Grids & Integration

Earlier this year, Singapore surpassed its 2020 target for 350 MW of installed PV, and has set itself a more ambitious goal of 2 GW for the coming decade. pv magazine recently spoke with Thomas Reindl, deputy CEO of the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) – and also the lead author of a 2020 update to the institute’s PV Roadmap for Singapore report – to catch up on the latest developments in the city-state’s PV market.

A report by Finnish company Wärtsilä has estimated the potential impact if every dollar committed to a non-renewables energy sector recovery was instead funnelled to clean power.

Industrial and academic partners are developing a battery inverter which can be grid connected under normal operation but can also use nearby renewables generators to form an island grid, for whole-area uninterrupted power supply.

Never heard of CEP.Energy? The new green energy fund is set to become a renewable powerhouse, installing gigawatts of solar, plus batteries big and small across industrial estates and retail centres around the NEM. Institutional investors are making this virtual-power-plant vision a reality.

While the desire for data to support smarter grids is clear, actually digitalising said data to make it communicable around Australia is proving a thornier operation. Ultimately, it requires Australia’s grid operators to undergo nothing short of a metamorphosis – transitioning from operating networks to becoming network operators.

Ho Chi Minh City-based construction company Trungnam Group said its army of labourers took just 45 days to perform site clearance for a project which took shape within 102 days. The 450 MW solar plant signals a new era in utility-scale solar for Vietnam, which is already seeing significant growth in its rooftop solar markets.

This week will see the official launch of a global taskforce that aims to support worldwide uptake and integration of renewables and achieve at least 50% reduction in emissions over the coming decade.

Investment in large-scale solar appears to be faltering in Australia. The technology with the lowest cost, with no emissions and the fastest time to delivery, has often found itself dangling at the oversubscribed end of a limp transmission line, with additional, expensive requirements to connect, or earnings-slashing curtailments when operational. Investors have found no reassurance in the federal government’s winking at coal, courting of gas, and undermining of agencies established to support innovation and investment in renewables. In short, the Australian prime minister is showing a complete lack of urgency to act on climate change. Enter the Renewable Energy Zone.

Ikea Adelaide is leading the way for the Swedish giant’s global aspirations towards 100% renewable energy through what is being touted as Australia’s largest grid-connected commercial microgrid. The two stage project boasts a range of unique features which could lay the foundations for a new sustainable energy model for Australia.

A 50/50 joint venture between Clough Group and Spanish infrastructure giant Elecnor has been selected as EPC for the 700km NSW section of the SA-NSW Interconnector, Project Energy Connect. The big jobs require the big guns, and it seems as though the big guns have been called in on this occasion, with Project Energy Connect deemed integral to the energy future of both states.