New South Wales

Last night, 25 rooftop-solar dealers from around Australia gathered on the edge of Sydney Harbour to celebrate their initiation into the SMA PowerUP Program. A new supported-network approach to serving the booming residential and commercial rooftop markets, PowerUP has been devised by the Australian arm of longstanding German inverter manufacturer SMA. It recognises the importance of developing deep expertise, and of knowledge and kudos sharing in a competitive environment.

In the UK investor’s first deal since entering the Australian marketplace, Octopus Investments and Australian renewables developer Edify Energy have arranged more than $450 million to finance one of Australia’s major PV projects – a 333MW DC (275MW AC) solar farm, which has an approval to be collocated with a 100 MWh energy storage facility at Darlington Point, NSW.

In the final days of 2018, the NSW government gave its tick of approval for the construction of the state’s largest solar farm to date. The approval rounded off a year that saw a flurry of utility-scale solar construction activity and an unprecedented number of big solar additions in the state.

Canadian Solar will provide EPC services, under a JV partnership with Singal Energy, for the 175 MW Finlay Solar Farm in southern NSW. The Chinese manufacturer will also supply modules to the project – which is notable for having signed the largest single PPA in the Australian marketplace.

Commercial electricity retailer Flow Power has signed an offtake deal for more than a half of the production from the 120 MW Bomen Solar Farm near Wagga Wagga to power one of the nation’s largest vineyard owners, Australian Vintage, and a major snack food manufacturer, Snack Brands.

With NSW Energy Minister Don Harwin drawing a line on energy and climate policy between the state Liberals and the feds, the NSW government continues to pursue its renewables agenda waving through another large-scale solar project.

Vales Point coal-fired power station owner, Delta Electricity, will purchase most of the output of the 275 MW Darlington Solar Farm in New South Wales under a deal that both sides see as a demonstration of the growing role of renewable energy.

NSW’s University of Newcastle has signed a seven-year contract to cover 100% of its electricity needs across its Newcastle and Central Coast campuses with renewable energy, specifically a mix of solar, wind and hydro power.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing $1 million to Ausgrid to boost its innovative grant program for rooftop solar and energy efficient lighting. The program aims to reduce participating customer’s bills, as well as avoid costly network upgrades, in parts of Sydney with low renewables uptake.

After granting an approval for a major solar+storage project at Darlington Point this week, the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment has greenlit two more utility-scale solar PV projects – the 170 MW Suntop Solar Farm and the 47 MW Gregadoo Solar Farm.