Oceania

Australian thermal storage company, Graphite Energy, has broken ground on its Lake Cargelligo facility in New South Wales which aims to demonstrate how renewable energy and agriculture can coexist through agrivoltaic and green house systems.

Australia’s National Broadband Network (nbn) Corporation has signed an offtake deal with Greek developer Mytilineos to take 59 GWh per annum from its Munna Creek solar farm north of Brisbane, Queensland.

Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, speaks to pv magazine about the current steep trajectory of solar module prices. He estimates that PV panels prices will end up dropping by 40% this year and predicts the closure of old technology and sub-scale solar manufacturing facilities, both in China and globally.

BHP has taken another step on the path towards a clean energy future with Canadian developer TransAlta Renewables switching on one of the world’s largest off-grid solar and battery energy storage systems that will help power the mining giant’s nickel operations in Western Australia.

Dr. Thomas Nann examines the benefits and limitations of lithium-ion batteries, imploring Australia to embrace disruptive innovation, not incrementalism.

Melbourne Airport is among the organisations taking part in a two-year trial intended to help commercial and industrial energy users shift their demand away from peak times, easing pressure on the grid and supporting the integration of more renewables.

Origin Energy has delayed the vote on its almost $20 billion (USD 12.85 billion) takeover bid until next month after receiving a revised offer from the Brookfield-led consortium that is hoping to acquire the Australian energy generator and retailer.

Extreme weather is a growing risk to solar farms. Future-proofing through advanced technologies, leveraging data from novel sources, and by building both collaboration and acceptance of risk is vital, but rarely achieved today for a number of reasons. Insurers, lenders, developers, contractors and manufacturers come together here to discuss solutions to the intractable problem of weather risk.

British renewables developer Pacific Green Technologies has joined the growing number of foreign companies looking to capitalise on Australia’s energy transition, announcing plans to build a 500 MW/1,500 MWh battery energy storage system in South Australia.

Danish investment group Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has tapped Canadian PV and battery manufacturing heavyweight Canadian Solar to provide the energy storage solution for the first of the multiple large-scale battery projects it has planned for Australia.