Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation (YEC) has reached financial close on the 150MW Jinbi solar PV power plant in Western Australia's Pilbara region and signed a 30-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with mining giant Rio Tinto.
The company has formally terminated its originally planned 15GW ingot pulling and PV cell manufacturing project, redirecting its resources to the more promising lithium battery silicon-carbon anode material sector.
Solar PV installations have reached a record 14.4GW in the first quarter of 2026, according to a report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Australia's utility-scale solar sector must halve generation costs to around AU$25-30/MWh (US$18-22/MWh) to unlock a pipeline of projects capable of delivering the 10GW of annual capacity additions needed for decarbonisation, according to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).