A team from the University of New South Wales School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering has reinvented the design of screen-printed contacts to reduce costs and silver consumption, without sacrificing the efficiency of tunnel oxide passivated contact solar cells.

The Silicon to Solar report, partly funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, outlines ways to restore solar manufacturing to the nation with a little help from the country’s major trading partner – China.

Ground-mounted PV is increasingly being investigated not only as a renewable generator, but as shelter for crops and creatures under fire from climate change. Last week’s All Energy conference handed the mike to some pioneers in the field.

Drone-mounted imaging of solar farm performance at the rate of one panel per second reduces the cost of current ground-based sampling methods by up to 20 times. Read how a new strategic Australia-Singapore partnership is helping to ensure the output of PV assets is always at peak!

Australia is set to electrify everything. Vibrant communities willing to trial the transition are the first in line to learn what to do and how to bring everyone along, reports pv magazine Australia’s Natalie Filatoff.

A surge of community battery trials in Australia is seeking to make better use of the country’s vast distributed solar resource. But the results so far have battered expectations. pv magazine Australia’s Natalie Filatoff and Bella Peacock explore the motivations, challenges, and outlook for sharing and monetising solar rooftop riches.

pv magazine Australia’s Natalie Filatoff reports on the benefits of planning vast solar project pipelines, and the barriers faced by those who dare to dream big.

While the efficiency of solar cells will always be important, scaling innovation in sustainable cell technology and solar deployment, is the new game in town. With hydrogen exports and production of green metals in its sights, Australia has some breakthrough tech coming down the pike, as pv magazine Australia’s Natalie Filatoff reports.

Customers’ desire for fast, simple access to rooftop solar has driven the industry towards one-stop solutions, with all system components under the same brand and warranty arrangements, and integrated under a proprietary intelligent digital control system. pv magazine Australia spoke with Gavin Merchant, country manager for Australia and New Zealand, about the new SolarEdge Home equation and the economic drivers of full rooftop package adoption.

New releases, a confluence of auspicious milestones, and output growing by gigawatts gave Trina Solar in Australia cause to celebrate at All-Energy this week.