Commercial & Industrial PV

A new cohort of 18 New South Wales (NSW) public schools will receive solar and battery energy storage systems in the latest round of the NSW government’s Smart Energy Schools Pilot Project.

Australia’s rooftop solar capacity has passed the 20 GW threshold, according to analysis from solar consultancy SunWiz. Solar will subsequently overtake coal-fired capacity in April, when a New South Wales coal power station closes – making PV the country’s largest power generator.

In recent years, global renewables developer BayWa re has been turning its attention to the Asia Pacific, expanding into Southeast Asia. Junrhey Castro, the company’s director of solar distribution in Southeast Asia, sat down with pv magazine Australia to discuss its experiences in the emerging markets of the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Australian nanotechnology company Nanoveu has developed a multifunctional anti-soiling coating for solar glass that is designed to inhibit surface debris and algae growth from forming on PV panels.

Western Australia’s regional utility Horizon Power has installed a battery system in Exmouth on the state’s northern coast, unlocking 2 MW of solar hosting capacity. The installation is one of nine batteries being installed by the utility across the state and is arguably a more effective rendition of a “community battery.”

Solar and storage analyst Sunwiz is predicting an inversion of many of the trends that dominated the industry in 2022. While rooftop solar has bounced back after a disappointing year, Sunwiz founder Warwick Johnston tells pv magazine Australia, the utility segment’s position looks dire.

Australian-headquartered solar data specialist Solcast has been acquired by Norwegian energy assurance and risk management company DNV as it seeks to strengthen its solar forecasting services to help maximise the value of PV power plants globally.

Former solar installer Gavin Brady has been convicted by a Victorian magistrate after an investigation by the Clean Energy Regulator found he falsely claimed to have installed 11 solar systems. When converted to Small-scale Technology Certificates, those false claims were worth $50,000 (USD 35,500).

A new code for retailers of ‘new energy tech’ products including rooftop solar, battery energy storage systems, electrical vehicle chargers and other emerging energy products and services has been introduced to raise consumer protection standards in Australia.

Last year was a tricky one for solar, with each segment from residential to commercial to utility behaving quite differently. The industry trends have been laid out in Sunwiz’s latest Australian PV Report and pv magazine Australia takes a dive into what happened and what there is to learn.