Moree Solar Farm, the ground-breaking 56MW PV tracking plant slated for development in the NSW farming district, is set to begin construction within months after finally securing financial closure this week. […]
Category: Solar Choice News
Solar Choice’s news service about local, national and global developments about solar photovoltaics and related technology.
Areva announces withdrawal from solar thermal business, leaving questions about Australian projects
French nuclear giant Areva has announced that it is pulling the plug on its solar thermal business, citing weak sales and falling revenues across nuclear and renewables. The move casts […]
Moree Solar Farm reaches financial close, construction to begin ‘immediately’
One of the largest solar farms in Australia’s pipeline has reached financial close and will begin construction immediately, according to a press release from its developer, FRV. Moree Solar Farm […]
Indian ‘ultra-mega’ projects set to help drive down solar costs
The Indian government has signed up to a plan to help fund some of the world’s largest solar PV parks across, increasing the energy poor nation’s total solar capacity by […]
SunPower to offer commercial energy storage solution in Australia in 2015
Commercial energy storage systems could hit the Australian market as soon as next year, according to leading US solar company SunPower. SunPower, one of the world’s biggest PV module manufacturers […]
World’s largest floating solar PV system planned for India
India’s National Hydro Power Corporation is planning to construct the world’s largest floating solar installation, with a peak capacity of 50MW. A large lake in the South-Indian state of Kerala has been […]
RET report delayed as review panel asks for extension; renewables industry continues to hold its breath
The panel tasked with reviewing the Renewable Energy Target (RET) has requested an extension to complete its final report, according to the Australian Financial Review. The report, which was originally […]
Electricity pricing structures must change to prevent mass grid defection: Energetics
Electricity utilities and network operators risk sending Australia’s rooftop solar households off-grid in droves if pricing signals remained unchanged, a solar and energy storage expert has warned. Gordon Weiss, from […]
One of Australia’s largest solar developers faces insolvency
One of Australia’s largest and most prominent solar developers faces collapse after being placed in the hands of administrators late last week. According to ASIC documents, the business and its […]
APVI adds PV system output estimator to suite of solar maps
Australian households will now be able to estimate their rooftop’s potential for solar PV before installing a system, thanks to a new online modelling tool created by the Australian PV […]
CEFC earmarks $120 million for solar leasing in Australia
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), after surviving another government attempt to legislate its dismantling, has announced $120 million worth of financing for solar leasing deals and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in […]
Understanding physics of plastic solar cells key for cheap, flexible PV
Recent work published by researchers from the University of Montreal, Imperial College London and the University of Cyprus have shed light on the physics of how ‘plastic’ polymeric semiconductor solar […]
Solar employs more people than coal industry, and keeps electricity prices down: Australia Institute
New research has shown that the fast-growing Australian solar industry is both creating jobs and pushing down electricity prices, despite claims to the contrary from power networks and the fossil […]
ConnectDER: A new device to open Pandora’s Box for grid connection
Virginia start-up ‘Infinite Invention’ have created a device which potentially allows for the modulation of exported solar PV electricity to suit surrounding grid conditions. The device also provides a quick […]
Colorado net metering fight reveals shifting utility attitudes towards solar
US solar advocacy group the Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC), in pointing out position reversal on the part of a Colorado utility towards solar net metering policy, has highlighted the ongoing […]
Solar PV market could go the way of solar hot water if RET is weakened
Australia’s rooftop solar PV market risked following in the disastrous path of the solar hot water market if changes were made to the Renewable Energy Target, industry has warned. Estimates […]
NSW to become a leader in medium-scale solar PV under new state policies
The NSW government has unveiled a new policy that could help “transform mid-scale solar” energy in Australia. The state’s environment minister, Rob Stokes, said the new resource efficiency policy would […]
Utility-scale solar in Australia: Long-term certainty counters short-term doubt
Large-scale solar power in Australia was one of the main topics of conversation on Thursday at the Clean Energy Week conference in Sydney, with the day’s speakers expressing the range of […]
Perovskites: The next PV revolution?
Perovskites have taken the PV research world by storm in recent years thanks to unprecedented growth in efficiency in the material. Perovskite solar cell efficiencies have gone from a barely […]
NSW government proclaims support for renewables & the RET, breaking ranks with fellow Lib-Nats
Breaking ranks with the their fellow Lib-Nat party members on the federal level, the NSW government has declared its aim of ensuring that NSW is fertile territory for renewable energy […]
Siva Power aims to produce lowest cost PV modules at 28¢/W
Siva Power has announced plans to produce thin-film CIGS solar modules at a cost of US$0.28 per watt by around 2018. This figure represents the lowest manufacturing cost of any […]
Indian village leads the way in rural electrification with solar-powered micro-grid
A small village in one of India’s poorest states has becomes the nation’s first to meet 100 per cent of its own energy needs using off-grid solar power. Dharnai village […]
Renewables account for over half of new US electricity capacity in first half of 2014
Renewable energy sources, namely solar and wind, have provided more than half of all new electricity generating capacity in the US in the first half 2014, a new report has […]
IMEC sets new efficiency record with industrially sized n-type solar cell
IMEC, a Belgian institute renowned for microelectronics research, have produced an industrially‑sized 21.5% efficient n‑type solar cell. This result represents the highest efficiency achieved for cells of its kind and […]
Could solar homes & businesses face fallout from carbon tax repeal?
The Australian Greens have raised concerns that the Abbott government’s scrapping of the carbon pricing scheme will have serious repercussion for Australian households and small businesses with rooftop solar. The […]
15-20% of Australian solar customers interested in energy storage
Installation rates of battery storage systems in Australian homes could reach around 1,000 a year by the end of 2014, according to new estimates, as solar households look for ways […]
Victorian electricity retailer set to hit solar system owners with additional fees
Victoria looks set to become the first Australian state to hit solar households with an additional fixed charge on their electricity bills, according to a proposal that has recently come […]
Renewable energy investment reached $63.6b in Q2 2014: BNEF
A record-breaking $3.8 billion deal to finance an offshore wind farm in the North Sea has helped to deliver the strongest quarter for clean energy investment in two years. Global […]
15,000 new Australian households going solar monthly, with Queensland leading the way
Australians continue to install rooftop solar at a rate of more than 15,000 households a month, according to new data from Green Energy Trading, adding peak capacity of 64.8MW in […]
Echoing Australia, Florida and Utah utilities working to undermine solar growth
Echoing the conflicts currently underway in Australia, utilities in the American states of Florida and Utah are making efforts to slow down the progress of burgeoning solar industries there. In […]
‘Two-for-one’ deal on electrons to boost solar cell efficiency
Research conducted by the University of California (UC) – Riverside proposes an innovative method for pushing commercial solar cell efficiencies past 30%. The process, known as ‘singlet fission’, allows for […]
