The global renewable energy industry had a record-breaking year in 2015, according to the REN21 2016 Renewables Global Status Report, with 147GW of renewable generating capacity added worldwide – the […]
Tag: japan
Australia home to some of the lowest solar installation prices in the world, IEA confirms
Australia has some of the world’s cheapest installed system prices for grid-connected residential and commercial solar PV systems, according to the latest global PV report from the International Energy Agency, […]
Innovative German pilot hybrid project combines solar PV, CHP and battery storage
A German project that combines rooftop solar PV, combined heat and power technology, and battery storage could be adapted and scaled up elsewhere, according to General Electric, one of the […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Australia’s first floating solar farm to come to South Australia
Floating solar technology has generated excitement all across the globe in recent years, and plans are now underway in Australia to build the country’s first such facility. The plant, which […]
Extension of Renewable Energy Target could trigger large-scale solar boom in Aus
A new report has warned that Australia could miss out on the booming global solar market – a market some say will be worth more than $130 billion by 2020 […]
Floating solar power: Floatovoltaics, Liquid Solar Arrays and Solar Islands set to change the way we look at solar
Floating solar projects have headlines in in a number of cleantech publications for the past few years, thanks mainly to their novelty, the ingenuity of their approach and their often […]
Australia still lagging globally on large-scale solar
While the ongoing impasse over Australia’s renewable energy target has brought the large-scale solar industry to a standstill, the broader global market is buzzing with activity, a new report has […]
Could more Japanese homes turn to energy independence to escape big utilities?
Echoing the situation here in Australia, more homes Japanese homes could end up leaving the grid to avoid purchasing power from utilities, according to a piece in the Japan Times. […]
Tesla looking to power Australian ‘supercharger’ stations with solar PV
US electric vehicle company Tesla Motors is looking to power its Australian network of EV supercharging stations with solar. Tesla Superchargers currently allow Model S owners to travel for free between […]
Australia still lagging behind other nations in uptake of large-scale solar
Australia is still lagging behind the pace on large-scale solar, with the latest data revealing it has not moved from its position at number 31, behind the Dominican Republic, despite […]
China leads as world solar PV market approaches 20GW in Q4 2014
New data on global solar installations has shown that the world is on track to reach 200GW of cumulative capacity, with the amount of PV added in the fourth quarter […]
Japanese PV installers choosing wooden racking for solar panel ground-mounting
PV installers in Japan are increasingly opting to use wooden racking for large ground-mounted installations as a way of improving overall environmental appeal and stimulate the local forestry industry. Japanese […]
Australian investment in large-scale renewables took a nose-dive in 2014 due to RET uncertainty
A report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows that Australia is on track to record its lowest level of asset financing for large-scale renewables since 2002, with just $193 million […]
Australian solar capacity could grow from 3.5GW to 14GW by 2020: Citigroup
The Australian solar market could be headed for a total capacity of 14GW of rooftop and utility-scale solar by the end of the decade, according to new analysis. In a […]
2014 brings expansion for robotic solar tracking manufacturer QBotix, with 80MW of supply now under contract globally
The futuristic robotic sun-tracking technology innovated by California-based QBotix is gaining traction in markets around the world, as the company’s good news streak stretches through 2014 with announcements of supply contract […]
Move to ‘net carbon zero’ by 2050 doable, affordable and necessary for Australia and 14 other countries: UN
Fifteen of the world’s biggest economies – including Australia – could move to “net carbon zero” by 2050, according to a major new analysis released on Tuesday. The report – Pathways […]
Renewable microgrids could see boom in regional Asia-Pacific
Remote parts of the Asia Pacific region, including rural Australia, could soon see a boom in regional microgrids with heavy integration of renewable energy technologies, according to a recent report from […]
Cheaper and lighter battery design a win-win for storage
UK-based Cenex have recently developed an electric vehicle (EV) battery that is 41% lighter than standard EV batteries. In addition to the reduced weight, the ‘EV-Lite’ battery decreases the cost […]
Samoa gets 546kW solar PV plant as South Pacific solar usage grows
South Pacific Island efforts to reduce dependence on costly and polluting diesel fuel continue, with the installation of 546kW of solar PV across the islands of Samoa – the independent […]
Citigroup: Energy diversification a necessity, solar’s rise a certainty
A leading investment bank has predicted a bright future for the global solar market, with continued rapid expansion driven by “pure economics.” In a new report from Citigroup, the bank […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Dark times for PV may mean good things for Australian solar industry
Natcore Technology has taken one step towards enabling the commercial production of its low‑cost black silicon solar cells by conducting batch testing at one of the world’s largest photovoltaic manufacturers, […]
Energy storage at center of discussion at Intersolar Europe 2014
Energy storage has dominated discussion in the opening days of the world’s biggest solar conference, the Intersolar Europe 2014 in Munich, with industry leaders pinpointing it as a major component of the […]
