NEM

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) says that 248 GW of proposed generation projects, storage installations, transmission developments, and government energy programs have the potential to address many of the risks in its latest market forecast – if they are delivered to schedule.

Australian electricity network part-owner Spark Infrastructure said it will welcome other bids if a $5.2 billion (USD$3.85) billion takeover bid by a consortium fails, implying a sale is on the cards.

Sustainable intentions come together in the signing of a green loan to fund ongoing development of FRV’s Sebastopol Solar Farm, which lender ING says contributes towards its ‘ambition to align our lending portfolio with the Paris Agreement goals.’

The northern Australian region this week added nine solar plants to the two already threatened – along with a wind farm – with having their output halted under certain conditions.

Plus, solar funding is down and Australian rooftop installers are preparing for tough times ahead as one U.S. utility has warned customers to be alert to scammers hoping to benefit from the pandemic.

The government of Victoria has decided to break from national electricity rules and introduce legislation to fast-track priority projects such as grid scale batteries and transmission upgrades, and make room for more large scale solar and wind. The announced reforms have prompted a flurry of reaction.

A minor concern it may be, compared to the tragic loss of life, livelihoods and biodiversity caused by the bushfires still ravaging parts of Australia, but reduced output by PV systems due to smoke haze is an unwelcome bi-product of blazes that have burned at a scale and ferocity never seen before.

Sustainable Energy Development Authority figures show the country saw around 94 MW of new rooftop generation capacity added in the first 11 months of last year. That compares to less than 14 MW in the previous three years.

The scheme will test the potential of distributed energy resources such as rooftop systems, battery storage and controllable load devices aggregated into VPPs to provide scalable energy and network services traditionally performed by large scale, conventional electricity generators. With registration open, the Australian Energy Market Operator wants VPPs to register to accelerate shared learning.

Queensland is in line for its first community-scale battery – to be installed on Townsville’s outskirts – because of the high number of rooftop solar systems and close proximity of electricity infrastructure. The energy storage system should be operating by the end of the year.