US electric vehicle and battery maker, Tesla, has declared energy storage already economically viable in Australia, as the upstart company’s founder and CEO Elon Musk provided more insight into why his new […]
CSIRO scientists commission solar-powered desalination plant for Cyprus
Scientists from Australia’s CSIRO have designed and installed a solar thermal power plant with molten salt storage on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The small, 150kW facility is being used […]
Tesla Energy launch shakes up the energy industry
The recent launch of Tesla Energy and the Powerwall lithium battery banks have triggered much excitement in the energy industry. The news has renewable energy supporters optimistic about a speedy […]
Coalition and Labor to compromise on Renewable Energy Target: 33,000GWh by 2020
A compromise deal may finally have been reached on Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET), according to reporting from the ABC and other sources. The Coalition government and Labor Party have […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index: May 2015
With the exception of 10kW solar systems, prices for commercial-scale solar PV systems in Australia decreased slightly on average between April and May of 2015, according to data from the […]
ACT government seeks expressions of interest in development of 50MW solar-plus-storage facility
The government of the Australian Capital Territory has announced that it is seeking expressions of interest for the development of a 50-megawatt (MW) ‘next generation’ solar-plus-storage facility. The EOI process […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index: May 2015
Nationally, average solar energy system prices have risen for the second month in a row, according to data from the Solar Choice installer network database. Prices for 1.5kW, 2kW and […]
International Energy Agency report says renewables will be key in meeting climate goals
The International Energy Agency has named renewables as one of the key ingredients to meeting climate mitigation goals, and called on governments to set policies accordingly, in a new report […]
Aus states and territories vow to make up for federal foot-dragging on renewables
Australia’s states and territories have vowed to pick up the federal government’s slack on renewables, and work together to unlock the nation’s large-scale solar and wind energy markets. At a […]
Bifacial solar cells – the two sides of the story
Bifacial solar modules are making a comeback, of sorts, as the PV industry looks to squeeze more out of current solar cell technology. On the heels of Sunpreme revealing their […]
2015 International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics released
The 2015 International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics (ITRPV) was released last week and is now available for download on the ITRPV website. The report contains insights from leading PV industry […]
India and Japan eye 100GW solar targets
Separate developments in India and Japan last week have served to underline the high level of solar ambition in the region, with both countries now eyeing 100GW targets. In Japan, […]
Renewables will be key in meeting global climate targets: HSBC report
Renewable energy technologies like solar and wind are now cost competitive with fossil fuels in many parts of the world, a new HSBC report has found, and will play a […]
Australia lags behind much of Western world in per-capita renewable capacity
Australia’s record on installed renewable energy, measured on a per capita basis, lags behind North America and most of Europe, a new report has shown. In the HSBC report, The […]
Solar and wind & other renewables account for 75% of new capacity in USA for Q1 of 2015
Solar and wind energy were top among the renewable energy resources that combined to make up more than 75 per cent of all new electricity generation added in America in […]
NREL report highlights massive potential for ‘shared solar’ projects
Half of all future distributed solar installations could come in the form of “shared solar”, according to a major new report released by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory this […]
Spain’s Gemasolar concentrating solar plant featured in new Peugeot ad
The ground breaking Gemasolar concentrating solar tower power plant in Spain has been used as the backdrop for the latest ad campaign by French car maker, Peugeot. The striking advertisement features Peugeot’s […]
Commercial PV Price Index: April 2015
Mirroring the trend observed in residential solar systems, average commercial solar system prices increased slightly between March and April of 2015. The increases were clearest among 10kW systems and less pronounced for 30kW, […]
Monitoring Aussie solar output with updated APVI PV map
The contribution of Australia’s 1.3 million rooftop solar systems can now be monitored in real time, with the launch of an updated solar mapping service by the Australian PV Institute. […]
China to exceed 2015 PV target thanks to small-scale solar
Uncapped growth in China’s small-scale distributed solar market could see help the country exceed its 2015 PV target of nearly 17.8GW, according to Trina Solar – the world’s number one […]
Not-for-profit CORENA secures solar funding for Aus community centres
A renewable energy funding model based on ‘revolving loans’ has helped develop 35kW of community solar projects around Australia, with the completion this week of a solar array at Camden […]
German solar energy production hits new record – over 25,000MW
Solar energy generation in Germany has hit a new high, with PV output breaking above 25,000MW for the first time last Wednesday. According to the web-site Montero, electricity produced by […]
Commercial projects help NSW keep title of top solar state
New South Wales has retained its position as Australia’s biggest market for solar PV in the month of March, as the state’s businesses lead the charge to install rooftop solar. […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index: April 2015
Average solar energy system prices have risen for the first time in just under a year, according to pricing data from Solar Choice’s quote comparison platform. The increases took place […]
Solar contributed record 9.1% to France’s electricity demand on 12 April
Solar PV provided just under 10 per cent of energy demand in France over the weekend, a record contribution to the nuclear-dominated country’s grid in a week of record output […]
Over 2,000 Aussie solar jobs lost under Abbott government: ABS
Australia’s solar industry has been the major victim of the more than 2,000 job losses to hit the renewable energy sector in the years since the Abbott government came into […]
Solar PV improvements changing naysayers’ stance
Those keeping a close eye on the solar market would likely agree that this is a time of change, perhaps even a time of hope. PV technology has matured to […]
Aussie small-scale solar stays strong even as large-scale lags due to uncertainty
Australia’s rooftop solar market is continuing to grow, despite a plunge in renewable energy investment that is driving the nation’s large-scale renewables sector into a deepening crisis. New analysis by […]
177 GW of solar installed worldwide: IEA 2014 snapshot report
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released their ‘2014 Snapshot of Global PV Markets’ report. The published figures state that, as of the end of 2014, there is now a […]
AEPOL’s Dustech 2 polymer suppresses dust on solar farm sites
As a developer of large-scale solar PV projects in some of the more arid regions of Australia, Solar Choice is keenly aware of the impact that dust accumulation can have […]
Benefits of solar PV tracking systems
This article has been reposted with permission from WattClarity. See the original article here. On Thursday 2nd April, just prior to the Easter long weekend, I was fortunate to be […]
