US alternative investment fund backs Social Energy for rapid Australian expansion
UK-based Social Energy launched in Australia with the help of shareholder Shane Warne back in 2019. Now the smart energy firm is being backed with a significant investment from US-based alternative investment fund manager CarVal Investors in order for the company to rapidly grow Down Under.
Victoria’s first ‘solar sponge’ community battery network to be developed
In what is believed to be a Victorian first, CitiPower and Yarra Energy Foundation will parter to create a community battery network in the Melbourne CBD and inner-city suburbs.
Big battery announcements could see storage pricing ‘cannibalise’ itself
In November last year, Cornwall Insight Australia estimated Australia had 7 GW of battery storage projects in the pipeline. Since then, massive amounts of storage capacity have been added.
Japanese giant backs QLD green hydrogen plant and Omani grey hydrogen competitor
The Sumitomo Corporation has simultaneously signed a contract with an EPC for a solar-powered green hydrogen production plant in Gladstone, Queensland, while also commencing a feasibility study for a grey-green hybrid hydrogen project in Oman. Considering the relative similarities in distance between the two countries and export markets in East Asia, the Japanese conglomerate looks to be setting the stage for competition in the hydrogen economy.
Standalone power systems could confer up to $1.5 billion in saved network costs and community resilience to disaster
Edge-of-grid communities are under increasing threat of debilitating power outages due to disasters driven by climate change. A new report quantifies the benefits of transitioning some 244 communities to microgrids or individual power systems.
SA Water is pumping with the power of the sun
Nicola Murphy, SA Water’s Senior Manager, Zero Cost Energy Futures has the sunniest disposition as she works steadily to ensure the substantial energy needs of the state’s vital water utility are solar powered from source to faucet.
Weekend read: No dummies as Chase cuts through solar’s jargon
There’s more to read in the solar world than pv magazine alone, as much as we may hate to admit it. Looking back across some of the industry’s seminal works, leading analyst Jenny Chase’s 2019 book is too valuable, and entertaining, to be ignored.
Surprise loss of ~420 MW of rooftop PV in South Australia shows forecasting key for future
An unexpected loss of more than 400 MW of rooftop PV in South Australia earlier this month has reinforced how critical accurate forecasting tools are for the management of networks with high shares of renewable energy.
WA’s Mid-West green hydrogen potential flooded with global interest
Last year the Western Australian Government called for Expression of Interest into its potentially 1.5 GW solar and wind hydrogen hub at Oakajee Strategic Industrial Area on the state’s Mid-West. This week it has been revealed that 65 companies from around the world have submitted serious interest in making it happen.
Biden recommits U.S. to Paris climate accord, blocks Keystone pipeline
One environmental group said the new president’s actions make “the United States once more part of the global climate solution—not the problem.”
