Sun Cable – considered to be the world’s biggest renewable energy export project – announced on Wednesday it had entered voluntary administration following “the absence of alignment” with shareholders.

Almost one in three Australian households have solar panels on their roofs. Most are motivated by rising electricity prices and environmental concerns. Households are paid a so-called feed-in tariff for surplus energy they export to the grid.

Australia is well-positioned to be a global leader in green hydrogen production. Green hydrogen is produced using a renewable power source such as solar or wind. As a substitute for fossil fuels, it will help to meet growing renewable energy needs.

The catchphrase ‘there’s no transition without transmission’ seems to get thrown around more and more. Much of the discussion that follows centres around increasing capacity to allow for more wind and solar farms. But perhaps less discussed, is the emerging challenges that face the existing transmission network in ensuring system security

Des Hang on the three main doubts that still linger around Australia’s burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) industry.

Panel shipments collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars are blocked from entering the United States market as they have failed scrutiny under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, said Reuters.

Australia’s solar industry can expect to contend with elevated shipping costs and ongoing supply disruptions for at least another year before a ‘normalisation’ of the global ocean freight system.

Canadian Solar is pivoting towards energy storage and is preparing to IPO its manufacturing and Chinese solar project activity in China, under the CSI Solar operation, by July.

Biden has made a long list of promises and commitments to the environment and future of clean energy if elected. Which of these promises could we see immediate action on and which are years down the line?

As Victorians fly out of lockdown and into the thick of summer the solar industry is preparing for the release of pent-up demand for solar which was hungered for during lockdown but went unsatisfied. pv magazine Australia sat down with AC Solar Warehouse’s Grant Behrendorff to gauge the backlog of installations and talk shop in the approach to a bumper summer.

The Queensland government will invest $75 million (USD 53 million) to expand a critical minerals demonstration facility in Townsville – a project it claims will be an Australian first. The facility, slated for operations in 2025, is part of a growing push in Australia to develop battery materials industries beyond simply mining.

The World Future Energy Summit showed that Middle Eastern solar markets are still driven by utility-scale PV, although the C&I sector shows signs of growth. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are the most promising markets for big solar projects, with huge pipelines under development, while Lebanon and Yemen show promise due to chronic energy shortages.

A German startup led by European heavyweights and backed by major institutional capital continues its aggressive acquisitions strategy in Australia, taking a majority stake in Solaray Energy – its second major APAC buy following Natural Solar. Company 1Komma5 is seeking to consolidate Australia’s residential solar sector to become the largest provider of home renewable technologies, devoting $100 million (USD 70m) to “strategically” acquire a number of businesses here within the year.

Inverter and battery manufacturer SolarEdge has become the first vendor to meet, via native inbuilt software, the upcoming requirement in South Australia for “flexible exports” from residential solar systems. From July, the South Australian government will require new rooftop systems be fitted with software that allows SA Power Networks to dynamically control solar exports.

Queensland zinc-bromine flow battery maker, Redflow, has announced its batteries have successfully been integrated with Chinese brand Deye’s hybrid inverters. Redflow says the integration “provides a range of new capabilities previously unavailable to the Australian market.”

Australian climate tech platform Acacia will launch a new solar feature enabling customers to get a digital solar quote, as well as estimated financial and carbon savings, without speaking to any sales people. The company says the tool is in response to what are often poor buying experiences in the solar sector.

Construction has now begun on the 93 MW Girgarre Solar Farm in central Victoria, about 70 kilometres west of Shepparton. The project has been in development for at least five years, and was initiated by Leeson Group’s founder and director, Peter Leeson, before being sold to Enel Green Power in 2019.

An international consortium led by Italy’s Eurac Research launched the Symbiosyst project to adapt PV modules, mounting structures, and maintenance technologies to the needs of various crops in agrivoltaic installations in different climates.

Hanwha Qcells has launched the latest generation of its Q.MAXX solar panel series for the Australian residential market, stating the power class has been increased by up to 15 Wp compared to previous iterations.

Two of Australia’s richest people are expected to be rivals in the bidding process for Sun Cable, the developer of what would be the world’s biggest intercontinental solar and energy storage project, with administrators indicating the sale process could be completed within three months.

Researchers from Victoria’s Deakin University say they have successfully tested a new process that can safely and effectively extract silicon from end-of-life solar panels, then convert it into a nano material worth more than $45,000 (USD 31,500) per kilogram that can be used to build better batteries.

US-based Salgenx has developed a scalable redox flow battery with two separate tanks of electrolytes, one of which is saltwater. Unlike other flow batteries, the new device is membrane-free, promising big gains at the levelised cost of storage level.

Canadian scientists have developed a new way to measure the energy yield of bifacial PV systems. They said they considered the spectral albedo of ground cover like snow and sand to predict energy gains of up to 2%, in comparison with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard.

An educational event series aimed at upskilling engineers to enter the hydrogen industry is launching in February in Melbourne. The Hydrogen Industry Technical Series 2023 is being organised by the Victorian divisions of the Australian Institute of Energy and Engineers Australia.

French energy giant TotalEnergies studied the impact of solar panels on crops in order to develop a repository of agronomic benefits. The initial results show an increase in agricultural yields on field crops and a reduction in water stress.

JA Solar says it will build a new manufacturing facility in Inner Mongolia, China. The plant will produce everything from polysilicon to solar panels.

California-based Yoshino Technology has developed portable batteries using solid-state Li-NCM cell technology. The four variants come with power outputs of 330 W, 660 W, 2,000 W, and 4,000 W.

Singapore-based electronics giant Flex announced that its subsidiary, Nextracker, has publicly filed a registration statement for an initial public offering.

Aspiring modular solar array manufacturer Green Energy Systems has unveiled a new Australian-made prefabricated modular PV solution for large-scale applications that it says offers significant cost reductions by eliminating all stainless-steel nuts, bolts and other traditional fitments in favour of a slide-together aluminium junction system.

Longi Solar said it will invest CNY 42.5 billion ($9.4 billion) in 100 GW of wafer capacity and 50 GW of solar cell capacity in Shaanxi province, China.

Australian energy giant AGL is advancing its exit from coal with Delta Group awarded the contract to demolish the Liddell Power Station as the site is prepared for transformation into a clean energy hub dominated by a 500 MW/2 GWh grid-connected battery energy storage system.

South Australia has become the first jurisdiction in Australia to approve network connection of vehicle-to-grid technology in a residential setting, providing electric vehicle owners with the opportunity to send energy stored in their car’s on-board battery back into their own homes or the electricity grid.

With global demand for new energy storage soaring and nations and companies racing to secure battery metals supply chains, a series of major investments in Australia and Australian lithium mining companies is expected to accelerate the nation’s transformation into a critical minerals powerhouse.

Geelong is set to become home to a $300 million (USD 210 million) lithium-ion battery gigafactory. Recharge Industries, part of a portfolio from US fund Scale Facilitation, is aiming to start construction by the end of the year, targeting 2 GWh of production annually in 2024 and 6 GWh by 2026. The company is reportedly aiming to produce batteries without using Chinese materials, and appears to be part of a deepening supply chain play between Australia and the US.

Queensland-based ReNu Energy will acquire up to a 20% stake in fellow Brisbane company, startup Vaulta, which has developed battery casings designed for reuse and recycling. Vaulta will use the eventual $1 million (USD 700,000) investment from ReNu to scale its manufacturing capability and expand domestic and offshore sales.