Stable pricing, stable product performance, and rapid after-sales service: These are the pillars on which Chinese PV manufacturing giant Longi’s rapid growth in the Australian market are built – says Stephen Zhang, the MD of Longi Australia. And as the company moves towards another year of doubling its shipments to Australia, its local presence and team remains a vital part of its strategy.

Solar system power losses due to degradation can be a hidden destroyer of PV value. Researchers from the UNSW are conducting world-leading research into degradation phenomena such as Light and Elevated Temperature Degradation (LeTID) and have found the problem widespread. Encouragingly, UNSW’s Alison Ciesla says that mitigation in production is possible.  

There’s nothing new under the sun, and this is ever so in PV. So it should come as no surprise that the hottest new cell technology has actually been in mass production for decades. But is now the time for heterojunction to move into the mainstream? There are serious challenges to overcome if so, but momentum is undoubtedly building.

Rising gas prices, increased energy security and economic recovery at all costs pose risks to Asia’s power sector gas demand growth.

Immediately on the back of the first fully-virtual solar industry event in the Australia market, the Smart Energy Council has announced its second ‘3D Virtual’ conference and exhibition – scheduled for March 3-4 2021.

‘The cheapest PV system usually ends up being the most expensive,’ was an adage shared during the Smart Energy Council’s virtual conference yesterday – and it’s true for householders, installers and the industry at large. The session employed the colloquial term ‘crap solar’ for substandard systems and components, with attendees leaving the event with a host of strategies as to how it could be avoided.

International EPC Sterling Wilson has picked up two new utility scale solar projects in Australia, with a combined capacity of 300 MW. The deals see the Indian-based company secure the position of being the dominant solar EPC in the Australian PV market.

The move by Standards Australia has set the stage for Australia to play an important role in the growing hydrogen economy. Eight international standards for hydrogen were adopted in the process. The time is now, argues the Australian Hydrogen Council Fiona Simon, for these standards to be adopted into regulations to enable a new hydrogen export industry.

With 82,000 cumulative system installations, Australia ranks among the world’s leading markets for residential energy storage. But uptake is still sluggish, thanks to long payback periods, and market developments are only now beginning to emerge. That said, forecasts are still bullish for batteries Down Under – it is only a question of when.

3,000 social housing properties in South Australia are to be transformed into the world’s largest virtual power plant (VPP). Tesla has picked up a grants ARENA and the SA Government, and an investment from CEFC to execute the $60.6 million project, which is intended to deliver lower electricity costs for residents and a more stable grid.