Markets & Policy

The amount of solar installers offering storage solutions grew considerably in 2021 and promises to surge again this year, according to an annual survey by EUPD Research. The research centre has also released the top three 2021 brands for solar modules, inverters and storage in the Australian market, offering insights into where companies are buying equipment and which segments are seeing the most growth.

Singapore-based Sun Cable has submitted its Environmental Impact Statement to the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority. The document reveals the full extent of the project’s enormity, specifically a 17-20 GW solar farm tied to 36-42 GWh of battery energy storage, which is set to be transmitted by subsea cables to Singapore.

The floating facility will be built by Japan’s Shizen Energy and will sell power under unspecified conditions to local utility Syarikat Air Melaka Bhd (SAMB).

Developers are moving fast to meet Singapore’s clean energy needs by establishing overseas solar-plus-storage plants, with a strong focus on facilities in neighbouring Indonesia.

The town of Walpole on Western Australia’s southernmost tip will soon be powered by a pumped-hydro microgrid, a first for the state which is already renowned for its rollout of microgrids and distributed renewable solutions.

In the second piece of rare earths news this month, construction has begun on Lynas Rare Earths’ new processing facility in Kalgoorlie. The refined products are used in batteries and other renewable technology, with Lynas moving the processing it currently does in Malaysia onshore for the first time.

Myanmar’s government has announced a plan to increase conventional and renewable energy generation to address electricity shortages. Reports from Burmese exiles, however, detail increasing issues for the construction of large scale solar projects tendered prior to the military coup in February 2021 and Chinese inverter manufacturer Sungrow said the project it secured in the country’s first tender has been canceled.

Developers are moving fast to meet Singapore’s clean energy needs by establishing overseas solar-plus-storage plants, with a strong focus on facilities in neighbouring Indonesia.

Over 90% of Australia’s fuel is imported – something recent geopolitical events have illustrated is a serious vulnerability. This issue was the focus of an emergency fuel security summit held yesterday in Sydney. The event was attended by a number of industry leaders and independent members and candidates who put forward solutions to tackle the devolving situation.

In a big week for solar in the land of the long white cloud, Lightsource bp has announced a 50/50 partnership with New Zealand’s Contact Energy to pursue a large-scale solar portfolio in the country, generation which Contact Energy will purchase through a power purchase agreement.