Generating enough off-grid electricity to power our most used electronics devices may be easier than we think, thanks to recent innovations such as the ‘Solartab’ and ‘Solargami’ portable solar PV […]
Category: Solar Choice News
Solar Choice’s news service about local, national and global developments about solar photovoltaics and related technology.
Inefficient pricing, not renewables, to blame for Australian electricity cost pain: Grattan Institute
The situation in Australia’s electricity sector have come to what might be described as perfect storm conditions for leaving the grid, and unfair & inefficient pricing mechanisms are largely to blame, […]
Renewables provided 30% of Germany’s electricity in first 6 months of 2014
Record amounts of solar and wind energy generation in Germany have helped push the country’s share of renewables to 31 per cent of electricity production for the first half of […]
Solar will dominate new generation capacity buildout to 2030: BNEF
Solar looks set to dominate new electricity capacity and investment in Australia, with a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicting solar PV will account for nearly half of […]
Retirement savings at risk if RET is slashed: IGCC
The Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) has advised the panel tasked with reviewing Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) that the superannuation funds of millions of Australians are at risk […]
Sunpower and KB Homes partnership offers PV with battery storage
Sunpower is offering fully integrated solar PV and battery storage solutions for new energy efficient homes in Southern California, in partnership with US home builder KB Homes. The pilot program initially aims […]
New technique to unlock Li-ion’s replacement: the lithium-sulphur battery
Pushing the boundary of lithium-based battery technologies is a new lithium-sulphur battery technology being jointly developed by researchers in the US and Korea. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), […]
Rooftop solar will slow or reduce electricity demand in WA
Western Australia’s Independent Market Operator says it expects the state’s electricity demand to increase by nearly 2 per cent cent a year over the next decade, depending on the impact […]
Solar powered park benches installed throughout Boston
The Mayor of Boston has announced the commissioning of a pilot program to install solar powered benches in parks throughout the city. The project is being conducted in collaboration with […]
US solar PV installer SolarCity to start panel manufacturing with new 1 GW factory
Vertical integration and using economies of scale to push down prices are classic strategies in economics and ones that Elon Musk, chairman of US solar installer, Solar City, is hoping […]
Australian Solar Council and Solar Citizens slam government on plans to scrap ARENA
Australia’s Solar Council has launched a campaign to save the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, warning the federal government that dumping it would damage the solar industry and put Australia well […]
Abbott says RET driving up power prices, while solar appears to sink market electricity price in QLD
Are clean energy schemes driving up the price of electricity? In the case of the carbon tax, the answer seems pretty clearly to be ‘yes’–that’s what it was intended to do, initially […]
First Solar says utility-scale solar price will halve by 2019–if RET remains intact
The cost of utility-scale solar in Australia will halve over the next five years, making it cheaper than wind energy by 2020, according to predictions from one of the world’s […]
FRV suggests energy storage ‘multiplier’ incentive to encourage renewables, reduce peak demand
Spanish renewables group, FRV, has suggested the introduction of a form of banding, or a “multiplier,” to encourage the development of energy storage. FRV suggests a multiplier could be applied […]
Florida woman evicted for off-grid living, while QLD utilities move to encourage it
A Florida woman was served orders to vacate her own home for not being to connected to water or electricity mains, according to OffTheGridNews. The woman, Ms Robin Speronis, made […]
‘Talesun Smart’ PV modules provide integrated real-time performance monitoring
Zhongli Talesun Solar has released a new range of PV modules with real-time module-level performance monitoring at SNEC 2014, International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference and Exhibition. This is another welcome […]
Tofu-based solution could solve toxicity, cost issues in solar panel production
Liverpool University says it has found a way to use chemicals found in tofu to make solar panels cheaper and safer, in what it is claiming as a major breakthrough. […]
ACIL Allen’s RET modelling shows homes & businesses could install 14GW+ of solar by 2040
Australian households will likely invest $30 billion in rooftop solar in the coming decades, assuming the major share of investment in the country’s transition to clean energy. Modelling conducted by consulting […]
Rooftop PV has added benefit of passive cooling: UCSD study
A study by the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has concluded that PV modules keep buildings significantly cooler in summer through passive solar cooling. The UCSD researchers concluded that […]
Palmer’s backing of the RET ensures scheme’s survival, but cuts still likely
After several oscillations, Clive Palmer has suddenly (and apparently wholeheartedly) thrown his party’s backing behind Australia’s embattled Renewable Energy Target, currently the nation’s most important remaining support scheme for renewables. […]
Half of Germany’s afternoon electricity demand came from solar panels on 6 June
Germany’s solar panels produced a record 24.24GW of electricity in on Friday 6 June 2014, retrospective analysis by the Fraunhofer ISE research institute has revealed. Another record was set on the […]
ACIL Allen report on Renewable Energy Target bodes ill for Australian solar industry
The Australian solar industry is in grave fear about its future, following the release of various scenarios from ACIL Allen, the company doing the modeling for the Abbott government’s review […]
Australia in danger of becoming a renewable energy ‘laggard’ globally if RET is cut
The world’s largest solar manufacturer, Yingli Green Energy, has warned Australia that the maintenance of the Renewable Energy Target is crucial for the ongoing business and future stability of the […]
New solar connection guidelines for Queensland come into effect from 1 July
From 1 July 2014 Queensland’s two state-owned electricity network companies, Ergon and Energex, will jointly implement new standards for new solar system owners seeking to connect to the grid. The […]
‘SmartWire’ cell interconnection technology to be manufactured in Poland
Meyer Burger’s innovative ‘SmartWire Connection Technology’ is set for manufacture in Poland, through a partnership with Freevolt and Hanplast, the largest European supplier for IKEA. The technology, acquired through Day4 […]
When Less is More: New Lightweight Modules Can Provide Significant Cost Savings
Silicon Valley-based ‘Giga Solar’ have released commercially-sized solar PV modules weighing as low as 2.3 kg. The Giga Solar composite structure eliminates the use of industry‑standard glass for module encapsulation. […]
SolarCity chief says solar growth will be ‘infinite’ once grid parity is reached
SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive has forecast ‘infinite’ growth in the global solar market, as soon as unsubsidised solar PV is able to generate energy at a lower cost than traditional […]
Aussie investors Southern Cross Ventures back US solar-plus-storage startup
A leading US developer of battery storage and energy management systems has gained backing from Australian cleantech investment fund Southern Cross Venture Partners. Southern Cross led a $15 million fundraising […]
Sunshine Coast Council shows support for solar in RET Review submission
Queensland’s Sunshine Coast Council has predicted that local governments could lead significant growth in Australia’s utility-scale solar market, developing projects to protect themselves and their ratepayers against rising electricity prices. […]
Renewable energy policy uncertainty holding Australia back in global solar boom
Renewable energy policy uncertainty threatens to put Australia even further behind the global solar pace, according to the comments from within two of the booming industry’s biggest players. In an […]
NSW’s recommended solar feed-in tariff rates fall slightly in final IPART report
The volatility of Australia’s solar support mechanisms has been illustrated afresh this week, with NSW again lowering the recommended feed-in tariff price for rooftop PV in the state. NSW’s Independent […]
