Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation has invested more than $500 million in 12 climate bond issuances since it began investing in 2012, establishing a leadership position in this rapidly evolving investment channel.

Renewables are the lowest cost, sustainable solution for Australia’s energy policy crisis and potentially one of Australia’s largest export industries of the future.

Let me be clear: as a developer of utility-scale projects, we are very bullish on bifacial. We see bifacial as the next major evolution in solar module technology. Even if bifacial modules trade at a slight premium for the time being, many manufacturers tell us they intend to make even their monofacial panels with bifacial cells. Once they move their production lines over to bifacial, there won’t be a huge marginal cost difference and the prices will equilibrate – as a result, the module market norm will increasingly evolve to bifacial cell and module technology.

More than 11 million PV inverters will be shipped in 2019 alone, and most of these will be connected to a software platform and controlled by the inverter companies. This creates an opportunity for suppliers to create new models and revenue sources, writes Cormac Gilligan, research and analysis manager at IHS Markit. And indeed, in recent years inverter suppliers have been rapidly developing ‘Internet of things’ software platforms to take advantage of this.

Maximilian Schurade, Director of Technical Marketing Support at Hanwha Q Cells shares his thoughts on the solar industries current trends and challenges ahead of speaking at this year’s Smart Energy Conference and Exhibition in Sydney.

This year, pv magazine is setting a new editorial agenda. Via our program, UP, we will be diving deep into the topic of what it means to be truly sustainable, looking at what is already being done, and discussing areas for improvement. Over the coming weeks, months, and years, we will share our findings across our various digital platforms, in our print magazines, and via our roundtable events and webinars. Are you UP for it?

Solar-plus-storage could be competitive against gas peaking power plants in Australia within the next five years, as the average solar-plus-storage LCOE across the Asia-Pacific region is set to fall from $133/MWh this year to $101/MWh by 2023, according to a newly released research report.

The European solar trade body expects 128 GW of new PV capacity in 2019, with China likely to bring around 43 GW online and Europe experiencing enough demand to deploy about 20.4 GW. In 2020, global solar demand is expected to reach 144 GW, while in the following three years new PV additions are forecast to total 158 GW, 169 GW and 180 GW, respectively.

The Queensland government has signed into law a controversial regulation for solar farms larger than 100 kW, which requires mounting, locating, fixing and removal of PV panels at solar farms to only be undertaken by licensed electricians. The move comes despite warnings that the new rules will put hundreds of local jobs at risk and could bring some projects to a standstill.

A new $200 million partnership with Bank Australia has boosted the capability of Sustainable Melbourne Fund to help all Australian commercial and agricultural enterprises become more sustainable. For many businesses, reducing electricity costs and emissions through solar PV installation has been the first project on their list.

The first solar project in the 1 GW dispatchable renewable energy program launched by UK steel billionaire Sanjeev Gupta has received a development approval from the South Australian government.

Town halls, swimming pools, art galleries, libraries — local councils strive to offer residents a plethora of services that enrich community life, while keeping rates to a minimum. Maranoa Regional Council is one of a cluster of Queensland councils drawing on solar energy to help keep costs low, while fuelling fun in Australia’s sunny north.

A large-scale ESCO Pacific-championed solar project has received NSW Government approval, bringing to 26 the number of solar farms given the green light by the State since 2017. That’s another 100 MW towards the NSW goal of more than 10 GW of renewables by 2021.

One of the major providers of aged care in Australia has turned to solar PV and LED lighting to reduce its environmental footprint and energy costs.

With a capacity of 5.725 MW, the solar array spread across Brisbane Airport is Australia’s largest commercial and industrial PV system to be installed at an airport site.

New research by UNSW examines the economic barriers, the technologies and opportunities in recycling end-of-life silicon photovoltaic modules for profit.

Federal Labor has pledged to roll out solar PV and batteries at schools across Australia and create virtual power plants supporting up to 365 MW of capacity.

The first virtual power plant to be announced since the last year’s launch of the Home Battery Scheme in South Australia is picking up the pace with the addition of Eguana Technologies’ Evolve to the list of eligible energy storage systems.

California utility PG&E has tested levels of residential solar power up to 100% penetration, and how to mitigate the effects of voltage and thermal overload via smart inverters and traditional transformer and circuit upgrades — with smart inverters shown to allow for up to 100% penetration at cost-effective pricing.

Following Carnegie Clean Energy’s voluntary administration, the administrators have revealed the bids its solar microgrid arm managed to attract. Meanwhile, a plan to restructure the company’s core wave power business has been approved by creditors, along with a decision to liquidate the EMC business.

The device, conceived for large scale solar, is said to solve the instability issues associated with the two-modules-in-portrait structure and to have the largest south-north slope seen in the tracker industry.

The high efficiency PV maker may be hot on the tail of its golden goose, with demand outweighing supply for the company’s new A-Series and P-Series modules. And now that reetooling is over, it’s time to sell.

The German energy storage provider has begun shipping batteries produced in the former Holden factory in Adelaide’s north to New Zealand. Sonnen batteries will be available exclusively through the manufacturer’s local partner, Taspac Energy.

Sales revenue declined at the start of the year despite steady inverter shipments. The reverse was mainly due to sluggish project business and SMA is predicting significant increases in sales and earnings in the second half.

The Israeli power electronics maker’s revenues and shipments keep rising as it absorbs more companies, but the pending increase in Section 301 tariffs in the United States leaves some clouds in the future.

South Australia’s coal-fired electricity industry is in its final chapter with the sale of the 65-year-old Port Augusta power station site expected to reach settlement by the end of the month.

The Australian government’s green bank continues to invest in energy efficient homes for low income families with a new funding granted for solar and battery-powered dwellings in regional New South Wales.

Six Aboriginal communities in WA’s Kimberley will see 400-600 kW solar arrays installed, supplanting diesel electricity generation. The program will be rolled out by Horizon Power, and ams to reduce the subsidy paid to the regional utility for the provision of power to remote sites. 

In what is being claimed to be an Australian first, Natural Solar has installed a solar PV and storage system to Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) in South Australia, with an innovative approach to providing backup power supply. Natural Solar reports that the battery systems retain 20% charge at all times to ensure backup power supply. 

The Brisbane-based solar and storage developer has placed Lyon Solar, Lyon Battery Storage and Lyon Infrastructure Investments 1 into voluntary administration after being embroiled in a court case over a wind up notice issued by one of its investors.