Markets

State and federal governments are being urged to ramp up deployment of long-duration energy storage after a new report found significant capacity additions would result in 38% lower system costs than alternatives while playing a critical role in maintaining reliability as coal plants retire over the next decade.

Shipment volumes are growing in the global solar tracker market as innovation in project development drives demand. Joe Steveni, of S&P Global Commodity Insights, takes a look at the factors shaping the commercial landscape for trackers, from agrivoltaics and undulating terrain to Indian ambition and the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act.

Japan-headquartered energy retailer Smartest Energy has signed a power purchase agreement to buy 50% of a New South Wales’ solar farm’s energy output with the aim of procuring 100% renewable energy for its business customers.

The Victorian government has given the green light for construction on what is to be the state’s largest solar farm to begin, providing planning approval for a $651 million solar and battery energy storage project being developed in the Latrobe Valley.

Telecommunications giant Telstra has added to its renewable energy portfolio, signing up to offtake power from a 200 MW solar farm being built in New South Wales by the Australian arm of Global Power Generation, a subsidiary of Spanish utility Naturgy Energy Group.

United Kingdom-headquartered renewables developer Harmony Energy has been given the green light for two solar projects in New Zealand that will add almost 150 MW combined capacity to its portfolio.

Private equity investor Actis has become a strategic partner in a 3.5 GW / 4.5 GWh solar-plus-storage project in the Philippines. The project is poised to become the world’s largest integrated renewables and energy storage installation upon completion.

Plans for a 12 GW solar- and wind-powered green hydrogen project proposed for the Gascoyne region of Western Australia have been shelved with the developer citing waning investor interest amid a lack of “appropriate” state government support.

Origin Energy emerged as Australia’s largest rooftop solar installer in August with new data showing the nation’s households and businesses bolted on more than 28,000 PV systems with a combined capacity of more than 278 MW.

United States manufacturer Tesla has begun installing the first of the 444 Megapack battery units that will make up the 600 MW / 1,600 MWh Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub project being constructed in Victoria.