Renewable energy companies from China, Canada and Europe are among those competing for funds to develop a $1.68 billion large solar plant in Australia in spite of forecast for cost to halve by the end of the decade based on an article by Renewable Energy Wolrd.
The three companies Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology, Canadian Solar Inc. and Juwi AG of Germany have been chosen to proceed with applications seeking a share of $100M in government funds to support the projects this is as stated by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. Australia’s Infigen Energy, Origin Energy Ltd. And APA group is also vying for the government contract.
The country is seeking to speed up development in this sector, while the country gets more solar radiation per square meter than any other continents. It also leads the world in installing rooftop solar panels. A decrease in costs in the country to supply power form big solar projects is driving this clean development in the industry. The prices may drop to about $75/kWh in 2020 as compared to last year, according to Daniel Ruoss, Solar’s manager in Australia. Solar is closing the gap with wind power, which is more affordable.
Canadian Solar, the world’s 3rd largest solar manufacturer in 2014, has two of the proposed 22 large-scale solar projects selected by the Australian government, with developments planned in Queensland, Longreach and Oakey. The Ontario-based company, Guelph has a pipeline of more than 1,000 mW of large-scale solar plants in the country.
These companies are looking for more than 3 times as much money as what’s available for projects according to the government. Half of these proposals on the list are in Queensland, with Origin eyeing a 107mW plant next to their Darling Downs power station. Submissions are due by June 15th.
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Solar Trust Centre Team
