Oceania

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen has used the official launch of Australian PV panel maker Tindo Solar’s $11 million production and innovation facility in South Australia as an opportunity to highlight the importance of developing a domestic solar panel manufacturing industry.

The Northern Territory government remains upbeat about the future of the $30 billion-plus (USD 20.7 billion) Australia-Asia PowerLink project despite the company behind what would be the world’s biggest solar and energy storage project having abruptly entered voluntary administration.

Philippines-based energy company ACEN Corporation plans to capitalise on Australia’s “unparalleled renewables potential” after securing a $277 million (USD 191 million) loan facility which it says will be accelerate the delivery of an 8 GW clean energy portfolio that includes solar, wind, battery storage and pumped hydro.

Australia’s renewable energy credentials will be showcased on the world stage with Adelaide announced as the host city of the 2024 International Renewable Energy Conference, one of the most prominent events on the global clean energy calendar.

A government-backed incentive scheme established to accelerate the introduction of distributed solar energy storage in the Australian Capital Territory is to be wound up having achieved its target of subsidising the installation of about 5,000 batteries over the past seven years.

A 110 MWp Queensland solar farm that is fully constructed and currently undergoing hold-point testing is one of a trio of PV assets that Greece-based industrial conglomerate Mytilineos has secured finance for as it looks to further establish its position in the Australian renewable energy market.

Sun Cable, the developer of the world’s largest solar and battery project, backed by two of Australia’s most powerful energy players – Andrew Forrest and Mike Cannon-Brooks – has entered voluntary administration. It is not yet clear what this will mean for the company’s hallmark project, the Australia-Asia PowerLink, though the company’s executives appear optimistic.

New Zealand is set to have its first big battery by 2024, after Meridian Energy awarded a contract to build the 100 MW / 200 MWh Ruakākā Battery Energy Storage System to Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies.

Shell Energy has acquired the development rights for a 500 MW / 1000 MWh battery located at the former Wallerawang coal power station site, near Lithgow in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales.

The independent review into Australia’s carbon credit scheme has concluded that the scheme is not fundamentally flawed, but could be improved by greater transparency and changes to its governance.