Financing Set for Puerto Rican Solar Park. Infinigen, a Puerto Rico-based independent power producer, in late August announced the closing of a $33 million tax equity investment in the Yabucoa Solar Project from Foss & Co. The transaction includes an additional $26 million commitment toward a future Yabucoa battery storage project, to be developed at the same site. The financing advances construction of Yabucoa Solar Park, a 42.6-MW facility that will become Infinigen’s third utility-scale project in Puerto Rico, joining the operating Horizon Solar Park and Oriana Solar Park. Together, the three projects represent 115 MW of capacity. The future energy storage facility would mark Infinigen’s entry into standalone battery storage. Infinigen is wholly owned by a fund managed by ArcLight Capital Partners, a group that has been investing in electrical infrastructure since its founding in 2001.
Australia Opens Offshore Wind Auction. Australia opened its first auction for offshore wind energy in August. The initial offering is for projects off Victoria state in the southeast of the country, home to Melbourne. Renewable energy at present accounts for about 45% of the state’s current total power generation. Australia established the framework for offshore wind in 2021; the first wind zones were declared for the Gippsland area in Victoria in 2022. Australia by 2024 had awarded a dozen feasibility licenses, reportedly for as much as 10 GW of offshore generation, though some companies—including Equinor and RWE—later dropped those licenses. Plans for a Victoria auction were delayed again last year as developers wanted more guarantees from the Australian government. This year’s auction officials began on August 26 and will run until August 2027. Officials have said contracts from the auction will be awarded in 2028. Jaclyn Symes, minister for Energy and Resources, said bids will be evaluated based on value for money, deliverability, and benefits for local workers, businesses, and communities. The first tender calls for 2 GW of offshore wind capacity. Victoria is the first Australian state to establish targets for offshore wind capacity, and has a goal of 2 GW of capacity by 2032, 4 GW by 2035, and 9 GW by 2040.
Chilean Group Asks to Extend Diesel-Fired Plant. Electricity provider International Power Services (IPS) submitted a $125 million project for environmental review in Chile, seeking to extend the operating life of a diesel-fired plant and to add battery storage capacity and a substation. One of the project’s three main components involves extending by 20 years, to 2049, the useful life of the 155-MW Siemens open-cycle turbine plant known as Central Cardones, near the city of Copiapó, in the Atacama region. The diesel-fired plant began operations in 2009. A document filed with environmental review service SEA states that the project “will keep operating unchanged—that is, it will continue running with the same facilities and equipment, requiring no additional works, as has been the case to date.” Another component involves installing a 120-MW/720-MWh energy storage system, while the third calls for an air-insulated substation. A 437-kW solar park adjacent to the Cardones facility entered service in 2015. Diesel-fired generation in Chile primarily is used to provide backup power during periods of high demand. IPS has 412 MW of generation capacity in Chile, spread across three power plants. The company also has 318 MW of capacity across three facilities in Guatemala.
California Company’s Tech Being Utilized in India. TS Conductor, a California group focused on next-generation advanced conductor technology, announced in August that Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) in India has selected TS Conductor’s Aluminum Encapsulated Carbon Core (AECC) conductors for an upcoming transmission grid modernization project. The commercial order was awarded via TS’s regional partner Laser Power & Infra. HPSEBL will use AECC for a turnkey reconductoring project aimed at improving power supply reliability in the Nalagarh region. TS’s AECC technology can be installed with standard installation practices, and has proven to deliver two to three times more power than traditional wires. The AECC is designed for longevity, with an encapsulated core that is fully protected from physical and environmental degradation, unlike first-generation alternatives. TS manufactures and ships its pre-tensioned encapsulated carbon fiber composite core technology to India for completion of the manufacturing process. HPSEBL’s upcoming project will reconductor and modernize several medium-voltage 11-kV feeder circuits, as well as the 3-phase lines that reach the 11/0.4-kV distribution transformers.
MoU Signed for Coal Gasification in Indonesia. U.S. technology firm Latitude Energy and Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) through which Latitude Energy would explore coal gasification opportunities in Indonesia. Latitude would leverage its Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIG) technology, a process that converts coal into synthetic gas. Danantara Development Management Fund CEO Sigit P. Santosa said the partnership supports the Indonesian government’s broader strategy to achieve energy self-sufficiency by utilizing low-calorie coal. Indonesia is one of the world’s largest coal producers. Officials said the collaboration with Latitude Energy offers the country the opportunity to build a scalable and sustainable coal gasification platform. Latitude officials said the company views Indonesia not merely as a first market, but as the launchpad for broader coal gasification scale-ups across Southeast Asia. Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia are looking at coal gasification as a way to take advantage of a domestic resource, and reduce the need for imports of liquefied natural gas for power generation and industrial use.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.