The Abbott government has again shown its colours on renewables, using its Energy White Paper to describe interventions like the RET and solar feed-in-tariffs as “unintended disruptions” to competitive energy […]
Australia’s Royalla Solar Farm now owned by Saudi Arabian firm
Australia’s second-largest solar plant – the under-construction 72MW Moree PV project – is now owned by a company based in the world’s largest oil exporting nation, after Abdul Latif Jameel […]
Australian Anti-Dumping Commission terminates anti-dumping investigation into imported Chinese panels
Australia’s Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC) has ended its investigation into whether imported Chinese solar panels were dumped into Australia. The Commission found that although panels were sold below the cost of […]
New joint venture to develop floating solar projects throughout North America
Solar Power Inc. (SPI) and Aqua Clean Energy (ACE) last month announced a joint venture to develop new floating solar projects throughout the U.S. and Mexico. The partnership will bring […]
WA’s Esperance Shire turns to renewables to address high electricity prices
The Western Australian shire of Esperance has revealed plans to trial a variety of renewable energy technologies, including big solar and wind, to address the prohibitively high cost of electricity […]
Duke Energy plans for 500MW of solar in Florida by 2024
The US state of Florida will have up to 500MW of utility-scale solar capacity added to its electricity mix by 2024, in new plans revealed by power giant Duke Energy. […]
NSW Premier axes renewable energy secretary role from government
The Australian renewable energy industry has reacted with confusion and concern to the decision of newly reelected NSW premier Mike Baird to eliminate the portfolio of parliamentary secretary for renewable […]
China buoyed global solar market during two years of hard times
A new report has found that China’s major solar power push has helped to drive a 17 per cent surge in annual global renewable energy investment in 2014 – putting […]
Alinta Energy says solar thermal not yet financially viable
A new report from Alinta Energy has declared that solar thermal generation is still too expensive to consider as a replacement plant for its ageing coal-fired generators in Port Augusta, […]
Solar Choice brokers 50kW ‘zero-export’ solar system for St George Hotel in Queensland
Solar Choice Commercial has managed the tender for a 50kW solar system for the St George Hotel in Saint George, Queensland. In compliance with grid-connection rules for the Ergon Energy network, […]
Australia’s Dyesol to set up shop with manufacturing plant in Turkey
Unique, Australian-made solar PV technology has been chosen for mass production at a planned 600MW manufacturing plant in Turkey. Australian solar technology developer Dyesol said in a statement to the […]
France mandates solar or green roofs for all new commercial buildings
The French Parliament approved a new law that will require the rooftops of newly constructed commercial buildings to be partially covered with either plants or solar panels. The legislation – […]
Solar Citizens launch nation-wide Stand Up For Solar campaign
Australian solar lobby group Solar Citizens is calling for a higher renewable energy target and a fair price for solar, through the launch of a new year-long campaign that will […]
‘Virtual net metering’ trial program to allow Byron Bay Shire to sell solar to neighbouring sewage plant
The NSW government has confirmed its support of an “energy trading trial” that will allow Byron Shire council to sell output from a council-owned rooftop solar array to a neighbouring […]
Intelligent Energy Systems’ Prophet software sheds light on Australia’s electricity market
First introduced in 1997, Prophet is the most widely used simulation software in the Australian National Electricity Market (NEM). The software has also been used for studies of electricity markets […]
Coalition rejects 41,000GWh ‘compromise’ on Renewable Energy Target
Federal industry minister Ian Macfarlane has rejected the offer of a compromise on the Renewable Energy Target from the Clean Energy Council, saying his government would not budge above 32,000GWh. […]
Metal plating as a pathway to cheaper high-efficiency solar cells
The first instalment of this series outlined the technology developments which have kept screen printed solar cells on top of global PV sales. Despite its dominant position amongst most PV […]
Regional NSW SEXI solar plans get bipartisan support in senate
A local government plan to boost small and medium-scale solar development in regional NSW has received strong bi-partisan support in the federal senate, after being presented to them last week […]
UNSW PV Lighthouse tool lets solar engineers simulate cell manufacturing online
Solar industry engineers and students can now design and build virtual solar cells – experimenting in ways to maximise efficiency and minimise cost – after the launch of a new […]
Energy storage system manufacturer SolaX launches its second generation of ‘hybrid’ inverter
Energy storage system developer SolaX recently announced its plans to launch a second-generation hybrid energy management system (EMS). The SolaX X-Hybrid 2 features several new additions that promise to make it a […]
Coalition says cross-bench senators votes could help them weaken RET
The federal government will take renewable energy target negotiations to the cross-benchers in the Senate, after its “final” offer on the RET was rejected outright by Labor.In an interview with […]
APVI launches crowd-funding campaign to further develop Aussie solar map
The Australian PV Institute has launched a crowd-funding campaign to help finance the further development its live-mapping solar website, which charts Queensland’s solar installations by postcode and local government area. […]
Energy storage will boom amid burgeoning US solar market
Nearly 10 per cent of all solar systems in North America would have energy included in as little as three years’ time, a new study has found. IHS said on Monday that, […]
NSW installs more solar than QLD in Feb – thanks to booming commercial solar market
New South Wales has outshone the Sunshine State on solar, taking the crown from its northern neighbour as Australia’s biggest monthly market for rooftop PV installations. Data from two new […]
NSW Labor releases document detailing strong renewable energy support policy for state
NSW Labor has released a renewable energy-focused environment and energy policy, promising a fair price for solar and an emphasis on decentralised generation. The policy document, released on Tuesday, outlines around 10 major […]
IEA: In historic first, CO2 emissions flatlined even as economy grew – thanks to renewables
A halt in the rise of global carbon dioxide emissions, despite continued economic growth, is being hailed as a first by the International Energy Agency, and largely credited to the growth […]
Owning solar panels in ‘the cloud’
Cloud Solar is offering a new twist on the ‘traditional’ community solar model. Much like previous community-owned programs, the initiative offers ownership of individual panels within a larger solar […]
IEA outlines position with energy storage roadmap
The International Energy Agency has released their inaugural energy storage roadmap. A logical addition to their various renewable energy roadmaps, the report aims to project the role energy storage technologies […]
LGC price spikes as government comes closer to RET deal
Comments from within the Abbott government suggesting an agreement on the RET could come as soon as Easter have helped push prices of large scale renewable energy certificates (LGCs) to […]
Commercial PV Price Index – March 2015
Commercial solar system prices continued their subtle decline between February and March of 2015, according to pricing data from installers in Solar Choice’s network. All prices are net, incorporating incentives […]
SunEdison acquires energy storage firm Solar Grid Storage
Wind and solar developer SunEdison announced last Thursday its acquisition of Pennsylvania-based energy storage firm Solar Grid Storage (SGS) for an undisclosed sum. SGS is a startup specializing in integrated […]
