Markets

The federal government has announced it will double the amount of storage projects being sought in the next found of tenders for its Capacity Investment Scheme, upping it from 2 GW / 8 GWh to 4 GW / 16 GWh. The solar and wind tenders have also been increased, moving from 4 GW to 6 GW.

Founder and former CEO of SwitchDin Dr Andrew Mears is launching his new venture, Tesseract ESS, at Melbourne’s All Energy today. The proposition expands on his previous technologies to deliver a ‘storage-as-a-service’ model focused on Australia’s C&I segment, providing battery and solar systems at $0 CAPEX to Australian farmers, manufacturers and other businesses. Pv magazine Australia spoke to Mears ahead of the launch.

Solar Quotes founder Finn Peacock expects Origin Energy’s acquisition of the solar installation comparison service will accelerate the rollout of rooftop PV in Australia and the electrification of the nation’s energy system.

The Australian government will supercharge its program of underwriting renewable energy generation and clean dispatchable capacity by significantly expanding the next auction in its flagship Capacity Investment Scheme policy.

The Institute for Essential Services Reform says Indonesia’s solar industry has faced a downturn over the past two years, but policy reforms should accelerate solar deployment in the coming years. The think tank’s latest report states that 16.92 GW of projects are currently in the pipeline across the country.

The New South Wales government will pump up the state’s long-duration energy storage capacity target to 28 GWh by 2034 as it prepares for the exit of coal-fired power generation and greater renewable energy integration.

The volume of large-scale battery energy storage projects under construction in Australia passed that of solar and wind projects combined in 2023 and the trend has intensified this year, with batteries attracting federal support. As coal-fired power plants are shuttered, developers and suppliers are enjoying a battery bonanza.

The decline of rooftop solar certificate trading platform Greenbot has triggered a shift in the small-scale technology certificates market with new analysis revealing that former competitors Formbay and One Stop Warehouse have picked up much of the embattled aggregator’s clientele.

Port of Newcastle, one of the largest coal ports in the world, is pushing ahead with its Clean Energy Precinct development, signing agreements for key design work and environmental impact studies.

Solar cell technology innovator SunDrive Solar will join forces with Chinese PV manufacturing giant Trinasolar to develop “cutting-edge” manufacturing facilities and bring Australian-made solar panels to market at scale.