Oceania

Trina Solar continues to cement its transition from PV panel manufacturer to a single supplier for solar projects, having delivered both PV modules and a tracking system for New Zealand’s largest operational solar farm.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia, and New South Wales were over-performing solar regions in March. This overperformance in the southeast and southwest came despite most of the Australian continent seeing below-average irradiance, due to thicker-than-usual clouds over the sparsely-populated interior and tropics.

A new report has called for large PV waste and recycling facilities to be established in major Australian cities as a matter of priority with solar waste predicted to reach 100,000 tonnes annually, equivalent to 1.2 GW per year, by the end of the decade.

Australian researchers have calculated the levelised cost of green hydrogen under different installed capex scenarios for 2030. They also looked into the different possible sizing of PEM electrolyzers.

The Australian government will allocate AUD 1 billion ($652.8 million) to help build a domestic solar panel manufacturing industry to underpin the nation’s future as a renewable energy superpower.

The Australian government has granted environmental approval for UK developer Lightsource bp to proceed with its plans to build Australia’s largest solar farm and battery energy storage system on any of the country’s main electricity grids.

Modular solar array manufacturer 5B has started building the solar component of an 89.7 MW hybrid microgrid that will help Bellevue Gold’s gold mine in Australia with up to 100% renewables.

Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners’ plan for a multibillion-dollar polysilicon production plant in Australia has received a major boost, with the Queensland state government clearing the way to fast-track the project.

Researchers in Australia have compared the technical and financial performances of a hydrogen battery storage system and a lithium-ion battery when coupled with rooftop PV. They evaluated two commercially available systems – LAVO and Tesla Powerwall 2 – and found that the lithium-ion battery provides better financial profits, whereas the hydrogen battery offers more battery lifespan for long duration of energy storage.

Gas and electricity company APA Group has launched Australia’s largest remote-grid solar farm, announcing the official opening of the 88 MW Dugald River Solar Farm in outback Queensland.