Western Australian households and small businesses may have to continue to rely on Synergy for their electricity. Media reports indicate that the WA Labor Government is backing away from plans to introduce full retail contestability (FRC) for residential and small commercial electricity consumers.

February rooftop solar installations exceeded 115 MW, well above the less-than 80 MW installed in the same month 2017 – itself a record-breaking solar year in Australia. Green Energy Markets’ latest STC figures reveal the “extraordinary” installation rates.

The Grattan Institute has warned that surging small-scale solar system installations are depressing midday wholesale electricity prices – giving reason for subsidies to be cut and putting downward pressure of residential PV FITs. Green Energy Markets’ Tristan Edis says the level of solar generation is not yet a problem, and that simple solutions to absorb solar energy during the day are at hand.

Commercial and industrial (C&I) PV and energy efficiency provider Verdia says that its deal to supply Stockland shopping centres with rooftop PV is just the beginning of a major wave of new installations in the fast-growing market segment. Verdia reports it is working on 130 MW of projects across 350 sites.

A new study led by University of Queensland researchers has revealed that community renewable energy projects are growing in Australia. Falling technology costs are empowering groups of people ordinarily unable to become ‘prosumers’ to get involved in the energy market.

The Newcastle City Council will construct a 5 MW PV array at its Summerhill Waste Management Centre. The $8 million PV system is part of an attempt by the council to reduce its $4 million annual electricity bills, after they doubled over the past two years.

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) is seeking industry input into the setting up of a new register for small-scale battery storage and solar systems. The goal of the registry is to provide the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and network operators more insight into consumer demand.

Beon Energy Solutions is set to begin construction on BayWa r.e.’s 112 MW Karadoc solar farm in Mildura, Victoria. Completion of the project is scheduled for late 2018.

It’s official: 2017 was a record year for rooftop PV in Australia. The Clean Energy Regulator announced today that over 1070 MW of small-scale solar was installed by Australian homeowners and businesses in 2017 – representing 41% growth over 2016.

The latest arrival to the Australian battery storage market will now have the backing of a major German utility. German storage provider Senec has been acquired by EnBW, one of Germany’s ‘big three’ utilities.