Commercial & Industrial PV

After tough years of drought and flood, The Gascoyne Junction Tourist Park in Gascoyne Junction, Western Australia, has been decimated by the impact of Covid-19 on the tourist industry. Struggling to pay its bills, the WA Govt is stepping in to help fund a solar upgrade, a saving grace.

Researchers at RMIT University have designed a solar chimney that both saves energy, and saves lives. The solar chimney, part of a range of sustainable features built into the new Mentone Reserve Pavilion in Melbourne’s Kingston.

Topping off a big week for solar in Queensland, Premier Palaszczuk announced the partnership between Energy Queensland owned Yurika and the Queensland Investment Corporation which will see 15 MW of solar installed across five shopping centres.

The Australian Institute of Marine Sciences is installing solar PV across its facilities nationwide. The Institute, which in part studies the impacts of climate change on our marine and coastal ecosystems, is on the scientific front lines of a bleached world without renewables.

In the face of the Covid-19 economic crisis, companies and investment firms are looking to buyback existing solar systems from businesses in exchange for ready cash and decent terms.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has found that the country already has the technical capability to safely operate a system where three-quarters of electricity comes from wind and solar. However, to do so it needs to get regulations right.

Melbourne-based Presbyterian Ladies’ College has upped the ante on renewable energy with the installation of a massive rooftop PV array.

The New South Wales solar industry hailed last week’s amendment to the state planning laws, which allows installation of larger rooftop solar systems on households and businesses without council approvals. But omission of a previous enabling clause from the legislation will add cost and delays to ground-mounted solar developments of more than 30 kW.

The New South Wales government has amended legislation to allow for larger-scale solar systems to be installed on homes and commercial buildings without council approval and to facilitate the installation of utility-scale batteries.

Renewable Investment Fund Solar Bay is dishing out its $350 million mandate over the next three years by buying on-site solar systems to provide discounted PPA’s. The move is part of an ongoing trend in smaller-scale renewable investment.