New South Wales

ACEN Australia declared the first stage of the 720 MW New England Solar Farm is on track to commence commercial operations in 2023 while announcing it has secured a $140 million loan agreement that will help grow its renewables capacity in the Asia-Pacific region to 20 GW by 2030.

Renewable energy investment fund Solar Bay and logistic company Logos have commenced construction of Australia’s largest roof-mounted solar PV system, airlifting in the first of more than 120,000 solar panels that will be installed atop an 800,000sqm industrial warehousing facility in south-western Sydney.

United Kingdom-headquartered investment firm Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities has increased its Australian solar PV portfolio, committing $36 million (£21.2 million) to acquire three more solar projects with a combined capacity of 15 MW.

Tiny solar-powered, satellite backpacks are being used to track one of Australia’s rarest bird species as part of a 10-year, $175 million conservation effort between the New South Wales, South Australian and Victorian governments.

Electricity supplier AGL Energy will deploy a solar-powered microgrid featuring 5.4 MWh of battery energy storage on a commercial orchard in the New South Wales Riverina region in a bid to reduce the horticultural operation’s reliance on diesel-fuelled generators.

Seven solar installers in New South Wales have had their electrical contractor licences stripped by the state government regulator after investigations found they had signed off on rooftop PV installations while they were interstate or overseas.

The New South Wales government has moved to fast track the development of the 700 MW/1400 MWh Waratah Super Battery as it looks to shore up a reliable energy supply ahead of the impending closure of the country’s biggest coal generator.

The decarbonisation of Australia’s electricity grid continues with the Australian arm of global renewable energy developer Fotowatio Renewable Ventures confirming the 115 MW Metz Solar Farm in New South Wales has achieved commercial operation status and is now generating at 100% of its capacity.

The New South Wales government’s plans to develop a renewable energy zone in the state’s central west is one step closer to fruition following the release of the scoping report for the transmission infrastructure required to connect at least 3 GW of new renewable energy generation capacity to the grid.

Transmission network operator Transgrid is counting on technology developed in the United States to increase the capacity for the bidirectional flow of energy between Australia’s most populous states with works on the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector upgrade project nearing completion.