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.
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).
Solar PV and wind are now the cheapest power sources globally, with hybrid systems increasingly delivering 24/7 electricity at fossil-competitive costs, according to an IRENA report.