12 May 2021
The stunning January 2020 performance of Australia’s original Tesla big battery, the Hornsdale Power Reserve, continues to set an unattainable benchmark for French renewables giant Neoen, with the company’s first quarter 2021 result down 16% on the same time last year – a victim of its own success.
Neoen on Wednesday reported a Q1 2021 consolidated revenue of €80.2 million ($A124.4m), a decrease of 16% compared to the same time in 2020, dragged down by a decline in storage revenue from €21.6 million in 2020 to €5.3 million this year.
Wind and solar generation contributed to the bulk of the earnings for the quarter: €38 million from solar (equal to the same time in 2020); and €36.7 million for wind, a slight increase on the same time in 2020 thanks to “excellent wind resources” in Europe.
Resources Minister vetoes $280m loan for green energy hub
Federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt has vetoed public funding of a wind farm and battery project at Kaban in far north Queensland, as it is ‘inconsistent with the objectives and policies of the Commonwealth’.
The Kaban green energy hub was scheduled to be constructed at a location 80km south-west of major regional town Cairns. Federal Government agency Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) had previously approved $280 million in funding for the initiative to go ahead.
Proponents Neoen Australia had estimated this would deliver up to $461 in electricity savings for consumers in far North Queensland for the duration of the project, which had initially landed them approval for public funding. The project was set to include a 157 MW wind farm and 100 MW battery, a 320km transmission line upgrade and 247 jobs during construction as well as five ongoing positions.