The proposal to build a solar farm on the site of the old South Fremantle tip has been given final development approval. Construction on the former landfill site, for which various redevelopment plans had been submitted since 1985, finally looks set to move ahead.

Retail super fund Future Super is backing peer-to-peer (P2P) solar loans to the tune of $200,000. While only small change, the move is claimed to be the first investment of a retail super fund in P2P clean technology lending.

In the last of a series of blogs, solar pioneer Philip Wolfe looks at areas where solar generating stations are clustered together, without the coordination afforded by organised solar parks.

Coal fleets represent huge financial risk to shareholders and investors write Tim Buckley IEEFA’S Director of Energy Finance Studies, Kate Finlayson the organisation’s Senior Communications Strategist.

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a device they say could “turbocharge” a single-junction silicon PV cell, pushing the technology beyond its theoretical limit to efficiencies of 35% and higher.

Solar Juice has signed an agreement to distribute REC Group modules in Australia – in particular to target commercial and industrial (C&I) customers. The announcement last week, made no note of the patent lawsuit that Hanwha Q Cells has brought against REC Group in Australia, which includes two of its distributors.

In the third of a series of four blogs, solar pioneer Philip Wolfe lists the world’s largest solar power plants. In these articles, a ‘solar plant’ is defined as an individual generating station.

In an ASX announcement today, Queensland-based independent power producer ReNu Energyannounced that it has entered into a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group (SCA Property Group) for a further four solar PV and embedded network projects at shopping centres in Queensland and Victoria.

WA’s publicly owned grid operator will equip some of its staff with the skills required to install and maintain standalone power systems on the South West Interconnected Network (SWIN). The move reflects the move away from traditional poles-and-wires electricity supply, particularly to regional parts of the state’s Southwest. 

With a pronounced focus on safety and installer certification in the second round of Victoria’s landmark Solar Homes subsidy program, the Smart Energy Council (SEC) has renewed calls for its ‘whole of industry’ code to be incorporated into the program. SEC CEO John Grimes says that he broadly supports the focus on safety as “setting a high bar.”