Monthly News Roundup - January 2020

31 January 2020

Here is the Energy Next news round up for January 2020.

 

The world will add 142 GW of new solar this year

IHS Markit has predicted another year of global solar growth but a peek behind the headline figures shows uncertainty dogging the markets of China and India, two of the most important markets and biggest polluters.

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Yarranlea solar farm joins the grid in Queensland

The 100MW Yarranlea solar farm has become the latest – and the 23rd – large scale solar farm to join the grid in Queensland, after injecting its first power output last week.

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The ACT is now running on 100 renewable electricity

From 1 January 2020, the Australian Capital Territory achieves something no other Australian state or territory has. “The ACT will officially be powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity”, the territory’s climate change minister Shane Rattenbury tells SBS News. 

That makes Canberra only the world’s eighth major city – and first outside Europe – to make the switch.

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Australia poised for record large-scale PV rollout in 2020

Australia’s utility-scale renewable energy sector is set for a record year with 3.6 GW of projects expected to complete commissioning in 2020, Rystad Energy finds. This comprises 1.96 GW in utility PV projects and 1.57 GW in wind developments, with the remaining 0.1 GW coming from batteries.

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Renewable hydrogen costs could halve by 2030, beating “unabated” fossil fuels

A new report published by the Hydrogen Council predicts that the cost of renewable hydrogen production could halve over the next ten years, putting Australia is in prime position to become a leading global supplier of a green fuel that will beat even “unabated” fossil fuels.

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New giant battery creates base for more renewables in Queensland

Singapore-based developer Vena Energy has announced that it will soon begin construction of Queensland’s largest grid-scale battery near Wandoan in the Western Downs. The 100 MW/150 MWh project will be delivered under a 15-year power purchase agreement with Australia’s biggest power producer, AGL.

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