Victorian network operator AusNet has revealed the preferred route for a proposed $300 million electricity transmission line which is expected to unlock thousands of megawatts of new solar and wind resources in the state’s western region.

Australian module manufacturer Tindo Solar is confident it can compete with the world’s biggest manufacturers having received a financial fillip as part of the federal government’s $55 million Manufacturing Modernisation Fund.

The economic benefits of rooftop solar PV have been reinforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, with a new report revealing solar customers in the National Electricity Market are paying about 30% less for their electricity than their non-solar counterparts.

Australian energy retailer AGL will roll out almost 100 rooftop solar PV systems at St Vincent de Paul Society sites throughout Victoria in a move expected to slash more than $1 million off the not-for-profit group’s annual electricity bill.

The Clean Energy Regulator has reaffirmed the urgent need for changes to how the national electricity grid and market operate with a new report predicting the nation could add another 20 GW to an already surging rooftop solar sector by 2025.

South Australia water utility SA Water continues to make a splash in the solar PV sector, commissioning two new solar arrays with a combined capacity of 176 kW at its facilities in Mount Gambier as it pursues an ambitious agenda to neutralise the energy costs of its operations.

The federal government’s revelation of a deadline for the solar industry to “step up” and address the growing issue of solar PV module waste or face regulation has coincided with the Australian Capital Territory government announcing plans to investigate recycling options for solar panels.

China-based Risen Energy is expanding its global footprint, the solar PV manufacturer and project developer announcing plans to construct a $13.35 billion mega production facility in Malaysia.

Developers of one of the world’s largest renewable energy projects have vowed to push ahead with plans to build the $50 billion Asian Renewable Energy Hub in Western Australia after the federal government’s decision to reject the project was labelled “perplexing” and “premature”.

Resurrected Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce is back in the saddle, facing backwards. His determination to prevent the Morrison Government from adopting a target of net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050 will again delay the renovation of Australia’s climate policy.