wiredInUSA March 2020

Sunshine State solar

New addition to the group

Construction work has begun on Royal Dutch Shell’s 120MW solar installation in southwest Queensland. The 120MW Gangarri solar farm will be near Wandoan, on land that forms part of the company’s QGC fracking operations. The solar farm is expected to use around 400,000 PV panels. Shell Energy Australia will be the foundation customer for the project, with an equivalent amount of electricity purchased from the national grid and sold to Shell’s QGC business. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2021. “This is Shell’s first global investment in an industrial-scale solar farm, and we are proud to be investing in the Sunshine State as a key center of activity ... to expand our integrated power business,” said Shell Australia chairman Tony Nunan. Lynham said Shell’s PV investment follows AGL and Vena Energy’s announcement of Queensland’s biggest battery, to be located near to the Gangarri solar farm. The battery system will have an initial capacity of 100MW and store 150MWh of energy, marking the first stage of a major renewable project that could supply 1GW solar capacity.

Image: MFL Group

As of January 2020, Mario Frigerio SpA has acquired the intellectual property rights of Ernst Koch GmbH+Co KG of Germany. Ernst Koch GmbH has manufactured wire drawing machines since the 1930s. The company designs and produces industrial machines for the manufacture of steel wire, including drawing machines and spoolers. With the acquisition, the parent MFL Group will be strengthening its presence in Germany and will augment its wire and rope product portfolio with reinforcement steel wire and cold heading wire lines.

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wiredInUSA - March 2020