Oceania

The Austrian inverter specialist is launching a new version of its Energy Package upgraded with storage units from LG Chem.

In addition to entering an agreement to purchase three hydro power stations in Australia, New Zealand’s energy retailer has signed three PPAs for wind and solar projects in Victoria and New South Wales. 

Children at two New South Wales schools have started the new school year this week in modular classrooms powered by renewable energy.

A 100 kW solar PV plant has taken to the water in the northern New South Wales city of Lismore. The project was realized based on a unique community ownership model.

The number of battery storage systems being installed alongside PV doubled in 2017. The latest data from the Clean Energy Regulator shows that 3,763 battery storage systems were installed alongside a small-scale PV array, up from 1,566 in 2016.

Chinese module maker and project developer Canadian Solar has acquired a 51% stake in project pipeline of five utility scale solar farms in New South Wales. The projects, which are at an early stage, were initiated by Netherlands-based Photon Energy NV.

It is the blackout, and fallout, that many were anticipating. The heatwave and power outages yesterday and today in Melbourne has brought with it politicking over the cause.

Last week, the chimney from one of the last coal fired power plants in South Australia was felled. The demolition, captured in the footage below, came only days after Jay Weatherill attended the opening of the state’s first utility scale solar array in the region.

Chinese PV manufacturer Jinergy announced last week that it was the supplier of South Australia’s first utility scale PV array, the 6 MW Whyalla Solar Power Plant. The manufacturer shipped monocrystalline PERC modules for the project.

Australia’s fast-growing renewable sector is driving job creation. The latest analysis from Green Energy Markets reveals that almost 15,700 people were employed in large scale renewable development in Australia in December 2017, with a further 5,477 full-time jobs in rooftop solar.