Access to rooftop solar in Western Australia has received a boost with state-owned energy provider Horizon Power expanding the reach of an internet-connected energy management project that promises to help balance energy flows on regional microgrids.

As the world confronts the climate crisis, Australia is grappling with reaching its decarbonisation targets while maintaining a productive and growing economy. At the same time, philanthropists are trying to understand their role in the transition and how they can support causes that will help rapidly reduce emissions.

Growth in Australia’s renewable energy sector is strong with 43 GW of new utility scale generation and storage projects working through the National Electricity Market connection process but concerns remain that uncertainties surrounding approval processes could impact investor confidence.

Analysis by solar and storage market consultancy SunWiz has identified the most popular brand of battery energy storage systems in the Australian market with Chinese manufacturers leading the way.

A team of researchers from the University of New South Wales is confident it can get silicon solar cells to a power conversion efficiency above 30% by integrating a process that splits particles of light, or photons, into two smaller energy chunks.

A 30 kW solar array featuring GoodWe’s lightweight Galaxy series solar panels has been ‘glued’ atop a six-storey residential building on Queensland’s Gold Coast to provide a no-penetration solution that preserves the integrity of the rooftop.

In a new monthly column for pv magazine, the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) explains why potential trade disruptions in the global PV supply chain are substantially different from those related to coal, oil and gas.

The owner of a 360 MW solar farm and 600 MWh battery energy storage project being developed near Mortlake in southwest Victoria said it has received grid connection approval that paves the way for the next stage of development.

The latest quarterly report from the country’s energy market operator shows the role of batteries in supporting demand peaks in the National Electricity Market is on the rise, with average generation in those periods more than doubling since the same time last year.

The way has been cleared for construction to begin on a 250 MW / 500 MWh battery energy storage system that will help “future proof” the Australian Capital Territory’s energy supply by reducing the load on Canberra’s electricity network and increasing network reliability.