David Carroll
Drinkers encouraged to ‘give a XXXX’ as brewer goes solar
Iconic Australian beer brand XXXX will be brewed using 100% clean energy after parent company Lion signed an agreement to source renewable power from Lightsource bp’s 176 MW Woolooga solar farm.
Vast Solar secures funds for Australia’s first concentrated solar power plant
Vast Solar will move forward with plans to deliver Australia’s first commercial-scale concentrated solar power (CSP) plant after securing financial backing from the federal government to build a 30 MW/288 MWh facility in South Australia.
Lightsource bp to build 150 MW solar farm at New Zealand airport
Lightsource bp and “gen-tailer” Contract Energy plan to build up to 380 GWh of annual grid-scale PV generation in New Zealand by 2026. The companies have now been chosen to develop what will be one of the nation’s largest solar farms.
Research project to target thermal losses in large-scale solar farms
Australian modular solar manufacturer 5B will work with researchers from the University of Sydney to optimize the design of large-scale solar farms, in a bid to minimize temperature-induced panel efficiency losses. The research project secured funding support in the latest round of the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Project Grants program.
Modular solar tech gets nod for Australian off-grid lithium mine project
Australian modular solar manufacturer 5B’s rapidly deployable Maverick technology is set for installation at a 95 MW hybrid power plant in Western Australia featuring solar, wind, and battery energy storage.
Array Technologies to build tracker factory in Australia
US solar tracker supplier Array Technologies plans to set up a factory in Australia, after winning a contract to supply trackers for a 102 MW solar farm in the Australian state of Victoria.
DNV acquires Australia’s Solcast
Norway’s DNV has acquired Australia-based solar data specialist Solcast for an unspecified sum.
International players look to revive British battery gigafactory
Just weeks after announcing its intent to build a AUD 300 million ($210 million) lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Australia, Recharge Industries has reportedly joined a host of other bidders considering the revival of collapsed UK battery company Britishvolt. Investment could also revive plans to construct a battery cell gigafactory in northern England.
Australian scientists source silicon from solar waste to build better batteries
Researchers from Victoria’s Deakin University say they have successfully tested a new process that can safely and effectively extract silicon from end-of-life solar panels, and then convert it into nano materials worth more than $45,000 (USD 31,500) per kilogram, in order to build better batteries.
Administrators move swiftly to settle future of Sun Cable
Two of Australia’s richest people are expected to be rivals in the bidding process for Sun Cable, the developer of what could be the world’s biggest intercontinental solar and energy storage project. Administrators indicate that the sale process could be completed within three months.
