New renewable projects at near standstill on the grid - RenewEconomy
New renewable projects at near standstill on the grid - RenewEconomy
New renewable projects at near standstill on the grid The near standstill on new large scale renewable energy projects has continued into the new financial year, with no new solar projects in the first two months of 2023/24. It blamed a number of challenges, including higher costs, connection and permitting, and revenue certainty. The one bright spot was the rooftop solar sector, now tipped to match the record 3.2GW of new capacity installed in 2021 - and it may go higher. Just five projects totalling 875 MW of new capacity were registered in July and August. Most of this was wind (725MW) and battery storage (150MW), and no large scale solar. Registration is allocated to projects which are mechanically complete, and which have satisfied certain requirements. It takes an average of 15 months before projects reach full commercial operations. The small number of projects that received approvals in the first two months of the year is particularly alarming because of the extra funding provided by state and federal energy ministers. It’s not that there is a shortage of candidates in large scale wind and solar. According to AEMO data, there are enquiries from 361 projects totalling more than 123GW of capacity. The connection applications number is promising, marking a 2.3GW increase over the July number. Get the free daily newsletter FOLLOW US ON SOCIALS
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: renewables
Renewable energy sources — once the fuel of the future, then practical in specific, narrow applications — are increasingly economic mainstream sources of power generation. Hydropower was long the mainstay of U.S. renewable electricity generation, although wind power surpassed hydro for the first time in 2019, and solar continues its rapid growth. The continued growth of wind and solar, with their fluctuations, is tied in part to improvements in storage technology: batteries.