Record crowds have been attracted to this year’s All Energy Australia trade show and conference, currently underway at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. With the country’s rooftop market set to exceed 1 GW in 2017, the battery storage sector burgeoning, and strong growth being shown in the utility scale segment, policy uncertainty prevails beyond 2020.

Victoria’s Energy Minister Liliana D’Ambrosio took a packed house of All Energy 2017 attendees through the state government’s approach to renewables, energy efficiency, storage and energy innovation as Australia’s largest PV show got underway today. She also mapped out the timeline for the Victoria’s long-awaited large-scale auction.

The Federal Government will provide $28.6 million for a demand response trial, in partnership with the New South Wales State Government, to help meet electricity demand peaks this summer. The announcement has been made as it becomes increasingly likely that the government will abandon any form of Clean Energy Target.

German battery suppliers are pushing strongly into the Australian market as households turn to solar+storage to combat high and rising electricity prices. However, installer capacity may prove a short-term bottleneck.

The former APAC head of DNV GL’s solar consultancy has fired a departing shot before leaving to take on a new posting – continued investment will likely remain dependent on clear and stable public policy settings.

The $150 million agreement between the government-owned CS Energy and the Kennedy Energy Park marks yet another positive step for Australia as as hybrid large scale solutions move into the market.

The highest rooftop penetration rates globally have not discouraged optimizer and inverter supplier SolarEdge from continuing to push hard into the Australian PV marketplace. Describing the market as “mature” and featuring “deep and rich sales models”, SolarEdge Founder Lior Handlesman said there are still plenty of rooftops to which solar can be added, in particular in the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment.

The $157 million project will be built with 420,000 multicrystalline modules mounted on single-axis tracker near Port Augusta.

Adani Australia is planning to construct a 300 MW PV power plant at Rugby Run in Queensland. It has signed a PPA for the first 65 MW phase of the project.

A unit of Indian conglomerate Adani will start building the first 65 MW phase of a planned 170 MW solar installation in the Australian state of Queensland by the end of this year.

Under a non-exclusive Memorandum of Understanding with JinkoSolar, Greatcell noted it would make available developmental perovskite cells for further evaluation.

Several of Australia’s top universities are working together on gaining a better understanding of excitons. The Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science is a partnership led by the University of Melbourne alongside other top Australian universities and organizations, and consists of a team with a broad range of expertise in physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering and other disciplines.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation pledges AUS$20 million to part-fund the Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project in Western Australia.

The Spanish company has delivered system components — including 1,500 V (DC) central inverters — to Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, as part of a turnkey deal for a solar array in Clare, Queensland.

Standards Australia wrapped up public consultation last week on a draft standard for battery storage, setting the stage for the development of a comprehensive framework for future deployment.

Australian stock exchange-listed battery maker Redflow has announced a AU$14.5 million ($11.25 million) funding round, as the Brisbane-based company takes its manufacturing base offshore and turns its attention to a market “sweet-spot” including the off-grid, telecom, commercial and industrial sectors.

The installation will be paired with a wind farm in South Australia. At 129 MWh, it will become the world’s largest lithium-ion battery projects, and is being developed in conjunction with French renewable energy firm Neoen.

German storage provider sonnen has partnered with Australia’s self-styled “largest installer of home energy solutions” Natural Solar to introduce its sonnenFlat concept. In a launch event in Sydney tonight, Natural Solar CEO Chris Williams said that in light of recent utility price hikes in some parts of the country, that there is “very strong interest” in the sonnenFlat from households.