategy took shape after conceding in 2021 that its fossil fuel business was haemorrhaging under the strain of low renewables prices.

Global solar supply chain issues and the Chinese energy crisis which hit in the second half of last year have, ironically, led to a “massive” oversupply of solar panels in Australia, according to major distributors. The tension between increased global panel costs and the glut of them within Australia has led to some messy pricing and strange market dynamics on the ground.

PV ICE uses the latest data from the solar industry to model the flow of PV materials over the next several decades, helping to predict the effects of different market trends, technological developments, and government policies.