Innovators Amber Electric raise $2.5 million in seed funding
A group of Australian investors led by venture capital fund Square Peg has backed the Melbourne-based start-up which aims to revolutionise the way Australian households buy electricity by passing through wholesale rates.
ACT announces further renewables reverse auction
Australian Capital Territory’s Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability Shane Rattenbury has announced a further reverse auction for 200 MW of wind or 250 MW of solar.
Eric Luo: China will see just 20-25 GW of solar per year through 2025
The GCL System chief executive made comments that fly in the face of an expected solar gold rush in China that analysts predict will start this month. Though rising overseas demand will address overcapacity fears, according to Luo, the soundbite is sure to chill PV boardrooms across the world’s biggest solar market.
Thermal battery producer heats up storage market
An Australian thermal energy storage company has reached in principle agreements to pilot thermal batteries in the telecommunication and eco-housing industries.
Victorian apple farmer installs vanadium battery to increase solar consumption
A vanadium redox flow battery will be installed at a family-owned apple orchard located in Pakenham on the edge of the Gippsland region to complement onsite solar.
ABB called out by UK Solar Trade Association over quality and customer support
The STA has warned Italian company Fimer, which is set to acquire Swiss company ABB’s inverter business, it will have to honor customer service commitments made to its British members, and voiced fears related to historic quality issues with ABB inverters.
Victoria solar rebate snapped up in under one hour
Even with the boosted solar rebate offering, this month’s first round quota was taken up in minutes. Another 3,250 rebates are due to be released on Tuesday, September 17.
Juwi lands Greenough River solar farm expansion deal
Germany’s Juwi will take over the stalled Greenough River solar farm expansion in the wake of RCR Tomlinson’s collapse. The second stage involves construction of an additional 30 MW of solar PV at the site.
Kidston transmission line funding paves the way for more solar and wind
The Queensland government has pledged to support Genex’s project at Kidston with up to $132 million. The funding will be used to build a single circuit transmission line and connect a massive pumped hydro project with the main grid, unlocking additional stages for the clean energy hub, including up to 270 MW of additional solar and up to 150 MW of wind.
It’s official: Large-scale Renewable Energy Target achieved more than a year early
The Clean Energy Regulator has confirmed it has approved enough capacity to meet the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET). While this is a great achievement for the renewables industry, the question remains what comes beyond 2020. Although analysts expect a slow down, ANU researchers find the record installation rates will see Australia surpass the scrapped target of 41,000 GWh of renewable energy generation around the end of 2020.
