[SMM PV News] Brazil Approves First Co-Located Solar and BESS Project

Australian renewable energy developer Genex plans to reconfigure Stage 1 of its 2.5GW Bulli Creek Clean Energy Park in Queensland, reducing the solar component from 775MW to 300MW while adding a 425MW/1.7GWh battery energy storage system. The hybrid project, located around 275km west of Brisbane, is scheduled to begin construction in 2028 and may serve as a blueprint for the following three stages. Genex said the project review has delayed progress, but local stakeholders remain supportive. The company has also committed up to AUD 500,000 to support the redevelopment of a community hub in Millmerran.

Q.ENEST Holdings has completed a JPY 9 billion syndicated loan arranged by SMBC to fund an 80MW portfolio of low-voltage distributed PV assets across Japan. The financing was structured through an SPC and will be drawn down in stages over around one year as assets are acquired, with the first drawdown covering existing plants. Q.ENEST Denki, the group’s retail power unit, will act as the offtaker, supplying fixed-price green electricity to residential and corporate customers. The deal highlights growing financing interest in Japan’s distributed PV assets, supported by integrated generation, retail offtake and hedging models.

The Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade has asked the US Department of Commerce to launch a nationwide anti-circumvention probe into solar imports from Ethiopia. AASMT alleges that Chinese-origin wafers are being processed into cells in Ethiopia and then assembled into modules in Ethiopia or Vietnam for export to the US, bypassing existing AD/CVD duties. The petition comes after US imports of Ethiopian solar products surged from zero in June 2025 to over USD 300 million by year-end, raising concerns that Ethiopia may become a new circumvention route amid tighter US scrutiny of solar supply chains.