Western Australian regional utility Horizon Power is rolling out a new program to incentivize consumers to reduce their consumption during peak hours. The higher fixed tariff may penalize solar homes; however, it does presents an opportunity for battery storage.

While known in the global solar sector as an Indian PV leader, if Adani Enterprises’ proposed Carmichael coal mine fails so too could the company. Analyst Tim Buckley says that if the coal mega project cannot be financed and has to be written off or sold cheaply, the company’s debt would be three times larger than the value of its assets.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing $5 million to encourage international collaboration between Australian and international renewable energy researchers and professionals. The International Engagement Program (IEP) hopes to accelerate innovation and the commercialisation of home grown cleantech.

The peak solar body has warned that the Australian Federal Government is planning to abolish STCs for commercial solar projects – threatening one of the fastest growing market segments.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) will provide $150 million in debt finance for the 212 MW Lincoln Gap wind farm. The project will include a utility scale battery system capable of provider 10 MWh of ‘fast response’ storage capacity.

The first sonnen system to be installed in Australia under the sonnenFlat pricing structure will save the family $2,000 on their electricity bills. Installer Natural Solar made the claim on Friday, when announcing the landmark system.

Spanish inverter supplier Ingeteam is taking part in a research program deploying drones to inspect existing PV power plants, to spot the causes of underperformance. The SCARAB project is headed by the company and has been provided with almost €650,000 (AU$980,000) in funding from the Spanish government.

Zinc-bromide flow battery produced Redflow has announced that it is targeting production of 3,000 batteries a month from its new production facility in Thailand. Operation at the site is slated to begin by the end of 2017.

ING has joined the banking syndicate backing the 100 MW Clare Solar Farm, in North Queensland. The deal marks ING’s first large scale solar investment in Australia.

Taiwanese module maker Winaico is set to launch its heterojunction (HJT) PV modules in Q2 2018. The high powered PV panels feature a favourable temperature co-efficient, offering a high powered module for high temperature rooftop applications.