As the deployment of renewable energy continues to expand around the world, driven by various inputs, such as capital allocation and investment, falling capital costs, competitive LCOE and various policy mechanisms, we are now moving towards a new era for renewable energy. ‘Renewables 2.0’ will have significant, wide-ranging consequences for all market players, as regulators reduce their support and power producers seek new revenue models. In this article, Duncan Ritchie, partner at Apricum – The Cleantech Advisory, will look at the key market developments for renewables, explode the myth of grid parity, highlight the need for flexibility and explain the importance of new financing solutions that are capable of meeting the new complexities brought about by ‘Renewables 2.0’.

Heath Frewin, the Head of Distribution at Energy Networks Australia sets out the “growing ethical dilemma” brought on by rising rooftop solar adoption.

According to the Gold Member Solar Report by EnergyTrend (Q3 2018), monocrystalline module prices have fallen almost 20% this year, while those for polycrystalline modules have dropped by more than 25%. Increased consolidation among manufacturers and developers is expected to occur in China and the global solar market, with more merger deals, plans for capacity reductions and even factory closures.

The agency’s base case expects relatively flat growth in solar deployment over the next six years, but for solar to still dominate growth among renewable technologies. The agency’s estimates are again below those of major market analysts.

A snapshot of how politicians, scientists, institutions, industry, and civil servants have reacted to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released yesterday.

The Victorian government has given the green light to a utility-scale solar farm north of Shepparton and released draft planning guidelines for the development of large solar farm projects across the state.

As part of its electricity market reforms, the Northern Territory’s government has announced plans to review its solar feed-in tariffs in order to encourage the existing solar households to add battery storage. It has also greenlit the 25 MW Katherine solar park, the state’s largest solar PV farm to date.

South Australia’s largest water and sewerage services supplier is set to add a utility-scale PV project to its solar fleet, as part of its plan to achieve zero net electricity costs by 2020. The project will feature solar modules provided by Chinese module giant JA Solar.

In addition to securing debt financing from a consortium of banks, the Australian-Chinese renewables developer has entered into a long-term equity partnership with global infrastructure investor John Laing for the investment and development of the Sunraysia Solar Farm. John Laing confirmed it will invest $108.6 million in the project, taking a 90.1% stake.

The Asian Renewable Energy Hub’s generation capacity has been boosted from 9 GW to 11 GW, as Macquarie Group has pledged to invest in the project that aims to export power to South East Asia, as well as supply big miners and green hydrogen projects in the Pilbara region, Western Australia.

The All-Energy Australia 2018 exhibition & conference kicked off in Melbourne today. Safety of products and quality assurance was prominent in discussions at the country’s largest PV conference and trade show in its early hours. Big funding announcements at the opening plenary made headlines.

Owing to its state-based renewable energy initiatives, Victoria is in the box seat to create more than 6,000 jobs annually, shows a new analysis released by Green Energy Markets. Overall, renewable energy generation managed to exceed 25% of power supply for the first time across Australia’s main grids.   

The University of New South Wales has unveiled a 500 kWh Tesla Powerpack battery at its campus as part of a ten-year energy research trial in partnership with NSW’s electricity transmission network operator TransGrid.

The Chinese-Canadian module manufacturer says its P4-based BiHiKu panel, for large commercial and utility-scale solar projects, is able to provide up to 30 per cent additional output from the rear side.

Researchers at Western Australia’s Curtin University have developed a low-cost and environmentally friendly method to capture solar power and produce clean fuels such as hydrogen.

The Dunsborough Community Energy Project is announced as Australia’s first privately funded virtual power plant.

Four years ago a viral campaign wooed the world with a promise of fighting climate change and jump-starting the economy by replacing tarmac on the world’s roads with solar panels. The bold idea has undergone some road testing since then. The first results from preliminary studies have recently come out, and they’re a bit underwhelming.

Solar battery systems should maintain power supply when the grid goes down. Right? Well, it’s not always that simple. A recent pv magazine Australia webinar, hosted in partnership with SMA, was looking into different homeowner needs and ways to install an emergency power or ‘full home backup’ system. Here are the answers to some of the webinar attendee’s questions.

The final order from the U.S. Trade Representative includes an interim tariff rate of 10% set to start on September 24.

Canadian Solar Inc. says it has entered into agreements with Dr. Shawn Qu and several unidentified potential equity partners regarding the plans to take the manufacturer private. It has also sold 30 MW worth of PV plants to its infrastructure fund in Japan.

Building on earlier collaboration, Kostal and BYD are looking to further strengthen their ties under a new deal, which will see them provide storage solutions to the residential and commercial solar segments.

According to the Taiwanese analysts, the solar PV module market is still stable. However, EnergyTrend expects a new price war to erupt with the end of minimum import tariffs (MIPs). In particular, Taiwanese manufacturers will have to cope with increasing price pressure.

WA-based renewable energy developer Carnegie Clean Energy has announced the departure of its long-serving managing director Michael Ottaviano and reveled major updates on its projects, including the 10 MW Northam Solar Farm and its solar/battery microgrid projects.

Sydney-based publicly listed Genex Power has announced it has received a development approval for a 250 MW pumped storage hydro project, as part of its landmark renewable energy hub in far-north Queensland.

U.S. firm SolarReserve is moving on its massive solar thermal plant project in South Australia having signed a memorandum of understanding with local outfit Heliostat SA.

German-headquartered project developer juwi Renewable Energy has inked an agreement with the University of Queensland to deliver a solar+storage hybrid power solution at its research station located in the Great Barrier Reef.

Renewable energy sources, notably solar and wind, are reaching price and performance parity on and off the grid, shows a new Deloitte Global report, highlighting seven trends that are driving this transformation.