Markets

Electricity retailer Zen Energy has announced plans to develop its first utility-scale battery energy storage system after acquiring the 111 MW/270 MWh Templers Battery project in South Australia from UK-based developer Renewable Energy Systems Group.

TrendForce says polysilicon will be 3.2% cheaper in March than in February. This will lead to lower wafer, cell and module prices and will effectively spur installation demand.

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) of the Philippines is seeking proposals for the lease of a 37-hectare area for solar deployment in Tarlac province.

Investment in financially committed large-scale renewable energy generation and storage projects in Australia ramped up in the final three months of 2022 to its highest level in more than four years but the Clean Energy Council has warned the pace remains inadequate.

United Kingdom-based Above’s founder and CEO Will Hitchcock sits down with pv magazine to discuss the solar industry’s growing demand for drone-based aerial inspection and data analysis, the game changing utility of digital twins, and what the future holds for autonomous drone programs.

The Bendigo Bank has reported a massive 600% spike in customers accessing green loans in the last year. The news comes just after the federal government’s green bank paired up with the Commonwealth Bank to begin offering builders and renovators working to high energy efficiency standards reduced rates on their home loans.

The investment platforms from Octopus Investments Australia are set to acquire three new projects in the coming months in Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales. Launched in 2022, the OREO and OASIS platforms “allow wholesale investors and mums and dads to invest alongside big institutional investors and get access to big projects in Australia,” Managing Director Sam Reynolds told pv magazine Australia.

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.

Executives from Gentari, the clean energy subsidiary of Malaysia’s state-owned oil company Petronas, and Japan’s biggest steelmaker, Nippon Steel, are eying Australia for future investments in renewables projects and green-steel manufacturing.

Australian mining company Australian Rare Earths is moving forward with plans to apply for a licence to mine rare earths in South Australia’s southeast as part of its flagship Koppamurra project.