Oceania

Four more countries have ratified the International Solar Alliance (ISA) framework agreement, taking the total number to 19. On Wednesday December 6, the ISA will be established as a legal international intergovernmental body.

The Tesla chief laid down the gauntlet earlier this year, confidently tweeting that his team could have the world’s largest battery online within 100 days of signing the contract. The lithium-ion South Australia project was actually completed in 60 days.

The Northern Territory government has given broad support to a plan to transition the territory to 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030, and announced new funding for rooftop solar and grid upgrades, after the release of a Roadmap to Renewables report on Monday.

European countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain are all forecast to be gigawatt-scale markets in 2018. Globally, around 606 GW of new PV capacity is forecast to be installed between 2017 and 2022.

Proposed National Energy Guarantee program could see investments in solar and wind power fall dramatically should PM Turnbull overlook stricter 2030 emissions reduction target, Bloomberg New Energy Finance reports.

SMA is set to supply its central inverters and power plant controllers to more than 20 PV power plant projects in Australia. Today the inverter giant revealed that it has signed contracts to supply its Medium Voltage Power Station (MVPS) and the SMA Power Plant Controller to around 1.2 GW in projects.

The Australian government has agreed to provide AU$2.57 million (US$1.9 million) to support a two-year pilot project that will use blockchain technology to pair utility-scale and commercial rooftop PV with a battery, electric vehicle charging stations and water treatment systems in Western Australia.

UK-based asset manager Foresight Group claims to have assembled the largest asset fleet of utility scale solar in Australia. After having acquired four solar projects in Queensland and initiated one Victorian project in less than two years, the fund noted that it had moved quickly to “capitalise on the opportunities.”

Western Australia’s electricity provider Horizon Power is set to receive a financial shot in the arm through the installation of various distributed energy technologies in 90 homes and businesses in the coastal town of Carnarvon, which is home to the state’s first utility-scale energy storage, currently under trial.

The Irish renewable energy developer will employ engineering firm Downer to develop the 150 MW solar energy component of the Port Augusta hybrid plant, with wind giants Vestas contracted to build 225 MW of wind power.