While no one argues that investing in PV modules isn’t a smart move today, it won’t be long before we start asking if our modules are just as smart – […]
Category: Solar Choice News
Solar Choice’s news service about local, national and global developments about solar photovoltaics and related technology.
2 Australian scientists honoured for work in solar thermal technology
2 Australian scientists have been awarded Member of the order of Australia medals for their work in the realm of solar thermal–or concentrating solar power (CSP)–technology. Dr David Mills, a […]
IRENA announces loans in support of 6 renewable energy projects in developing countries
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has announced USD$41 million worth of concessional loans that the agency has made available for 6 projects in developing countries through a partnership with the […]
Australia ranks 34th in large-scale solar worldwide
Australia is well established as a global leader in the penetration of rooftop solar, but its record for large scale solar is not as impressive. The amount of utility scale […]
Utilities & generators pushing for weaker small-scale Renewable Energy Target
The rooftop solar PV industry in Australia is likely to see some or all of its tariff support and other incentives removed because of pressure on the government from leading […]
Victorian network operator to dispatch grid energy storage trial
Victoria’s SP Ausnet, the grid operator for the state, has plans to run an grid energy storage trial in order to examine new ways to deal with the issue of […]
China increases 2014 solar panel installation target to 14GW
China’s transformation for a mere manufacturer of solar panel to the biggest consumer is accelerating with news that the country has upped its target for 2014 by another 15 per […]
Euro Solar fined $145,000 for false and misleading representations
The Federal Court of Australia has ordered Euro Solar (trading as P&N Pty Ltd and P&N NSW Pty Ltd), sister company Worldwide Energy & Manufacturing (WEMA) and their director Nikunjkumar […]
California’s Blythe solar power plant ok’ed for switch from CSP to PV
The California Energy Commission (CEC) voted unanimously to permit the developers of the Blythe Solar Power project to switch technologies from concentrating solar power (CSP) to solar photovoltaic (PV) modules. […]
Rooftop solar PV provided nearly 9% of SA’s electricity, 3% of Vic’s during peak of heat on 16 Jan
Rooftop solar in Australia’s southern states reduced peak demand by an average of 4.6 per cent during the recent heat-wave, and on one afternoon provided one quarter of South Australia’s […]
Outlook on energy storage optimistic for 2014
Good things appear to be in store for the energy storage industry in the new year, with a number of sources pointing to major movement in 2014, thanks in great […]
Solar thermophotovoltaic breakthrough from MIT: Harnessing both light and heat for electricity
A team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is developing a new approach to making solar cells. The technology, ‘solar thermovoltaics’ or SVT, would utilise not only the light […]
ARENA announces 2 solar winners
The Australian solar industry has scored two new wins with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announcing plans boost Australian solar research and development, and a University NSW team taking out […]
Rooftop solar’s key role in keeping the lights on during the heatwave
Solar power is incontrovertibly having an impact on the Australian electricity market. For renewable energy advocates, the performance of the nation’s ‘people’s power plant’–now spread across nearly 2 million roofs–over […]
ARENA will fund study looking at solar power for Port Augusta, SA
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will commit $1 million to a feasibility study into the potential deployment of concentrating solar power (CSP) technology to replace or supplement energy produced […]
Can Australian solar PV reduce peak demand during heat waves?
The record high temperatures that parts of Australia has witnessed since the arrival of the new year have been a hot topic in the news, with temperatures coming close to […]
Australia nears its 2 millionth rooftop solar system, total SGUs surpass 2 million
The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has released data indicating that the number of rooftop solar systems in Australia is now approximately 170,000 short of 2 million when both solar photovoltaic […]
2014 bodes well for solar PV globally
Solar photovoltaic (PV) uptake appears ready to surge globally in the year 2014. Investment house Deutsche Bank and market research firm NPD Solarbuzz have offered growth forecasts of 46 gigawatts (GW) and […]
2013: The Australian year in solar
2013 was a huge year full of ups and downs for the solar industry globally and in Australia. What were some of the most important milestones, events and trends of […]
Government intentions to dilute the RET becoming clearer
The government’s intention to dilute the strength of the country’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) has become clearer, with Prime Minister Abbott accusing the scheme of ‘causing pretty significant price pressures’ […]
Among the upcoming wave of utility-scale solar farms, Silex Systems plans projects in Victoria, Queensland and beyond
Australia’s Silex Systems, known in solar PV circles mainly for its solar panel manufacturing wing Silex Solar, has in recent years been focusing its efforts on the development of solar […]
How does your LGA fare for rooftop solar? Check out the APVI’s solar map
The Australian Photovoltaic Institute (APVI, formerly APVA) has debuted an interactive solar PV status map on its recently re-launched website. The map, which uses data from the Clean Energy Regulator […]
What will Australia’s electricity grid look like in 2050? CSIRO makes some informed guesses
How will electricity be generated, stored, and distributed in the future? This question is one of the most pressing of our time, and countless organisations have had a shot at […]
Australia achieves its next solar milestone: 3 gigawatts of rooftop solar installed
The solar panel odometer has ticked over yet again for Australia, with the country reaching 3 gigawatts (GW) of installed rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, according to figures from the […]
IHS research revises global solar PV industry forecast upwards for 2014
Improving market conditions have led market research firm IHS to upwardly revise its forecasts for global expenditure on solar PV equipment for the year 2014. IHS had originally projected that […]
Federal government moves to slash ARENA funding
Renewable energy advocates have spoken out agains the Coalition’s previously foreshadowed move to reduce funding to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), introduced as a provision in the government’s draft […]
RESA’s VoltLogic to be used for limiting solar export in NT demo project
Renewable Energy Systems Australia (RESA) has announced that its STATCOM/inverter, VoltLogic, will be deployed at Palmerston Golf Club in Darwin, Northern Territory in a partnership with the club, a prominent local solar installation […]
Australia’s largest tracker-equipped rooftop solar array goes online in Victoria
Steel products manufacturer Hilton Manufacturing has commissioned a one-of-a-kind project on the roof of its factory in Dandenong South, outside Melbourne, Victoria. The commercial-scale solar array is unique in Australia […]
World energy mix may shift towards renewables faster than expected
Renewable energy is making headway in ways unanticipated just 5 years ago, according to a report from Citi Research. Some of the key details of Citi’s report–provocatively titled ‘Energy Darwinism–the […]
Residential solar PV/energy storage market poised for rapid growth: Lux Research
Hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) cum energy storage systems are set to see rapid growth, according to a report by Lux Research, corroborating similar predictions put out by IMS earlier this year. […]
ACT announces next 20MW of large-scale solar projects
The Australian Capital Territory has announced the winners of the second round of its ‘reverse auction’ feed-in tariff for large-scale solar projects. This time, the 20 megawatt (MW) allotment of […]
