South Australia’s rooftop solar could be switched off on the way to 100% renewables
Under a new plan to stabilize its grid, the South Australian State Government is providing $10 million to upgrade its voltage management and giving the green light to the Australian Energy Market Operator to stop its rooftop solar from feeding in when needed. The plan also highlights the importance “smart” PV and stronger network interconnection, primarily the new SA-NSW line a.k.a. Project EnergyConnect.
Sendle it over, Australia’s first solar-powered delivery fleet
Sendle and Bonds Couriers have teamed up to deliver Australia’s first solar-powered fleet of delivery vans. As the boom of eCommerce has continued through Covid-19, the ethical import of sustainable shipping and delivery has become evermore salient.
Cairns isn’t letting water or solar go to waste
Cairns Regional Council is nearing the completion of four mini solar farms across its Wastewater Treatment Plants, a development that will significantly reduce emissions and save on the electricity bill.
Analyst expects ‘unprecedented’ consolidation of Chinese solar industry
Private PV manufacturers and project developers alike are set to be squeezed out by the state in the world’s biggest solar market, according to Frank Haugwitz, who has compiled a wide-ranging report as preparations for the next five-year plan gather pace.
A solar fresh-food logo for Woolworths Orange
Will it start a new trend for logo-shaped solar arrays? Probably not, but the new installation on a supermarket in regional New South Wales lowers emissions and raises a smile in challenging times.
Solar Trees grow in Townsville
Townsville in North Queensland is set to receive two new ‘solar trees’ as part of a beautification project designed to connect the city’s new stadium precinct with its CBD as the regional city looks to boost its economic recovery from the impacts of Covid-19.
Spanish startup RatedPower, pioneer in the development of software to optimise the design of solar plants
By scanning millions of iterations, pvDesign finds the best plant configuration and automatically generates over 300 pages of detailed documentation in seconds. The Spanish firm has just landed its first Australian client.
A solar giant invests in Australian DER know-how
As utilities, networks and governments get their distributed-resource ducks in a row, the time is ripe for VPPs and microgrids to play a more powerful role in Australia’s energy system. The latest? SwitchDin, a DER innovator with globally acknowledged capabilities has attracted investment from Q Cells a PV manufacturer with chops and channels.
Sydney’s 100% solar-powered floating villa
Welcome to the rarest kind of pleasure, a sustainable one. Australian designer Chuck Anderson’s Lilypad is a 100% solar powered villa floating off Palm Beach in Sydney’s north.
Solar holds up relatively well in the face of Covid-19, CER finds
A new report from the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) shows that the renewable energy sector in Australia has exhibited resilience with 1.3 GW of new installed capacity despite the economic challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. While rooftop PV continued to thrive in the first three months of this year, the construction of large-scale projects was generally on track with minimal delays.
