Markets & Policy

Boundary Power, a union between West Australian standalone power system (SAPS) leader Horizon Power and Ampcontrol, has installed its first off-grid system for an unnamed east coast utility in regional New South Wales.

Chinese battery maker Hithium and Australian solar developer Sun Valley HK Group have agreed to work together on eight solar farms either under construction or in planning in Australia, presumably deploying Hithium batteries at the sites.

The cost of megaprojects is becoming increasingly difficult to estimate, which is causing budget blow outs. Analysis by the Grattan Institute shows that governments in Australia spent $34 billion more on transport infrastructure than first estimated, and that there was a 21% total cost blowout of $20 million-plus projects in the past 20 years. This is a strong example of the need for chief financial officers (CFOs) to participate in managing the cost of inflation through improved communication with stakeholders across supply channels.

Renewable energy developer Lightsource bp will begin full construction activities on two large-scale solar projects with a combined installed capacity of 515 MWdc in Australia after successfully closing a $540 million (USD 365 million) financing package.

Another of the coordinated clean energy zones planned for New South Wales is a step closer to being developed with the state government announcing the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone, which has already attracted expressions of interest for almost 40 GW of generation, has been formally declared.

Australian technology start-up Infravision will team with New South Wales network operator Transgrid in a trial of a “next generation” line-monitoring system designed to optimise the performance of existing electrical transmission infrastructure and support the roll out of more renewable energy.

New South Wales network operator Ausgrid has signed an agreement with Simply Energy which will see the Melbourne-based energy retailer operate the electricity distribution company’s three community batteries in the National Energy Market.

Adani Solar revealed a monocrystalline silicon ingot this week at the Intersolar India 2022 expo. It produced the ingot at its Mundra facility in the Indian state of Gujarat.

While the efficiency of solar cells will always be important, scaling innovation in sustainable cell technology and solar deployment, is the new game in town. With hydrogen exports and production of green metals in its sights, Australia has some breakthrough tech coming down the pike, as pv magazine Australia’s Natalie Filatoff reports.

Australia’s national science agency has urged the government to develop a domestic solar manufacturing industry with a new report warning that the current highly concentrated international silicon and PV cell supply chains pose real risks to the nation’s energy security and independence.