PPA

Cloud computing giant Amazon will invest $20 billion over the next five years to expand its data centre network in Australia with the funding to also support the development of three new solar farms with more than 250 MW capacity.

For the past five consecutive years, tech and retail giant Amazon has been the world’s largest procurer of renewable energy, investing in projects and signing power purchase agreements all over the world. pv magazine spoke with representatives of the company about its ambitious energy plans.

Renewables developer Lightsource BP is pushing ahead with the construction of the 450 MW Goulburn River Solar Farm in the New South Wales Upper Hunter region after striking a long-term offtake agreement with the operators of one of Australia’s major coal export terminals.

Australia is in the middle of an historic transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy and this transition is not without challenges. Investment in new, large-scale renewable energy capacity has been slowed by grid bottlenecks, slow planning approvals, rising costs, and a lack of alignment between energy supply and demand. This has many experts fearing Australia will not meet its ambitious 2030 climate targets.

Remote power supplier Pacific Energy has signed a multi-year agreement with West Australian regional energy provider Horizon Power to supply the popular tourist town of Exmouth with up to 80% renewable energy every year for the next 20 years.

The historic Queensland coal mining city of Ipswich has made the shift to renewables with state-owned owned energy company CleanCo striking a deal to power the local council’s infrastructure with 100% renewable energy.

Genex Power has struck an offtake agreement with Queensland government-owned energy giant Stanwell Corporation that will underpin the development of the 775 MW first stage of the Bulli Creek solar and battery project planned for the state’s southeast.

Telecommunications giant Telstra has added to its renewable energy portfolio, signing up to offtake power from a 200 MW solar farm being built in New South Wales by the Australian arm of Global Power Generation, a subsidiary of Spanish utility Naturgy Energy Group.

Zen Energy has struck a long-term agreement to buy the majority of energy to be generated at the $190 million Quorn Park solar and battery hybrid project being developed by Enel Green Power Australia in western New South Wales.

Independent Australian power producer Zenith Energy has completed the final stage of a 26 MW solar farm component of an 88 MW hybrid power station under construction at the remote Western Australia Bellevue Gold mine site.