Solar PV

Two 10 MW solar farms at Batchelor and Manton Dam developed by Tetris Energy will soon enter the construction phase and boost the NT share of renewable energy from the current 3% to 10%. The $43 million solar projects have signed PPAs with Jacana Energy and NT Solar Investments.

In the UK investor’s first deal since entering the Australian marketplace, Octopus Investments and Australian renewables developer Edify Energy have arranged more than $450 million to finance one of Australia’s major PV projects – a 333MW DC (275MW AC) solar farm, which has an approval to be collocated with a 100 MWh energy storage facility at Darlington Point, NSW.

After releasing the December quarter update for the 50 MW Kidston Solar Project Stage 1, which showed strong revenues and a big boost in generated power, Sydney-based Genex Power has shared a research paper on the term sheet signed with electricity provider EnergyAustralia for the 250 MW Kidston Stage 2 Pumped Hydro Storage development.

Melbourne University’s Energy Transition Hub has released an update on its popular OpenNEM data tool, adding historical data to the searchable stream of information on where Australia’s energy is coming from, how we use it and what it costs.

Danish renewables investor and asset manager Obton has set up a joint venture with Australian developer Torus with the goal to buy, develop and build solar projects Down Under. With several projects already in its pipeline, the company says it has faith in the market despite policy uncertainty.

Australia’s solar PV capacity additions tripled in 2018, as its rooftop solar fleet continued to set new records high and big PV experienced an unprecedented growth. While stabilization in electricity prices could lead to a slowdown in the rooftop solar segment in all states except Victoria, it is unlikely to result in a noticeable decline in sales in 2019. Large-scale solar PV is in line for over 3 GW this coming year, while small power stations up to 5 MW will also get their time to shine.

In addition to its primary goal of driving down energy bills, the Victoria Labor government’s major push for the rooftop solar deployment across the state in the form of rebates and interest-free loans granted under a $1.24 billion Solar Homes program has had a positive effect on local industry in the brown coal-dominated Latrobe Valley.

In the final days of 2018, the NSW government gave its tick of approval for the construction of the state’s largest solar farm to date. The approval rounded off a year that saw a flurry of utility-scale solar construction activity and an unprecedented number of big solar additions in the state.

A newcomer to Australian solar, Indonesia’s Terregra Renewables, has appointed Balance Utility Solutions to carry out EPC activities on a 5 MW solar farm north of Murray Bridge in South Australia.

Major reports from Australia’s chief energy institutions point to the importance of wind and solar not just because of their climate credentials, but also the economic benefits they bring. A report from the energy market operator and the CSIRO finds based on analysis of LCOE that renewables are the cheapest new-built power. A separate report from the Australian Energy Market Commission shows that wind and solar will give a typical household a saving of $55 a year in next two years.