With the first Quality Roundtable Australia set to kick off tomorrow at All Energy, Aaron Zadeh, Product Marketing Manager – Utility Solar at ABB sets out how advanced project simulation monitoring can avoid costly issues before they become a problem.

With the latest Green Energy Markets’ figures revealing that Victoria’s large scale renewables boom is creating 6000 jobs, pressure in mounting on New South Wales to support solar and wind. With a state election looming, the state government may move.

Rooftop solar is popular in the Australian community. But it may not always be the case. If solar and, in particular, battery storage systems are sold with inflated claims, or are non-code compliant, public support could be undermined – delivering momentum to politicians keen to scrap the SRES. An important message from BayWa r.e. Solar Solutions Managing Director Durmus Yildiz.

What problems are being encountered and how to avoid them by learning from past mistakes? With booming installation rates across all segments of the Australian solar market, quality issues have been pushed into the forefront, and quality assurance has become instrumental in shaping further uptake.

Despair was the predominant emotion when the National Energy Guarantee stumbled, fell and eventually brought down a prime minister. However, the pathway to a proper energy policy, one that will actually set the stage for renewables, might be clearer as a result – argues Simon Holmes à Court.

Chinese wind turbine supplier and project developer Goldwind is looking to offload its Australian wind and large scale solar development pipeline, according to reporting from the Australian Financial Review. The move amounts to one of the first international players looking to exit the Australian renewables marketplace in the face of policy chaos.

WA-based solar glass developer has signed an MoU with smart street sign and ‘furniture’ producer yStop to integrate its thin film solar glass into bus shelters and illuminated street signs. The MoU, signed with yStop parent Global Smart Cities, is for an exclusive distribution agreement in WA for the integration of ClearVue’s solar glass in bus shelters, and nationally in its LED-illuminated street signs.

The new federal Energy Minister has revealed his thinking, although few details, as to the measures the government will take in pursuit of its new “laser like” focus on electricity price reduction. While denying that he is a climate sceptic, emissions reduction clearly has no place in proposed policy measures.

Delays in achieving the full commissioning of Australian PV power plants are beginning to seriously impact project EPCs. Diversified engineering and infrastructure company RCR Tomlinson has postponed its annual financial results, with speculation mounting that delays to the commissioning of a solar project has caused “a material negative impact” on its earnings.

The Victorian Labor Party plans to locate its Solar Victoria agency in the heart of the state’s coal country. The agency is set to administer the state government’s proposed $1.3 billion Solar Homes program.