Capacity factor is often discussed when evaluating and comparing the efficiency and performance of solar farms. However, looking just at this metric can be misleading as it ignores many underlying technical and commercial factors, as solar farm specifications almost never align for a simple apples-to-apples comparison.

The Australian energy grid is on the cusp of a big bang moment. The combination of market factors and situations we’re currently seeing will lead to a thrust of innovation. Renewable energy and smart devices are here to push forward the way we consume energy and drive a change for the better of our energy bills and for the environment.

University of Sydney researchers Sophie Webber and Gareth Bryant highlight the key challenges of land, labour and finance in achieving a renewable energy transition in Australia.

As the cost of living soars, many Australian households are turning to rooftop solar to cut their energy costs. A Pulse of the Nation survey last month showed about 29% of Australians have installed or are considering installing solar panels on their homes. The same survey shows one in five Australians can’t afford to adequately heat or cool their homes.

The gap between men and women working in the energy sector today is stark, but the issue is finally emerging as an international priority. GridBeyond’s Sales Director for Australia, Lisa Balk, shares her experience and solutions ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8.

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 search for ever higher conversion efficiency has driven solar researchers to focus on back-contact cell approaches, and efforts to devise more cost-effective manufacturing are bringing technologies such as interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar into the mainstream, as Mark Hutchins reports.

Australian renewable energy developer MPower plans to step up its activities after establishing a funding relationship with international investment firm Singapore outfit Ampyr Energy that will help finance the growth of its portfolio of mid-scale solar power and battery energy storage projects.

Australia has been warned it must act swiftly to capture the economic and strategic opportunities of a booming battery industries sector that is predicted could provide $55.2 billion (USD 36.87 billion) in additional gross domestic product to the economy by the end of the decade.

Global renewable capacity increased by 295 GW last year, bringing the world to a cumulative installed capacity of 3,372 GW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Bureau Veritas tells pv magazine that there is a great deal of interest in hydrogen certification schemes in Australia, Europe, the United States, and the Middle East.

Access to extremely detailed consumer energy data is becoming available in Australia part of the federal government’s Consumer Data Right scheme. Used imaginatively, the data has the potential to improve how investment decisions are made, and could even open up new approaches to energy retailing, Stuart Low, founder of Biza tells pv magazine Australia.

Canadian investment giant Brookfield will acquire the remaining 50% stake in Spain-based renewables developer X-Elio from its joint venture partner, investment firm KKR. X-Elio has more than 500 MW of projects in development in Australia and the move from Brookfield, which is also currently looking to takeover Origin Energy, a major Australian “gentailer,” extends the ambitious company’s hold in Australia.

India’s Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has exempted solar projects from domestic content requirements if they are commissioned by March 31, 2024. The move provides developers with the flexibility to source modules at more cost-competitive rates, according to Indian ratings agency ICRA.

New investment in solar and wind hit a record 7.1 GW in Australia in 2022, with the Clean Energy Regulator reporting a 50% increase in large-scale projects reaching final investment decision compared to 2021. In total, 5.3 GW of new renewable energy capacity was added to the grid in 2022, according to the Regulator’s State of Renewables report.

German startup 1Komma5 has started production on its own solar modules, which are expected to hit Australian shores “imminently,” Chris Williams, CEO of its APAC arm, told pv magazine Australia. The company has just signed a polysilicon contract with fellow German company Wacker, a step towards addressing issues around unethical labour and embedded emissions in solar’s supply chain.

Queensland is continuing its rollout of publicly-owned batteries, announcing the town of Emerald in its Central Highlands Region will soon host a 4 MW / 8 MWh battery. While the announcement doesn’t make reference to buzz term ‘community batteries,’ it seems the state is effectively rolling out a storage fleet to deliver on the promises of the concept.

Australian battery technology startup Relectrify has been given the tick of approval by the International Electrotechnical Commission for its ReVolve energy storage product, opening the way for the company to scale up the global rollout of its cell-level control technology.

Iberdrola is using a springer spaniel in a solar park to smell electrical problems that could lead to power cuts. It is also using a robotic dog to detect and analyse faults in substations.

Australian materials technology developer Kinaltek has unveiled a one-step production process that it says can convert common silica powders into battery-grade nanosilicon for less than 5% of the cost of existing technologies, paving the way for the use of silicon nanoparticles in high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

Clean Energy Associates (CEA) has calculated the price premium that solar developers will swallow in return for the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) savings offered by the latest generation of high-efficiency PV panels.

Australian battery designer and manufacturer PowerPlus Energy will look to accelerate its growth plans after technology investment company PPK Group announced plans to acquire a large stake in the company.

Canada-headquartered Solmax will seek to build its presence in the Australian utility scale solar sector having developed a reflective membrane which it claims can increase the energy yield of a bifacial PV project by between 5% and 20%, depending on the plant configuration.

Chinese manufacturer Longi Solar is working with PV developer Invenergy to build a 5 GW per year solar module manufacturing facility in the US state of Ohio.

GoodWe will initially sell its new 375 W building-integrated PV (BIPV) modules in Australia and Europe. They measure 2,319 mm × 777 mm × 4 mm and weigh 11 kg.

With calls for a revival in European PV manufacturing becoming more urgent, the Environmental, Social, and Governance credentials of its PV producers are being touted as a way in which manufacturing can be supported or even protected. The case for the ESG credentials of European manufacturing was advanced by multiple speakers at the 2023 SolarPower Summit this week in Brussels.

As Synergy prepares to switch on its first big battery, the state-owned utility has revealed it plans to build a new 200 MW/800 MWh battery energy storage system at Kwinana to support the state’s main grid and enable the uptake of more renewables in Western Australia.

Australian battery company Gelion Technologies has revealed its ambition to “build the world’s best battery” after acquiring an intellectual property portfolio of more than 450 lithium sulfur and silicon anode patents.

The “Solar Box” mobile power plant is a container consisting of solar modules, a battery storage system, and a hydrogen storage system. According to Austria’s Alternative Energy Projects (AEP), the system starts at 94 kW and can be scaled up to more than 5 MW.

The largest solar farm yet developed in New South Wales has been officially opened with clean energy company ACEN Australia confirming the 400 MW first stage of its planned 720 MW New England Solar Farm is now progressing through the commissioning process.

The sale of renewable energy developer Sun Cable, which is aiming to deliver the world’s biggest intercontinental solar and storage project in northern Australia, has received initial takeover offers from multiple investors, including prospective buyers that aren’t existing shareholders in the project.