Oceania

1Komma5° says it plans to start production at a new TOPCon solar module factory in Germany from next year. The Hamburg-based startup aims to achieve an annual production capacity of 1 GW, with further expansion targets set to reach 5 GW by the year 2030.

The largest battery energy storage system yet built in New South Wales is now fully operational with developer Edify Energy announcing that the 150 MW/300 MWh Riverina and Darlington Point Energy Storage System is importing and exporting electricity at its full nameplate capacity.

Australian renewable energy developer Genex Power says has committed to building the 2 GW multi-stage Bulli Creek solar and battery project in Queensland’s southeast after entering into a 25-year offtake agreement with the green energy arm of Fortescue Metals Group.

Landowners in the path of the multi-billion-dollar HumeLink transmission project claim Transgrid is relying on flawed economics that favour overhead lines with a new report suggesting the network operator’s costings for putting the cables underground are out by almost 60%.

Electricity generator Stanwell Corporation has supersized its plans to develop grid-scale iron flow battery storage systems in collaboration with Queensland-based battery manufacturer Energy Storage Industries – Asia Pacific, announcing a binding agreement that could deliver a 150 MW commercial battery by as early as 2029.

The Federal Government has legislated emissions reductions of 43% below 2005 levels by 2030. Sourcing electricity from renewable technologies is fundamental to meeting this, with a much-publicised target of 82% renewables in the grid by 2030 – up from a current value of 38% over the last year.

A 288 MW solar farm in Tasmania’s Northern Midlands region has been identified as the first of a series of large-scale renewable energy generation projects set to be developed by newly launched clean energy startup TasRex.

Researchers at Victoria’s Monash University are working to develop a tool that can be used to predict and manage system instability associated with connecting inverter-based generation such as batteries, solar, and wind into weaker parts of Australia’s national energy grid.

The Western Australian government is calling for input from industry to help drive major transmission network expansion in the South West Interconnected System as the state powers towards a large-scale, high-renewable grid of the future.

With five solar farms already under construction, New Zealand renewables developer Lodestone Energy has teamed with a trio of British-based companies to develop another nine PV projects that are expected to deliver more than 500 GWh in additional solar generation.