Solar PV and other renewables accounted for a record share of electricity generation in Australia’s National Energy Market (NEM) in Q4 2021 at 34.9%, while average wholesale prices rose with the higher cost of fossil fuels despite their share of the energy mix shrinking.
The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has received proposals for more than 34GW of solar, wind and energy storage for its South-West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), more than 10 times the likely capacity of the site.
Greek industrial group Mytilineos said its renewables and storage unit continues with “full speed” to invest in solar and battery energy storage systems globally following a 2021 that saw the business expand its PV engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) operations.
Toronto-based renewables developer Amp Energy has closed on a US$350 million credit facility to advance on a global portfolio of renewables and battery energy storage assets.
Prefabricated solar solutions manufacturer 5B is looking to improve the scalability and cost of its technology through an AU$33.4 million (US$24 million) innovation programme and support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
Australian LNG player Woodside Energy has tabled plans to build a utility-scale solar-storage project with a generation capacity of up to 500MW in Western Australia.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing AU$40 million in funding to support research and development (R&D) that can help Australia reach its ‘ultra-low cost solar’ goal, recently added as a priority under the country’s decarbonisation strategy.
Accurate generation modelling and forecasting is integral to not just the financial performance of operational solar farms, but how they are integrated into modern grids. A study from Monash University in Australia has proven how artificial intelligence approaches can help drastically improve performance forecasts. Dr. Christoph Bergmeir, who led that study, details its key learnings.
New research has revealed that solar PV and wind continue to be the cheapest new-build electricity generation options in Australia, even when considering their additional integration costs such as energy storage and transmission.
