RCR wins EPC contract for 110 MW in Australia
Sydney-based energy infrastructure specialist APA Group has selected RCR Tomlinson as the EPC contractor for a 110 MW solar project in the town of Dalby, Queensland. The contract is valued at roughly A$175 million ($129.3 million).
CEFC offers $44.5 million of financing for 43 MW in Australia
The Clean Energy Finance Corp. (CEFC) will provide AU$60 million ($44.5 million) in financing to RATCH-Australia to turn an idled coal-fired plant in Collinsville, Queensland, into a 42.5 MW solar array.
Canadian Solar secures non-recourse finance for 47 MW projects in Australia
The Chinese solar power company has managed to raise AU$ 65 million (US$50 million) for two of its projects in Australia.
New South Wales sets higher benchmark range for FIT
The Australian state’s Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has drafted recommendations for voluntary solar feed-in tariffs (FITs) for 2017-18. It has proposed a benchmark range of AU$0.116 to AU$0.146/kWh, from AU$0.055 to AU$0.072/kWh in the preceding 12-month period.
Downer scores EPC, O&M deal for 148 MW in Australia
Palisade Investment Partners (Palisade) and ESCO Pacific (ESCO) have selected Sydney-based Downer EDI to handle EPC duties for the A$200 million ($150.5 million) Ross River solar project in the state of Queensland.
Solar Q reveals plan to install 350 MW in Australia
The company aims to build what would be one of the country’s largest PV arrays near a high-voltage substation in Queensland’s Lower Wonga region. Via the substation, the project would supply electricity to cities and towns such as Gympie, Gin Gin, Teebar Creek, Mungar, Kilkivan and Brisbane.
Enel and DIF invest $157 million in Australian solar project
The Italian power utility and the Dutch investment firm have agreed to acquire the first 137.5 MW of a 275 MW PV project under development in Australia. The second 137.5 MW project’s unit will be bought by the two companies later this year.
New installs and retrofits behind Australia’s residential storage boom
The Australia residential storage market is booming on the back of a combination of regulatory changes and market dynamics. However, with upwards of 30,000 systems set to be plugged in this year, the influence of early adopters deploying solar+storage to new installations remains a dominant driving force in the current market.
ANU develops 26% efficient cell using perovskites
Researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) have achieved 26.4% efficiency using a stacked configuration of silicon and perovskite solar cells. The perovskite cell is semi-transparent and, according to ANU, could bring down the cost of generating solar power.
Solutions unveiled for next generation storage
Two innovative new technologies with potential applications in solar were unveiled this week. Research teams across the world are looking at new way to boost solar’s stability by integrating with storage. Scientists in Australia and in China demonstrate their innovative steps toward achieving this.
