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.

Chinese PV component suppliers and project developers are continuing to push strongly in to international markets and are eyeing up new opportunities in Australia. Tenders, hybrid arrays and agri-PV all represent opportunities.

The Victorian Andrews Labor Government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) has passed into law. The move mandates 25% of the state’s electricity is to be sourced from renewables by 2020 and 40% by 2025.

The future of solar deployment in Western Australia remains uncertain under the Federal Government’s National Energy Guarantee policy. Excluded from the program, WA solar proponents report that market conditions “may get even harder” for PV in the state.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation will provide $94 million as the sole debt financier of Australia’s first co-developed wind, solar and storage array. The 60 MW Kennedy Energy Park is being developed by Windlab and Eurus Energy and will combine 43.2 MW in wind capacity, 15 MW of solar PV, and 2 MWh of battery storage.

The buoyancy of the Australia PV market is evident in the attendance figures from the All Energy Australia conference and trade show in Melbourne last week. Event organizers have reported that while the numbers are still being finalized, it appears that attendance has increased 40% YoY.

Australia’s Turnbull government has finally plotted a course in terms of a post-2020 energy policy, announcing its National Energy Guarantee mechanism.  The move means it is ignoring the recommendations of its own electricity market review conducted by its Chief Scientist, which had advocated for a Clean Energy Target.