Japan

The company behind the 250 MW / 2 GWh Kidston pumped hydro project being developed in north Queensland has given the tick of approval to a $381 million takeover bid from Japanese energy giant J-Power.

ACEN Australia and Marubeni Asian Power Singapore have struck a deal to jointly develop a 200 MW / 400 MWh battery energy storage system alongside ACEN’s multi-stage 720 MW New England solar project being constructed in regional New South Wales.

Leapton says its new panels have a temperature coefficient of -0.30% per C and an efficiency of up to 22.65%. They come with a 30-year power output guarantee for 87.4% of the initial yield.

Sharp has developed vehicle-to-home (V2H) electric-vehicle chargers for PV-powered homes, featuring 6 kW of charging/discharging rated power and an input DC voltage of 340 V. The wall-mounted devices are suitable for indoor and outdoor environments.

Sharp’s new IEC61215- and IEC61730-certified solar panels have an operating temperature coefficient of -0.30% per C and a bifaciality factor of over 80%.

Aspiring renewable energy developer ACE Power will partner with the clean energy arm of Japanese energy giant Osaka Gas to jointly develop a portfolio of Australian solar and battery projects with a total capacity of more than 500 MW.

The 204 MW Edenvale Solar Park near Chinchilla, in the Western Downs region of Queensland, has officially been opened by joint owners Eneos, Japan’s biggest oil refiner, and Sojitz, a Tokyo-based trading house. According to the pair, Edenvale is the largest solar project in Australia to be undertaken by Japanese companies.

Japanese company IHI Corporation, which specialises in green ammonia technology to decarbonise industry, has joined the consortium of companies developing the green hydrogen hub HyNQ – North Queensland Clean Energy Project.

Japanese electronics giant, Toshiba, is continuing to improve the performance of its perovskite solar cell technology.

The Australian government has committed $50 million to support the development and diversification of clean energy supply chains in the Indo-Pacific as it seeks to increase manufacturing opportunities and enhance energy security in the region.