Australia has certainly demonstrated its appetite for solar power. Now, with the average lifespan of a solar panel being approximately 20 years, many installations from the early 2000’s are set to reach end-of-life. Will they end up in landfill or be recycled? The cost of recycling is higher than landfill, and the value of recovered materials is smaller than the original, so there’s limited interest in recycling. But given the presence of heavy metals, such as lead and tin, if waste is managed poorly, we’re on track for another recycling crisis. A potential time bomb could present itself as an opportunity, however, if the global EV industry showed an interest in the recovered solar products.

The Spanish EPC contractor has signed its fourth contract in Australia to build the 39 MW PV array 40 kilometers north-west of Orange.

The ACT Government has allocated funding to undertake solar and sustainability upgrades on public and community housing and install solar batteries for two public schools as part of its fast-tracked infrastructure projects to support the local economy.

A massive project, which promises to transform baseload power in New South Wales, is finalizing planning, development studies, and offtake agreements. The initial target for Project NEO is to deliver 1000 MW of green hydrogen using solar, wind, and hydrogen fuel cells.

The e-commerce giant will add a second utility-scale PV project to its renewables portfolio in Australia as it seeks to offset its local carbon footprint.

In a world-first, perovskite solar cells developed by Australian scientists have passed a series of heat and humidity tests using a low-cost solution to overcome some of the challenges that are hindering the technology’s commercialization. The scientists did this by suppressing the decomposition of the perovskite cells using a simple, low-cost polymer-glass blanket.

A national Technology Investment Roadmap, which is intended to drive a successful shift to secure, more affordable energy and lower emissions, has flagged support for new gas investments, carbon capture and storage, and “emerging nuclear technologies”. The long-awaited document has prompted a flurry of reactions.

The Western Downs solar farm will deploy German power electronics fabricated locally in Australia, with SMA announcing it has picked up a contract to supply the 400MWac development.

As the fossil fuel industry applauds new legislative changes proposed by the Morrison government, which would pave the way for coal and gas projects to tap clean energy finance, environmental groups are shaking their heads in disbelief at the government’s lack of initiative to deliver a sensible climate policy. More than ever before, the fate of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is at stake.

The Palaszczuk Government is providing funding to accelerate a $1.5 billion transmission link stretching from Townsville to Mount Isa in North Queensland in a bid to stimulate large-scale solar and wind investment and underpin the creation of local battery industry.